<ul class="summary-list"><li>Grammy-winning artist <keyword id="1067442" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Macy-Gray">Macy Gray</keyword> <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/for-juneteenth-its-time-for-a-new-flag-11623958522">called</a> for the <keyword id="1177975" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="American-flag">American flag</keyword> to be redesigned for Juneteenth.</li><li>"What if the stars were the colors of ALL of us - your skin tone and mine - like the melanin scale?" she wrote.</li><li>Insider spoke with Macy Gray about what needs to change and what is precious to her in the US.</li></ul>The day before <keyword id="11459580" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="juneteenth-2021">Juneteenth 2021</keyword>, Grammy-winning artist Macy Gray <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/for-juneteenth-its-time-for-a-new-flag-11623958522">penned</a> an op-ed calling for the American flag to be redesigned. "The Confederate battle flag, which was crafted as a symbol of opposition to the abolition of slavery, is just recently tired. We don't see it much anymore. However, on the 6th, when the stormers rained on the nation's most precious hut, waving Old Glory - the memo was received: the American flag is its replacement," Gray wrote.The equating of the confederate flag with the American flag by the acclaimed songstress prompted a swift conservative outcry, which Gray felt, to a certain extent, proved her point that the American flag means vastly different things to different groups of people in the US. In the opinion piece, Gray lays out a fresh design, articulated alongside a vision for a more unified America.Insider spoke with Macy Gray and delved into her hopes for the future of the country, its stars and stripes, and how everyone can be cool with each other.What was the inspiration for your op-ed, and, if the American flag was redesigned, what you think should follow in policy?Here's my issue, is that the present flag, It's as precious to me as anyone else, but to me it was violated. It was used as a weapon at the <keyword id="1621083" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="insurrection">insurrection</keyword>. It's been posted up to represent division. To me, the messaging is now all messed up. It's confusing. What it stands for, for me, should be the same thing that it stands for, for you, but now it stands for something different to all kinds of people. That's why I'm saying we need a new symbol that represents all of us and that we can all count on.If it's precious, then the government should protect it. There should be a crime against carrying it to the Capitol to try to kill people. I know that there was an incident where it was burned a few years ago and the Supreme Court called it freedom of speech, but I totally disagree with that. I don't really think you should be allowed to burn the country's flag.The messaging is mixed up to other countries. I think when other countries see that, they're like, "What is America all about, then? The American flag represents trying to hang the vice president?" I don't think that our symbol should be confusing or ambiguous, or have four, and five, and six different messages. I think it should have one, and it's called the United States. We should all understand that together.What did you think about Juneteenth becoming a federal holiday, and should anything follow the day being made a holiday?I think that's awesome. Yeah. Even if you don't care about Juneteenth, you get an extra day off. That's always ... Never complain about holidays. It's another reason for everybody to celebrate.It's nice that they passed that really quickly, but there's still really serious laws that need to be passed. They're still talking about the George Floyd Bill. They're still talking about legalizing marijuana. You know what I mean? To me, those things are just as important. I'm just hoping this country can just get out of this rut of being so obsessed with the wrong things and put us first. We put all these people into office, and then they spend the next two or four years just doing whatever they have to do to make sure they get elected again.I wanted to ask you about, on the side of the music industry, what's your assessment of how the music industry is responding to the protest against police brutality and support of having this reckoning on race in the US?See, I believe that every artist, every entertainer is a civil rights leader, because the simplest and the most successful way of bringing people together is music, or a movie, a football game. You and I don't have to like each other for whatever reason, but when LeBron plays, we're both on the same side. We just want to see LeBron play, you know what I mean?It might not fix racism, obviously, but it helps. Every little thing helps. It matters.I know that people expect artists to come out and say something and use their platform to change things. But to me, we already do that. It's not up to us to preach or lecture people. I think if you're fortunate and you're blessed with the means to give, and to support, and to help, then that's definitely your responsibility, but I think artists bring people together without saying a word.It doesn't have to be a political record. Me personally, I don't go to music for my <keyword id="6358883" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="politics">politics</keyword>. I don't say, "Gosh, I really want to get political today," and then I turn on music. I turn on the <keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="news">news</keyword>, or I turn on a podcast or something like that. I think people go to <keyword id="4578" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="entertainment">entertainment</keyword> for a break from that. I don't think that every artist should jump up and try to make political records unless they want to, of course.Can you tell me a little bit about the work that your My Good foundation has been doing over the last few years, and what inspired you to start that and help support the families of victims of police brutality?Just that I was already reaching out to families, like when we heard about it on the news. Then me and my friends got together, Charyn Harris and Grace Blake, and we decided that we wanted to help as a trio, and so we formed My Good.We step in in the aftermath. After it's happened we come in, and we can support. Our main thing is mental health services. All of the families, that's their main request, is needing someone to talk to because their life completely changes, and just coping with a loss, and then the adjustments. Then the ones who get all the press that, as good as that looks, like, "They got all this press," and then, "They got all this money from GoFundMe," but those families hurt just as bad.That's where we come in. It's mainly mental health services because that's our biggest request. I want to say that we're not anti-police. Our belief is that it's not about who did what. Sometimes it is not the police officer's fault. But regardless, you still have families who have lost, big time. Regardless of what happened, you still have a family who lost a son or daughter. That's where we come in, to help out as much as we can.What do you feel like, alongside the project that you mentioned, redesigning the flag, what do you think that the country and the institutions in this country need to do to really hold themselves accountable