Just Like The Sky On The 4th of July
In a summer without an outright anthem (for the gays I mean, because we aren’t accepting “California Girls”), one of my favorutie contenders for the title is “4th Of July” by the very amazing Kelis. She is abandoned her “R’n’b outcast” roots for the new dance music thing that everyone seems to be doing now. But Kelis is still my girl, and I gotta respect and follow her; she was the 1st bitch to scream on the track, after all.
Kelis has really stepped her remix game, and this track is a good example that she is listening to more gay people about her career (You know NaS hated her black queen friends…). Check out this Calvin Harris remix. The summer-y guitar, coupled with the added male back-up vocal are two nice additions to the track. It gets the typical Calvin Harris remix towards the middle, when it starts to go hard, but it works. The mix is almost comical at times, which I find typical If you can judge a well-written song by its remix, Kelis’ struck gold here. Out of all the remixes I have heard of this song, the Calvin Harris one is most festive. The other very excellent remix of this comes from one-time Kelis’ producer, Richard X, who did the very amazing “Finest Dreams” several years ago. X goes for a much more atmospheric approach to the track, allowing it to have much more mood and drama than the original. The “loving you” line is sewn in and out through the track, focusing on the catchiest part of the track. This one is my personal favourite of the two.
While I am not fully sold on this new look for Kelis, this song is one of the standouts on the new album. Kelis is still doing her thing, and is now more accessible, which means she will tour more, hopefully. I was able to see her twice this year, but I miss the days where she would play with a full live band, and do “In Public” and NaS would come out! Memories…
