LOS ANGELES (AP) — Whereas recording “Crash,” Kehlani confronted a career-defining determination: Persist with the acquainted R&B sound that helped construct the singer’s identify, or danger all of it to showcase their full inventive vary.
For Kehlani, who makes use of she/they pronouns, selecting the latter was a bet, however trusting their instincts paid off in the long term. Their fourth studio album grew to become a catalyst to incomes Grammy nods, a large world tour and proving that their versatility ought to by no means be in query.
“I was taking a risk, because I’m one of those artists that have been around long enough for people to pigeonhole me into a sound,” mentioned Kehlani, who first realized she was being cornered musically after releasing the only “ Butterfly ” from their 2019 mixtape “While We Wait.” Although she liked the monitor, calling it a “really pretty song,” she felt a rising want to interrupt out of the field and evolve their sound.
Kehlani pushed style boundaries on “Crash,” mixing parts of R&B, rock, dance flooring, rap and nation. Their daring experimentation earned three Grammy nominations: greatest R&B progressive album for “Crash,” R&B track by means of the viral sensation monitor “ After Hours ” and greatest melodic rap efficiency for “Kehlani.”
In a latest interview with The Related Press, Kehlani mentioned crediting the dance group for “After Hours” going viral, how their pro-Palestinian stance impacted them personally, their Christmas track with GloRilla, and the way embracing a rock star persona for “Crash” challenged their well being however unlocked a artistic breakthrough for the album.
Exploring Kehlani’s varied musical reflections
Kehlani’s music mirrors their psychological state. Whereas recording “Crash,” she absolutely embraced a rock star life-style, staying up all night time and ingesting alcohol. It actually wasn’t conducive for his or her well being, however at occasions, this led to some intense, manic bursts of “expression and understanding,” which outlined the album.
“That’s what I think had to come out of me in order for ‘Crash’ to come out of me in that way,” mentioned Kehlani, who famous that each one the “chaos” delivered on the album wasn’t all the time adverse. She recorded songs in several Airbnb areas together with from a home in San Diego, the place she may surf day-after-day; discovered their grunge sound whereas going out in Harlem; and exuded their confidence whereas she laid down tracks on trip within the Dominican Republic.
“It was a rock star album made in a very rock star process,” mentioned Kehlani, whose strategy was fully totally different than their 2022 launch “Blue Water Road,” the place she was targeted extra on meditation, leaving them in a spiritually grounded area.
Today, Kehlani has discovered center floor by means of isolation and a more healthy life-style. She now works out like a “ninja warrior,” hitting the gymnasium a number of occasions a day, doing yoga and mountain climbing up mountains and incorporating more healthy consuming habits.
That helped Kehlani create the mixtape “While We Wait 2,” which launched a pair months after “Crash.” It took solely two weeks to report their newest mixtape inside their yard home whereas carrying pajamas.
“The music I make will always reflect exactly where I’m at in my mental health journey,” she mentioned.
Dance group contributes to Kehlani’s viral track
Kehlani credit the huge success of “After Hours” to the dance group on social media, because of Darius Hickman, who was behind the infectious dance problem.
The singer mentioned musicians owe gratitude to dancers like Hickman, whose video put up earlier this yr garnered greater than 3.3 million views on TikTok. The put up confirmed Hickman dancing to the intro of “After Hours.”
“Dancers are like the new DJs,” she mentioned. “They are breaking songs.”
Kehlani usually exhibits their gratitude to the numerous who looped “After Hours” into their dance movies. She tagged Hickman on their very own social media, accepting the dance problem.
“It just feels good and it brings people together,” she mentioned. “So when I noticed that it was actually doing it in real time, I was like, ‘OK, it’s beyond me now.’ I really owe it to the dancers really.”
Kehlani and GloRilla convey vacation cheer with a lure music twist
Kehlani dabbled in Christmas music practically a decade in the past with a number of low-key SoundCloud tracks. However this yr, she’s giving the vacations a daring new twist by collaborating with rapper GloRilla on “ Xmas Time,” which flips the script on conventional carols.
“I never imagined I’d be on a trap Christmas song,” mentioned Kehlani, who famous that she didn’t suppose twice when GloRilla’s workforce reached out about teaming up on the festive, bass-thumping monitor that launched final week.
“I’m such a fan of GloRilla in any shape, way or form,” she said. “She could’ve said she was making an Easter song and I would’ve been like ‘Fantastic. Girl, let’s do it.’”
How Kehlani managed psychological well being whereas being a Palestinian supporter
Regardless of warnings to guard their profession, Kehlani used their music and platform to boldly help Palestinians, marching alongside 1000’s at a pro-Palestinian rally in Los Angeles final yr.
The singer impressed followers to rally behind the trigger, however the weight of activism took a quiet toll on their psychological well being and livelihood.
“The hardest part of it for me was I had to maintain my sanity,” mentioned Kehlani, who this yr launched the “ Next 2 U ” music video. (The video opens with a poem by a Palestinian American author, and Kehlani performs in entrance of a Palestinian flag.) Kehlani mentioned she struggled with retaining tabs on the battle in Gaza and watching pals wrestle with despair due to them “bearing witness to a genocide.”
“In a whole new scope of ‘Wow, my safety, my livelihood, my career, how I take care of myself, how I take care of my family, how I feed my child,’ All of this is endangered,” she mentioned. “For a while, I felt like I was alone. … I had community leaders. I had activists. But I didn’t have another person in my world that I could be like ’What happens when you get threatened at this rate?’ Everything could crash and burn because you’re just being a person.”
Nonetheless, Kehlani stands agency of their beliefs, hoping to encourage others — together with fellow artists and entertainers — to talk out fearlessly.
“If the Grammy nominations validate anything, I hope people see that we shouldn’t be scared to speak about anything that (could be) threatening to our careers,” she mentioned. “I still went on a tour. … post speaking up for Palestine. If all of us had stuck together, who knows what kind of further change could happen.”
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The 67th Grammy Awards will likely be held Feb. 2, 2025, at Crypto.com Enviornment in Los Angeles. The present will air on CBS and stream on Paramount+. For extra protection, go to https://apnews.com/hub/grammy-awards.