to Black women and to Black people in the US?It's not something that people have to go out and do. It's just acceptance. It's just time for everybody just to accept that we're all here, we're all in this together, and to get over yourselves. Black women, Black people aren't a charity. It's just the exhaustion on both sides, Black people, any minority, I'm sure, is just so tired of it. To be a racist must just be exhausting, because you have hate inside of you, and you spend a lot of your time hating people that you don't even know. That must be really exhausting.All I'm saying is, it's just an outlook on things. I think that our government can play a huge part in that just by simply saying it, and saying it with something like the flag. I don't have the answer, of course, or else I'd be the emperor of the world. It's really just a mindset.Which, just like how music does, I think it will eventually fix itself. I have kids in their twenties, and I know they're not going to grow up and do this. When they started taking office ... Not my kids in particular, but when kids that age start running the country, I just have a feeling that there's just a lot they're not going to be interested in, like holding people back because of their color, or gender, or sexual preference. A lot of those old values, things like racism, I think they will eventually just die out with the people holding onto them, who seem to be very stuck in a long time ago.Thank you. And I wanted to ask you about this transition from January until now with the change in presidential administrations. Do you see or feel any hope about measures of progress on racial justice, and justice in general, in this country, from over these last six months or so? I don't know. It's hard to call it because there's so much pushback from those same people I was just talking about. And there's so much focus on stopping people from voting that they're not handling the things that need to be passed as law. You know what I mean? That's what I'm saying. They put so much focus on themselves. Why is the burden of voter suppression on us just so they can get into office? That's so selfish. That is so insulting to all of us. That they're going to make this huge issue of them getting re-elected again. And it's not about us. They don't care whether we have a say or that people can just make it easy for us to go out and vote. They want to make sure they get elected. And it's only 2021. So just think how it's going to get in the next couple of years when it gets close.Like I said, that's just so exhausting. And so, I don't know what is going to change that, until all of those people just get out of office. It's just too much about getting elected in this country. Even the last four years, he spent the whole four years running for office, which is cool. He's trying to keep his job. But don't hold everybody else back because of it. Don't start riots. Don't pit people against each other. Don't encourage hate while you do it. You know what I mean?What does that really thriving, diverse music industry look like to you? And what, if anything, do you feel like has been missing?I might sound biased, but I think that music is the one thing that, as much as anything, gets away from racial issues now. I mean back then, of course not. Because I just don't think people care. I don't think that when you hear a song, your first thought is, what color is that person? If you hear a song, you like the song first. And there are songs that I love and know every word to, and I have never even seen or even bothered to look up the person that sang it. You know what I mean?And industry-wise, more that I've seen the record industry is just really veering towards the youth. They want to hire young people. And they want to sign really young people. I don't see that racial tug of war going on in the record industry. To me, it's more about age. As soon as you hit 30, you may as well sign up at the nursing home than the record industry. But race, I just don't think it matters. Movies, it still matters. Sports. I don't think it matters. I'm lucky to be in an industry where all they care about is if you have a couple of great songs on you. And they can put them out, and make people happy enough to go buy a record. That's all. But I could be wrong. But that's how I see it.Earlier, you mentioned Colin Kaepernick kneeling, and the movement that he helped to mobilize. Do you feel like he has been blacklisted from being in the NFL because of that stance that he took, kneeling, and then how it was interpreted by a lot of people?Oh yeah. What they did to him was horrible. He was totally blacklisted. They let him off the team. He was singled out. He wasn't the only person kneeling. And he definitely wasn't the only person who felt the way he did about police brutality. And I thought what they did to him was criminal. Right. And I saw them try to make it up to him and offer his job back and donate to social justice and all that. But it was too late. He had lost everything. And I heard there's some story about he got a ton of money and stuff like that. But we all know that when you love to do something, money takes second. You know what I mean? And he seemed like a really passionate football player. And I'm sure that was really awful to him.But he made a difference. And he made people think. And after people ignored him and moved on with their lives, it all blew up in our faces. We went through months and months of protest. And people died because no one listened to him. More people were murdered by policemen, unnecessarily, because no one stopped and helped him, and tried to fix it. Which is really sad.And so, I wanted to ask you about the idea of American patriotism. For you, does re-imagining the flag mean also re-imagining what American patriotism is as well?I think if you can just embrace how beautiful it is because of what all the different cultures contributed to it, and that it wouldn't be what it is right now if all of us weren't here, then you get it, and then I think to me, that's loving your country. If you fight for your country, obviously, you love your country. Just to call yourself something, just say, "I'm a patriot because blah, blah, blah." I think you have to really look around and see what your country is about, and if that's okay with you, and if you can say you love that, then I think you love your country.And I just wanted to ask you if there's anything you wanted to add in the spirit of the article that you've written? Just that I adore my country and I really had no issue with the flag before, things that were kind of last year, maybe the year before. And there's nothing wrong with the design of the previous flag, it's just that the message that it sends. And my goal is just to bring everybody together. I just like to see in my lifetime, everybody get over it and let's all be together. What we've done as a country with all this discord, you know? Could you guys imagine what we could do if everybody's cool with each other?I have to ask, are you working on new music right now? Do you have anything that you're working on right now?Yes, I have a song out it's called... Me and my new band, we're called Macy Gray and the California Jet Club, we put a song out in April, called "Thinking of You." Our album's coming soon. We still have to set a date, it's a process, but yeah, I'm always doing music. I'm always in the studio, or thinking about it, or whatever. I dream about it, it never leaves me alone.

