KELIS Rogers certainly has staying power.

Few thought that the originator of Caught Out There (I Hate You So Much Right Now), surely the most irritating hit record of 1999, would see out the season, yet alone still be responsible for delivering albums of distinction a decade and a half later.

But the former Mrs Nasir (Nas) Jones has remained in the game, Food being her sixth studio LP, and a hit chart album to boot. Mostly the songs have a theme of, well, as it says on the label – food. So after a spoken introduction by Kelis’s four-year-old son Knight Jones, the album sensibly kicks off with Breakfast.

Later courses include Jerk Ribs, Friday Fish Fry and Biscuits‘n’Gravy, helped with lashings of tasty Hootch.

However, the occasional non-foodie song, such as Labi Siffre’s gorgeous Bless The Telephone, indicates Kelis is not completely obsessed.

The retro funky set, complete with Stax and James Brown influences, is a credit to an original and charismatic, if misunderstood, talent.