Kelis Rogers was born and raised in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan in the Frederick Douglass Houses. Her first name is a portmanteau of her father's name, Kenneth (1944-2000), and her mother's name, Eveliss. Her father Kenneth was an African American jazz musician and Pentecostal minister, and was formerly a professor at Wesleyan University. Her mother Eveliss is a Chinese-Puerto Rican fashion designer who inspired Kelis to pursue her singing career.

Kelis began recording her debut album, Kaleidoscope, in mid-1998 and was finished within a year. Produced by The Neptunes and released by Virgin Records in 1999, the album peaked at number 144 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart and reached the top five on the Top Heatseekers chart. As of 2006, the album had sold 249,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Its lead and most notable single, "Caught Out There", became a top ten Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs hit and peaked at number 54 on the Billboard Hot 100. During this time, Kelis featured on Ol' Dirty Bastard's U.S. top 40 single "Got Your Money".  The album performed better in Europe, where "Caught out There" was a moderate hit and reached the top five on the UK Singles Chart. A second single, "Good Stuff" (featuring Terrar of Clipse), reached number 19; the third, "Get Along with You", was less successful, reaching number 51. The British Phonographic Industry certified Kaleidoscope gold for sales of 100,000 copies in the United Kingdom, where it reached number 43 on the UK Albums Chart.  In 2001, Kelis won the BRIT Award for International Breakthrough Act and the NME Award for Best R&B/Soul Act, before joining Moby and U2 on their Area:One and Elevation tours, respectively. Kelis and the Neptunes' output at this time was heralded as foreshadowing an innovation in contemporary R&B, but she later said, "I was never an R&B artist. People coined me one but that's because, especially if you're in the States, if you're black and you sing, then you're R&B". Her colorful style in both clothing and hair received considerable attention.  Kelis's second album, Wanderland, was released in 2001 in Europe, Asia, and Latin America, but did not receive a North American release. According to Kelis, her U.S. record company at the time, Virgin, had laid off those that worked on Kaleidoscope; their replacements did not understand or believe in Wanderland, which led her to leave the label around the time of the album's European release. A commercial failure, Wanderland peaked at number 78 in the UK, although its sole single release, "Young, Fresh n' New", was a top forty entry on the UK Singles Chart. The album, which was produced in its entirety by the Neptunes and features collaborations with members of Clipse and No Doubt, was well received by publications such as The Guardian and NME.  In 2002, Kelis recorded "So Be It" for the Red Hot Organization's Fela Kuti tribute CD, Red Hot and Riot, from which all proceeds were donated to AIDS awareness charities. The same year, she had a top 20 US club hit with a remix of "Young, Fresh 'n' New" remix produced by Timo Maas, who subsequently featured Kelis on his single "Help Me". Answer this question using a quote from the following article:

How did that do in sales?
well received by publications such as The Guardian and NME.