“There’s dolls, there’s cooking shows, there’s a variety show. There’s even a show within the show within the show – come on, a little embedded narrative!” Keke Palmer hilariously tells Gay Times of her new visual album, Just Keke.

A vivid and unfiltered chronicle of the actress and singer’s lived experience with fame, motherhood, heartache and reinvention, the 18-track collection is a genre-hopping odyssey and a visual feast — complete with fierce choreography, cinematic sets, high-concept fashion and nods to icons like Whitney Houston and Audrey Hepburn. It’s all as unpredictable and camp and unapologetically Keke as you’d expect.

“Just Keke is actually a great intro to somebody that has never been introduced to me before, because it shows everything I do,” says the Scream Queens icon. “I feel like this project really encompasses everything I bring to my artistry, and all the different mediums I use to tell these different stories about myself and the things that I’m interested in.”

Read ahead (or watch below!) if you want some ‘Tea, Boo!’ — as Keke Palmer reflects on the process behind her triumphant third album, why “everything that I feel and believe to be great is from the gays,” and, of course, those “perfidious acts, chile!”

Keke Palmer, babe, you look beautiful.

Oh my gosh, thank you! And you sound beautiful. [English accent.] ‘Hello, babe.’ I love it.

This album is tremendous, Keke. Also, the visuals?! It’s like you took everything that people love about music videos and just did it.

Yeah, I mean, it’s definitely a lot of my inspirations and things that I love growing up, whether it be a dope soundtrack or just a good dance video or stories. I think ultimately that’s at the core of everything that I love is good storytelling, and so I definitely want to bring that to the project.

Let’s start with the song – the New Gay National Anthem – ‘Tea Boo’.

Yes! Yes. Now that’s the ‘Tea, Boo.’ Period! ‘Tea, Boo’ is one of my ultimate favourites on the album. When we were writing that song… It’s so funny because we were in the studio and I’m literally talking to Nora, one of my best friends. I was like, ‘Can I have some tea, boo?’ And the guy that was working with us in there, Mark, was like, ‘What’s tea boo?’ I’m like, ‘No, I was saying tea, comma, boo.’ And then he was like, ‘Well, wait a minute – tea boo needs to be a song!’ Next thing you know, ‘Tea Boo’ arrived.