“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.
When creating the song and video for ‘Tea, Boo’, when you were choreo-ing the f**k out of that set as Keke Hepburn, did you know that the gays were going to be go feral over it?
My gosh. Well, I could only hope because the gays have lifted me up. I mean, if I can do anything that can say, that can live, that can give ‘Tea Boo’, I would be so thrilled because they have given me life since the time I was born. Honey, everything that I feel and believe to be great is from the gays. And so if ‘Tea Boo’ gives them a little bit of life, then I’m living for that.
And you’re dropping it in the middle of Pride Month! Thank you.
I was so sad because I was working on my show, The Burbs, so I didn’t get a chance to do any of the usual events that I do during Pride Month. So, I was so disappointed about that. But I’m hoping that they can get into this album and that I can start doing some more dates, and we can just get into some little tea brunches! I’m looking for a little brunch ball moment, so I’m excited for all that to come. I’m so glad that the album is coming out this month, and glad we’re celebrating. But yeah, I wish I could have actually gone to more events like I usually do.
I have to ask, what else at the moment for you is ‘Tea, Boo’?
Oh my gosh, what else at the moment is ‘Tea Boo?’ I mean, this whole album is tea. I’m dropping tea not only in ‘Tea, Boo,’ but in all of the music. I’m giving you the full tea on me. It’s just like in ‘125 Degrees’ when I say, “I’m spilling my own tea.” Like, honey, what’s tea is this album. I’m very excited for people to get into it because, for me, it was so cathartic. The experience of expressing myself in this way that I feel you can only do when you feel really safe, obviously, which I did with Tayla Parx, who’s been my best friend for a long time, who executive produced the album, but then also through music. Music is to me, one of the best channels to be able to express the deepest parts of oneself. That’s probably the biggest tea of all right now.
You explore so many themes on this album from motherhood to pregnancy, to revenge, female unity, competence, slayage and… err, perfidious acts.
Yes! Perfidious acts, chile! Betrayal.
Thank you for introducing me to that word, because I’m going to be so annoying and use it all the time.
I mean, sometimes the word “betrayal” just won’t do it. You have to go deeper. “Perfidious”, deriving from the word “perfidy”, meaning to betray. That moment was really fun. I love the callback of Akeelah and the Bee and the nostalgic moments of tying that into the story. That’s the interlude intro, right into ‘My Confession’. And I mean, that’s what that song is all about. That’s what that experience is all about. That’s kind of the turning point in the visual album where I’m showing you how the story went ‘Off Script‘ and how I found my way. Not necessarily back to a new script, but being comfortable with being off script and kind of embracing the realities that I’ve had to as I’ve gotten older – that I can’t control everything, that no matter how good I try to do or be at something, how undeniably on point, it doesn’t mean that I’m going to get that back. So now what do I then do with that and how does that then impact me and who do I then become because of it?
‘Confessions’ is also one of my favourites. However, when ‘Tea, Boo’ came on I was like, ‘This isn’t going to be topped for me.’ Then ‘Amnesia’ came and I was like, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa… wait.’
Babe. I’m literally so happy that you feel that way about ‘Tea Boo’ because, honestly, it’s so camp and so big. So much of the project is quite camp, but ‘Tea Boo’ specifically with all the different costumes, I very much felt like I was living my best Spice Girls life. Like, that level of fun and excitement. Then with ‘Amnesia,’ obviously we had to get my monikers up in there! We got “you know it’s your girl!”, and I even got “sorry to this man” up in there. I really have to shoutout Tayla and Cam for bringing that together in that way, because I wouldn’t have done it without them. Then the visuals, the little girl dancing up in there… She was giving me life!
When you said “sorry to this man”, referencing your iconic meme, I nearly fell out of my f**king chair.
Yes, period!
Do you know what? Dick Cheney is going to love this album.
Oh my gosh. Now we need to ask Dick Cheney if he knows who I am now. That’s ‘Tea Boo’!
He knew you before you knew him. He was a fan of Zayday on Screen Queens.
O-M-G. Yes. Zayday. You better bring it back to Scream Queens!
If someone has sadly – and tragically – never heard of you, and Just Keke is their intro, what do you want them to take away from it?
Just Keke is actually a great intro to somebody that has never been introduced to me before because it shows everything I do. If you maybe caught me in Akeelah and the Bee or if you listened to So Uncool or even social media, you might not know what my origin is or what I’m about, because I do so many different things. Or even the podcast, Baby, This is Keke Palmer, you might be like, ‘Oh, she’s a host.’ Just Keke centers around this universe where I have my own variety show that I’m doing music in, that I’m also being satirical in and having these fun interludes. You actually get a very good picture of, ‘Oh, that’s just Keke. This is Keke Palmer as an artist.’ 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.
It feels like the Keke Palmer Cinematic Universe?!
Yes, yes, yes! Where there’s dolls, where there’s cooking shows. There’s a variety show. There’s even a show within the show within the show. That’s what we need. Come on a little embedded narrative!
Just Keke is out now. Watch the visual album below.
More
