"In Public" is a song by American R&B singer-songwriter Kelis, featuring American rapper Nas. It was written by Rockwilder and Kelis and produced by Rockwilder for Kelis' third studio album, Tasty (2003). As the song title implies, its lyrics deal with public sex.
The song was released in the United Kingdom and Ireland as the album's fourth and final single in early April 2005. Like previous hits "Trick Me" and "Millionaire", "Trick Me" was not released in Kelis' native United States. Although no video was made for the song, it still managed to make it onto the UK Singles Chart, concretely landing at number seventeen, due to strong radio and club play. The track was originally due to be released as a double A-side single with the Raphael Saadiq-produced "Glow"; this did not happen and a reason for the change has never been given.
Critical reception
"In Public" was met with mixed reviews from music critics. Adam Webb of Yahoo! Music UK considered the song to be one of Tasty's highlights, stating that it "espouses the delights of al fresco sex over a clinical electro beat and features a filthy rap courtesy of new husband Nas. Suffice to say it leaves Beyonce and Jay-Z sounding like Mary Whitehouse and Cliff Richard."[1] Andy Kellman of Allmusic disagreed; he referred to the track as one of the album's "miscues thwarting perfection" and advised listeners to skip past it.[2] The Guardian's Dorian Lynskey described the song as "an eyebrow-raisingly explicit duet."[3] The Independent felt that "[f]or his part, Nas appears rather more flustered than he ever did in his accounts of life as a dope-dealing streetwise hustler."[4] For Pitchfork Media reviewer Scott Plagenhoef, the song "is possibly the low-point of what is often a transparent Beyoncé-aping full-length (starting with the cover art, which bares a striking resemblance to that of the "Crazy in Love" single)."[5] Ernest Hardy from Rolling Stone commented that on "In Public", Kelis sounds like "Donna Summer with an action plan ('I'll make your toes curl up and make your body scream/Come take a walk with me')."[6]
Chart performance
Without a music video to back its release, "In Public" debuted at number seventeen on the UK Singles Chart for the issue date of April 10, 2005,[7] ending Kelis' string of UK top five hits. In Ireland, the single debuted and peaked at number twenty-two on the Irish Singles Chart on the issue dated April 7, 2005.[8] It also charted at number fifty-four on the European Hot 100 Singles chart on April 23, 2005.[9]
Track listing
- UK CD single
- "In Public" (Radio Edit) - 3:22
- "Trick Me" (Clean Version) – 3:26
Charts
References
- ↑ Webb, Adam (December 12, 2003). "Yahoo! Music Album Review – Kelis – 'Tasty'". Yahoo! Music UK. Retrieved April 14, 2010.
- ↑ Kellman, Andy. "Tasty > Overview". Allmusic. Retrieved April 14, 2010.
- ↑ Lynskey, Dorian (December 5, 2003). "CD: Kelis, Tasty | Music | The Guardian". The Guardian. guardian.co.uk. Retrieved April 14, 2010.
- ↑ "Album: Kelis – Reviews, Music – The Independent". The Independent. January 9, 2004. Retrieved April 14, 2010.
- ↑ Plagenhoef, Scott (January 5, 2004). "Pitchfork: Album Reviews: Kelis: Tasty". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved April 14, 2010.
- ↑ Hardy, Ernest (January 6, 2004). "Kelis: Tasty : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Chart Stats – Kelis Ft Nas – In Public". The Official Charts Company. Chart Stats. Retrieved April 14, 2010.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Irish Top 50 Singles, Week Ending 7 April 2005". Irish Recorded Music Association. Chart-Track. Retrieved April 14, 2010.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Kelis Album & Song Chart History – European Hot 100". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved December 6, 2009.
External links
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