REVIEWSKe$ha, ‘Cannibal’

5

• SPIN Rating:5 of 10

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Release Date: November 22, 2010
Label: RCA

The year's most shameless upstart tries to plug into the zeitgeist by playing toxic: "Be too sweet and you'll be a goner / Yep, I'll pull a Jeffrey Dahmer," she zings on a yodeling title track cowritten with her mom. Like most messes, Ke$ha is crazy with contradictions. On her chart-topping "We R Who We R," she sends out pride vibes to bullied gays. On "Grow a Pear," she emasculates a potential boyfriend: "I just can't date a dude with a vag." Constant club-pop hooks, courtesy of executive producer Dr. Luke (with help from mentor Max Martin plus Benny Blanco, Ammo, and others) render the hypocrisy nearly irrelevant; but if they dry up, yikes.