'It was used as a weapon at the insurrection': Macy Gray on her quest to re-design the American flag and her vision for a country where everyone is 'cool' with each other

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Although <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rto-mandates-creating-huge-disruption-in-workers-lives-experts-2024-2">office attendance has slipped</a>, happy hour spending is still higher than pre-pandemic.</li><li>Happy hour can help coworkers to get to know each other better than they might on the job.</li></ul>Zachary Timms, a project engineer in Houston, has rules around how he does happy hour with coworkers.The first is to stay one drink behind everyone else. The second: Never leave last. Yet despite the seemingly buzz-kill vibes, the 26-year-old's self-imposed limits don't put the kibosh on fun."I love happy hours," Timms told Business Insider. "It gives me an opportunity to show more of my personality" around colleagues, he said.<div type="image" title="Zachary Timms" height="4480" width="6720" msid="109044841" hostid="261"></div>He's not alone in loving the chance for drinks and catch-ups with coworkers. While our working routines have changed since the pandemic — <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/4-day-workweek-us-half-day-fridays-pros-and-cons-2024-1">remember long Fridays in the office?</a> — some things haven't shifted as much as many might expect in the four years since lockdowns. Sure, there was that period of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/largest-zoom-conversation-database-science-interact-video-chat-2023-4">awkward Zoom</a> beverages, but now that people are back out of the house, they're still shelling out for late-afternoon drinks.Happy hour isn't quite as much of many restaurants' business as in 2020. That's when people who could work from home — and who might be craving connection — might head to their local bar or restaurant in the late afternoon to socialize (albeit outside). However, happy hour spending is still above 2019 levels in many large US cities, according to data provided to Business Insider by tech company Square.The slice of US restaurant spending that occurred from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. peaked at 8.26% in 2020, Square data show. But happy hour's 7.66% share in 2023 was still up from 7.34% in 2019.<iframe title="Share of Square restaurant spending during happy hour" id="datawrapper-chart-mh61V" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/mh61V/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;" height="477"></iframe>And now, Square's figures, based on billions of transactions annually in the US, show Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday are happy hour heavyweights compared with the start of the workweek. That aligns with some of the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/strict-return-to-office-mandates-could-drive-away-top-workers-2024-2">busier days in the office</a>.<h2>Getting 'a chance to breathe.'</h2>Shadé Smith, a finance manager in New York who works in an office part of the time, told BI her hybrid setup can make it hard to get to know her coworkers. So, she tries to head to as many in-person social gatherings as possible."Sometimes I'm anxious about showing them my full personality at happy hour, but I've actually made great friends over the last three years," she said.Timms also sees it as a way to let go of some of the stress that comes from working in engineering consulting. "Happy hours give me and my coworkers a chance to breathe," he said.People are also generally spending more dining out than before the pandemic, even after adjusting for inflation, Ara Kharazian, research and data lead at Square, told BI.While part of that comes from an uptick on weekends, part of that comes from a readjustment of weekday budgets. People aren't springing as often for midday sandwiches and salads in downtown business districts, data from Square show — likely because they're in the office less often. That maybe leaves some cash for happy hour.<iframe title="Share of Square restaurant spending on weekends" id="datawrapper-chart-VMv7x" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/VMv7x/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;" height="449"></iframe>Let's not forget a key factor that might be driving 4 p.m.