Genres: Pop, Music, Hip Hop/Rap, Rap, Dance, Electronic, Rock, R&B/Soul
Released: Nov 19, 2010
℗ 2010 RCA Records, a unit of Sony Music Entertainment
Album Review
Taking a cue from Lady Gaga's The Fame Monster, Kesha's Cannibal is a mini-LP released on its own, and also tacked onto her debut, Animal, which has been squeezed dry of hits. Cannibal is expressly designed to rectify that situation, amplifying every element of Kesha's persona — the singsong hooks, the relentless Dr. Luke loops, the squeaked sleazy rhymes, the defiantly transparent Auto-Tune slathered on every track. Despite a tacked-on unnecessary remix of “Animal,” there is no slowing of momentum on Cannibal, no time spent on meaningless self-reflection — it’s just relentless, pulsating trash, its unapologetic vulgarity chipping away at your better impulses. Kesha is either smart or shameless enough — ultimately the difference doesn’t really matter — to realize her calling card is her unrepentant filthiness, so she taunts that she’ll “C U Next Tuesday,” teases that this place is about to “Blow,” raves that “the beat so fat gonna make me come” on the appropriately titled “Sleazy,” then far eclipses Katy Perry's malicious “Ur so Gay” on the nasty “Grow a Pear.” Sure, Max Martin's hooks and especially Dr. Luke's neon-colored throb push these tunes into your head — they’re in top form, aided by the tight focus of an eight-track EP, Cannibal's brevity trumping the scattershot Animal — but what makes them stick is Kesha. She’s all ravenous id, spitting at strangers and backstabbing friends, humiliating hotties, and laughing at the wreckage in her wake. She is who she is and she offers no apologies.
Biography
A brash and driven pop singer/songwriter, Kesha (Kesha Rose Sebert) was born in Los Angeles but moved at the age of four to Nashville, where her mother — a longtime songwriter — had inked a publishing deal. (Over a decade prior to that, Pebe Sebert's biggest success had come with "Old Flames Can't Hold a Candle to You," originally recorded by Joe Sun and later by Dolly Parton.) Before finishing high school, Kesha returned to L.A. for the sake of jump-starting her own music career, despite being set up to study psychology at Columbia. She came into contact with Dr. Luke, the co-writer and co-producer of Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone" (among several other hits), who was impressed with her demo recordings. Kesha penned the Veronicas' "This Love" and later contributed background vocals to Britney Spears' "Lace and Leather," both of which were released in 2008, but the biggest turning point came in 2009, when she was tapped to contribute vocals on Flo Rida's Dr. Luke-produced "Right Round," a number one Hot 100 hit. She subsequently signed to RCA, and her debut album, Animal — featuring collaborations with Dr. Luke, Max Martin, and Benny Blanco — was released in early 2010. Animal proved to be a big hit, reaching the top of the Billboard 200 and spinning off the number one single "TiK ToK." The nine-song EP Cannibal appeared by the end of the year, featuring the single "We R Who We R."
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