Ke$ha - 'Cannibal'

Ke$ha continues to baffle most American consumers. While the majority of them can name a song of hers within the first opening notes, many claim to highly dislike her flippant and trashy sense of style and noncommittal lyrics. I think the Ke$ha phenomenon can best be compared to the Spice Girls phenomenon. During their reign, the Spice Girls were the best-selling artists that no one would admit to buying music from. Many claimed to hate their staged appearance and Spice-related names and felt their music was too bubblegum for mass consumption.

I guess people's wallets should be giving the opinion because Ke$ha doesn't seem to be stopping, and the companion album to her hugely successful debut, together dubbed Animal + Cannibal, is more than sufficient proof of this fact.

The Lead Off

The album was quite successfully headed off by the massive "We R Who We R," a track dedicated and written in response to the bullying of gay youths that led to some highly publicized suicides. The track is a call to be yourself and be happy with yourself, and while the lyrical content focuses more on Ke$ha and her friends, the concept is sound. "We R Who We R" is immensely catchy and subsequently topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart. However it isn't a huge departure from the style she introduced us to with Animal and the singles "Tik Tok," "Your Love Is My Drug," and "Take It Off."

New Directions?

Cannibal does introduce some new sounds for the singer though, particularly with the title track and "Sleazy." "Cannibal," the album's opening number, immediately slaps you in your face with its dirty and pulsing beat. She showcases her voice more in "Cannibal" (albeit more with the yodeling she began on Animal). The effect is unsettling, which is precisely what is intended. She sings about eating the boy she has her eye set on, threatening to "pull a Jeffrey Dahmer." What could have been presented as proof of her singing abilities comes across more as a tribal howl of conquest, with Ke$ha beating her chest as her meal softly rotates over an open flame.

"Cannibal" is produced by Ammo and Billboard (who would also remix "Animal" as Cannibal's closing number) in a change of production direction from the typical Dr. Luke/Benny Blanco pairing. Not that the three don't work excellently together, as evidenced on the track "Sleazy." Everything about this song is summed up in the title. The beat is sleazy, the lyrics are sleazy, the vibe is sleazy, and it is absolutely wonderful. Ke$ha sounds amazing rapping about her low-brow party existence over that type of beat and it makes me wish she would descend to those depths more often.

Second Verse, Same As The First Some of it is par for the course, but that's not a bad thing at all. "Blow,", the album's second single (due out February 1st), is a hyperrepresentation of the entire Ke$ha experience. If you want this girl summed up in 3 minutes, "Blow" is where you go. It is heavy, hard-hitting electro that totally exemplifies the party girl lifestyle she portrays. Conversely, "C U Next Tuesday" (oh har har) is a slower electropop ballad about writing off an unavailable man who keeps making advances on her. The track employs a more retro synth vibe and she sings more than raps, which makes for a nice departure but ultimately feels like a filler track rather than a killer track. The same can be said of the pensive love story "The Harold Song." It's engaging, but not a killer track like what most of Cannibal offers. Sounding like a track recorded during the rest of Animal, "Crazy Beautiful Life" moves at the pace of Ke$ha and is cutely catchy.

I think the most interesting addition on Cannibal is the Billboard remix of "Animal." The original track was an excellent ending to Ke$ha's debut album, showcasing a lot of emotion and vulnerability in the acknowledgment that perhaps, for this relationship, the end is near. And that's okay. Billboard took the track away from the typical Ke$ha sound and warped it into something... else. Billboard not only shows that they can make her sing any note they want, they drag the track into the muck with a slow beat wrapped around a sense of dread and wonder. The remix shows a new side to our garbage-chic songstress, a side that is far more grounded and thoughtful. I'd like to see Billboard produce music for her in this style in the future.

Controversy

The song "Grow A Pear" has been the subject of some controversy in the transgendered community. The track, which is a catchy and tongue-in-cheek sendoff to a boy she thought would man up, utilizes the word "mangina" and the line "I just can't date a dude with a vag." Well, the association is clear, but the intention is not. The FTM (female-to-male) community seems to find this an incredible insult, with one guy posting a YouTube video calling Ke$ha a hypocrite and saying the awesome words of "I'm a man and I love my c*nt."

Here is my official standpoint on this controversy: I love the song. It made me laugh and was one of the first tracks from Cannibal that I rushed to show others. I think that anyone who hears the song and immediately thinks, "Those dirty FTM's" or anything similar has a problem that needs to be addressed with therapy. This song is not intended to, nor SHOULD it, cause hate or dislike or prejudiced thoughts about any of the amazing people in our transgendered communities.

Summary

Cannibal is another strong proclamation that Ke$ha is a modern day popstar. She isn't convoluted and theatrical like Gaga, nor is she a sex pot like Katy Perry, or crazy like Britney Spears. Her music is simple and effective, and Cannibal is no exception. There are hints of stylistic evolution on Cannibal, including "Sleazy" and the Billboard remix of "Animal." When a sophomore album drops, I am curious to see if she will focus on maintaining the pop or if she will try to gain some actual credibility as an artist. Until then, I fully plan on enjoying her own unique brand of pop.