-6 p.m. spending: The perception you're getting a good deal. Bars and restaurants often offer discounts on food and drink during this time, an attractive factor to Americans seeking a bargain amid higher prices.And early evening drinks are popular because they're open to everyone. While weekday lunches downtown might be more of a thing for office workers, Kharazian notes that a late-afternoon pint and plate of nachos isn't as confined to the office crowd. "You don't have to be at work to go to happy hour," he said.<iframe title="Share of Square restaurant spending during weekday lunch" id="datawrapper-chart-ZakZz" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/ZakZz/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;" height="477"></iframe>"When you are working from home remotely, 5 o'clock is the earliest you can go out, and people are eager to do that," Kharazian said.<h2>Post-work drinks are alive and well in NYC.</h2>Late-afternoon spending may have slipped in New York, per Square data, but post-work socializing seems to be going strong later in the evening for office workers. The bars around NYC's Wall Street — predominantly a business area — are often slow during the afternoon. Traffic then picks up around 6 p.m. when the 9-to-5ers show up.Ulysses, an Irish pub in the area, is so busy after work that it stays open later than neighboring bars (apparently, some finance bros like to party until 4 a.m. during the week).Despite some social media complaints about <a target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@viviarmacost/video/7282029074137107754?is_from_webapp=1&amp;sender_device=pc&amp;web_id=7198971465685861934">happy hour-induced hangovers</a>, several NYC bartenders told BI the post-work stretch was still their busiest time during the week.But while people seem keen to socialize again, drinking can become a minefield when it's with coworkers — just like it was before the pandemic. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/corporate-politics-high-school-drama-how-to-cope-mean-girls-2024-2">Seasoned employees</a> warning younger colleagues about bringing out their "weekend personality" at work happy hour haven't always deterred the newest class. Again, nothing new.<blockquote class="tiktok-embed" cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@corporatenatalie/video/7232315829390445866" data-video-id="7232315829390445866" data-embed-from="oembed" style="max-width:605px; min-width:325px;"> <section> <a target="_blank" title="@corporatenatalie" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@corporatenatalie?refer=embed">@corporatenatalie</a> I mean it’s on the company card, right? <a title="happyhour" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/happyhour?refer=embed">#happyhour</a> <a title="corporate" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/corporate?refer=embed">#corporate</a> <a title="coworkers" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/coworkers?refer=embed">#coworkers</a> <a title="companyparty" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/companyparty?refer=embed">#companyparty</a> <a target="_blank" title="♬ I Try - Macy Gray" href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/I-Try-6696534848237996034?refer=embed">♬ I Try - Macy Gray</a> </section> </blockquote> One TikToker shared <a target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@ghanaggoddess/video/7349283752222412078?is_from_webapp=1&amp;sender_device=pc&amp;web_id=7265064044771067435">her excitement for 5:01 p.m.</a> this summer and the start of happy hour with colleagues. But others on the platform urged caution because of what can happen when people drink too much around coworkers."Just a quick reminder that you were actually more drunk and annoying at that work happy hour than you remember," TikToker <a target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@workretiredie/video/7342981127042305323">Jack Lawler advised</a>. "Just want to make sure that you remember that the damage you created that night is irreversible."And DeAndre Brown, who offers advice for Gen Zers and others navigating the corporate world, says <a target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@imdrebrown/video/7262850922366209322?is_from_webapp=1&amp;sender_device=pc&amp;web_id=7198971465685861934">it's best to stick to water</a>. "These people are not your friends, OK? You work with them, and liquor makes you do nothing but tell too much of your business," he said in one video. "If you're feeling zesty, add a lime."

