2010 promotional single by Kesha
"Cannibal" is a song by American recording artist and songwriter Kesha, from her first EP of the same name (2010). The song was written by Kesha alongside Pebe Sebert, Joshua Coleman and Mathieu Jomphe, with production completed by Ammo and Billboard. The song was released as a promotional single as part of the countdown to Kesha's EP Cannibal on November 9, 2010.
Background and recording
The track was written by Kesha Sebert, Joshua Coleman, Mathieu Jomphe and Pebe Sebert, whilst Ammo and Billboard produced the track. The track was recorded in September 2010 at Conway Recording Studios in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. The song serves as the title track to her first EP, Cannibal and was written, recorded and completed only weeks before the release of the EP.
Composition
Kesha employs a rap-sing style on the track where she raps lyrics like "Whenever you tell me I'm pretty / That's when the hunger really hits me" and "I have a heart I swear I do / Just not baby when it comes to you". "Cannibal", makes use of synth and dance driven backings while Kesha sings about maneater tendencies and makes a reference to notorious serial-killer Jeffrey Dahmer. This song is set in the key of F minor with a tempo of 130 BPM. Her vocal range spans from low note of F4 to high note of F5.[1] Present throughout the song are snippets of Kesha yodeling.[1] The use of autotune and vocoders are prominent throughout the track, also.
In popular culture
In February 2020, the song gained viral status following a dance trend using it on the TikTok app. Following the revival of interest in the song, the song reentered numerous charts, becoming a top 40 single[2] in Canada. In response, Kesha joined the app and released a video of herself performing the viral dance routine alongside Charli D'Amelio and released a lyric video for the song.[3][4]
Controversy
Following renewed interest in cannibalistic serial killer Dahmer due to the 2022 Netflix series Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, the song was criticized for a line in which he is referenced. In the second verse, Kesha sings "Be too sweet and you’ll be a goner / Yeah, I’ll pull a Jeffrey Dahmer." Co-writer Pebe Sebert defended Kesha and the song's other writers on TikTok, taking responsibility for writing the lyric and apologizing for offending the families of Dahmer's victims.[5] Very shortly after the release of the Netflix series, Kesha appeared as a musical guest in Hulu's variety special, Huluween Dragstravaganza, where a pre-filmed performance of the song was featured. As a result of the controversy, the lyric was edited and removed.[6]
