For those only familiar with Kesha in terms of her chart toppers, it's easy to dismiss the glitter fiend as little more than an unapologetic, party-hopping booze hound. While that assessment is partially true -- she does like whiskey and having fun -- there's a lot more to K-Dollar Sign-sha than that. In her cover story for VIBE, we see many more layers to Kesha, and now we heart her even more than we did before.

Kesha revealed that part of why there was such a big break between 'Cannibal' and 'Warrior' is because she had a lot of soul-searching to do -- and, appropriately enough for the Humane Society Global Ambassador, she did it with animals.

“I went swimming with whales in the middle of nowhere, it was like naked boat ladies swimming with baby whales for a week,” she said of her time off, much of which was spent in South Africa, the Galapagos Islands and Australia. “Then I was rehabilitating baby lions who were like p---ing in my tent, and I was feeding them with a bottle, because their parents orphaned them and they’re trying to rehabilitate these other lions that were kept in captivity.”

The only thing she loves as much, if not more, than literal animals are her own Animals -- her fans. She had one request for them: “It can’t be said enough: be yourself, love each other. I've had to deal with scrutiny [in Nashville] that probably isn’t even comparable to the kind of scrutiny people from a place like that face being gay or lesbian. A lot of my fans struggle with that, and it breaks my heart that people haven’t found out how to be nice to each other.”

As for what her Animals can expect from 'Warrior?' First off, there's much more to her music than her "sing-talk" style ... Just don't call it rapping, or you'll weird her out. “The first time someone called me a rapper, I started laughing,” she told VIBE. “I was shocked, and thought it was hilarious. But then, Andre 3000 was telling me how he thinks I’m a good rapper. And Wiz, who’s a good friend of mine, thinks I’m a good rapper? Snoop? It’s crazy and funny to me.”

Kesha will also bring more somber subject matter to her record. She admits that while she does enjoy partying, she's a multifaceted person (like, a full-fledged human being), and that will be reflected in 'Warrior,' her followup to 'Animal' and her 'Cannibal' E.P. “The first record was a celebration of partying and being young, but this record’s a better look at my personality," she said. "Whatever, I drink like a champion. But I can also do other stuff. I have a sense of humor about my lyrics. I’m not a train wreck, I’m just having fun.”

'Warrior' exec producer and frequent Kesha collaborator Dr. Luke concurred, telling the mag, “When Katy Perry put out ‘I Kissed a Girl,’ people [thought] she was a one-trick pony. But when you put out another record that’s great, that answers all those questions," he said. "[Kesha] doesn’t need to do anything to let people know she’s more than just a party girl. The music will speak for itself.”

A lot of 'Warrior' will cover the singer's musings on life in general, not just the fun side of it. It's not just because Kesha's deep -- it's also because she's deeper than she's been given credit for. Apparently critics never realized that, as she put eloquently previously, "You can drink and read."

“ I've really just been doing a lot of thinking about life. The first record, people tore me a new a--hole, and were f---ing steady on my balls, and tried to make me feel like I was such a piece of s---," she lamented. "I did some soul-searching, and realized nothing I’m doing is negative, it’s actually super positive. You can change peoples’ mood in a three-and-a-half minute song. So why not spread positive energy and be funny? Let [the haters] be miserable. Anyone who wants to have a good time, let’s f---ing do this.”

Watch the Kesha 'Die Young' Lyric Video

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