Workers aren't going to the office, but they are hitting the bars

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="11897842" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="paris-hilton" source="Orion">Paris Hilton</keyword> wed her boyfriend Carter Reum on Thursday.</li><li>The three-day celebrations included a neon-themed carnival and black-tie dinner. </li></ul>Paris Hilton's wedding to Carter Reum was a three-day affair befitting of the hotel heiress.The reality star, 40, <a href="https://www.insider.com/paris-hilton-wore-custom-oscar-de-la-renta-wedding-dress-2021-11">exchanged vows with Reum</a>, 40, on Thursday in front of friends and family on her grandfather's private estate in Los Angeles, according to <a href="https://www.vogue.co.uk/arts-and-lifestyle/gallery/paris-hilton-wedding">Vogue</a>.<div type="image" title="Paris Hilton and Carter Reum." height="1335" width="752" msid="87705486" hostid="261"></div>Following the pair's private ceremony, the couple threw a carnival-themed event at the Santa Monica Pier on Friday, <a href="https://people.com/tv/paris-hilton-marries-carter-reum/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">People </a>reported. <div type="image" title="Paris Hilton and friends." height="1332" width="733" msid="87705487" hostid="261"></div>Clad in a hot-pink dress designed by Alice + Olivia's Stacey Bendet, according to <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2021/11/12/paris-hilton-marries-carter-reum-see-photos-watch-paris-love/6384247001/">USA Today</a>, Hilton presided over the party, which included a Ferris wheel, games, and music provided by DJ Diplo.Celebrities like Lance Bass, Kyle Richards, and Demi Lovato were present at the event.The festivities stretched into Saturday during a black-tie dinner held by Hilton and Reum. Guests included the mother of the bride Kathy Hilton, sister Nicky Hilton Rothschild, brother Barron, sister-in-law Tessa, Kate Beckinsale, Ashley Benson, Jasmin Tookes, Sofia Richie, Emma Roberts, and Jaden Smith.In photos obtained by <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-10199891/Inside-Paris-Hilton-Carter-Reums-wedding-celebration.html">The Daily Mail</a>, Hilton donned a long, silver, evening gown with shimmering stars, while Reum wore an all-black suit. In a second photo, Hilton smiles while eating McDonald's fries. In a third photo, Hilton and Reum pose with Hilton's siblings, dressed in similar glittery attire.Singer Macy Gray was also in attendance to perform for the night.The entire three-day event was filmed for Hilton's docuseries, "Paris in Love," which streams on Thursdays on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reviews/out?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.peacocktv.com%2Fstream-tv%2Fparis-in-love">Peacock</a>.Reum proposed to Hilton on February 13 on a private island while celebrating her 40th birthday, <a href="https://people.com/tv/paris-hilton-engaged-to-boyfriend-carter-reum/">People</a> reported. <a href="https://www.insider.com/paris-hilton-engagement-ring-carter-reum-2021-2">Insider previously reported</a> that her diamond engagement ring was designed by the great-great-grandson of famed French jeweler Louis Cartier, Jean Dousset.<div type="image" title="Paris Hilton in her wedding dress in November 2021." height="1324" width="744" msid="87705488" hostid="261"></div>In September 2020, Hilton told <a href="https://people.com/tv/paris-hilton-opens-up-about-her-amazing-relationship-with-boyfriend-carter-reum/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">People</a> that she knew Reum for 15 years before dating him. "Then [Reum's sister Halle Hammond] invited us to Thanksgiving, and we just had this incredible chemistry," she told the outlet. "We had our first date and haven't spent a night apart since. It's pretty amazing.""I feel so grateful to have found the perfect match," she continued, telling People "this feels like it was always meant to happen. I feel like this is meant to be."Representatives for Hilton did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Paris Hilton's 3-day wedding celebration included a neon carnival and black-tie dinner

