Kelis — “Milkshake”

Kelis — “Milkshake”

From 60 Songs That Explain the '90s by The Ringer

March 18, 2026 · 1h 25m

About this episode

Rob discusses Kelis's song 'Milkshake' and its impact on music genres and empowerment.

Today, Rob talks about the song that left him speechless upon his first listen—“Milkshake”. He retraces his steps back to the beginning of Kelis’s career when she was screaming at a Glastonbury crowd. He analyzes the trend of not being able to place Black women into neat and separate genres, as rock, rap, punk, pop, and R&B start to blur lines. He is blissfully confused, and that is okay. Later, he is joined by music critic Leslie Gray Streeter to discuss the art of balancing humor and anger in a song and the empowerment of “Milkshake” as Kelis makes fun of the men who lust after her. Host: Rob Harvilla Producers: Justin Sayles and Olivia Crerie Additional Video Editing: Kevin Pooler and Chris Sutton Guest: Leslie Gray Streeter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

People in this episode

Host: Rob Harvilla

Guest: Leslie Gray Streeter

Topics covered

  • Kelis
  • Milkshake
  • music genres
  • Black women in music
  • humor in songs
  • empowerment

Keywords

  • Kelis
  • Milkshake
  • music analysis
  • Black women
  • humor
  • empowerment
  • Glastonbury

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Glastonbury

Books & works: Milkshake

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