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="13285240" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="kelis" source="Orion">Kelis</keyword> has elevated the music industry by remaining uncategorized and authentic for the past 20 years.</li><li>"I didn't need anybody else's validation," the singer-turned-chef told Insider earlier this month.</li></ul>Kelis emerged on the music scene as an artist that couldn't be boxed into a genre.After landing a record deal in 1998, the Harlemite burst onto the music scene with her jazz and disco-inspired debut album, "<a href="https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/kelis-kaleidoscope-album/">Kaleidoscope.</a>" Several albums later and Kelis is a platinum-selling, Grammy-nominated artist, who's worked with heavy hitters in the music industry, including Outkast, Enrique Iglesias, Diplo, and of course her famed collaboration with The Neptunes.Still, her success in the music industry wasn't without challenges. Kelis has always been open about the hurdles she faced in a world that simply wasn't ready for her."The issue of race has been such a big part of my entire career," she told <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us">The Guardian</a> in 2020. "It was never something that I struggled with personally. But it was other people's confusions. Macy Gray and I were the first [Black women] to be considered alternative.""But people were like: 'But you're Black and alternative? What is that?' Which already is a stupid-ass question, but it was put in our faces all the time," she added.Kelis credited her parents with how she remained authentic, pushing past society's expectations of Black women at the time, to remain true to herself and her art."I didn't need anybody else's validation," she told Insider earlier this month while <a href="https://www.myfoodandfamily.com/brands/kraftsingles/products">promoting her new partnership with Kraft Singles</a>. "I had such a strong upbringing — my parents were active in our lives growing up and so — I wasn't really ever looking for validation from anybody else, you know?""Being an artist, that's such a key component to being true to yourself," Kelis added, noting that she had to push back on the music industry often. "With every board meeting and every conversation that came up, I just was like, 'This doesn't make any sense. How would you guys know better than me for me?' Like it's not even logical."Kelis admitted that this sometimes made things "difficult" but "finding that balance and finding that inner peace" was all the assurance she needed. That peace easily translated on her songs, in her music videos, in her fashion choices — and how fans gravitated toward her <a href="https://www.thefader.com/2017/11/14/kelis-style-iconic-looks">trendsetting</a> ways. It's not easy to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3JFwd1bk4Q" target="_blank" rel="noopener">scream on a track</a> and make it sound...well, good."It was more so like, 'Am I content?'" she continued. "'Do I feel like I was true to myself today and do I feel like I did what I set out to do?'""I'm really goal-oriented. I'm always focused, right? I focus on what I'm interested in at the time and I don't stop until I get to a place where I feel like 'OK, now I can try something else,'" she said.<h2>Kelis doesn't look like she's slowing down in the studio or in the kitchen</h2><div type="image" title="Kelis performs during RNB Fridays Live at Qudos Bank Arena on October 12, 2017 in Sydney, Australia." height="1371" width="1828" msid="89928475" hostid="261"></div>The singer-turned-chef gave up life in the city to live on a farm with her family, letting her fans in bit by bit via social media. Kelis loves it so much that there are little to no conveniences of city life that she's missing out on, she said. "For me as a mom, chef, and just someone who really cares," she explained, "it gives you such freedom and control over what you're putting in so that you can have better control over what you're putting out."Though she's been touring for the past 20 years, the Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef has also made a name for herself behind the stove burner. Her love of food has even led to her hosting Netflix's "<a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/81032347">Cooked With Cannabis</a>" and a partnership with Kraft Singles. Last week, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/6xLrmzVni3BdobPAhQFr83?highlight=spotify:track:7lDxl065bFsWkND9fUF0YD" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kraft released a single, "Square It,"</a> featuring Kelis — a tasty pairing of music and food.An American staple, the collaboration is a no-brainer, especially when it comes to incorporating the cheese into meals for her kids. Some of her family's favorites are pizza or even cheese fries."Friday nights are kind of — I don't need to say junk food because it's not like really junk food — but kind of one of those days where we don't get fancy," she said. " It's not fancy, but it's delicious."

You Searched For "Macy Gray" and got 4 results

'It was used as a weapon at the insurrection': Macy Gray on her quest to re-design the American flag and her vision for a country where everyone is 'cool' with each other

Azmi Haroun

Workers aren't going to the office, but they are hitting the bars

Jordan Hart,Tim Paradis

Paris Hilton's 3-day wedding celebration included a neon carnival and black-tie dinner

Ashley Turner

Kelis reveals the secret to staying authentic whether it's in her music or in her kitchen

Yasmin Garaad