All About Kehlani

 

All About Kehlani

Oakland-born singer and songwriter Kehlani has been dominating pop R&B for years with her popularity continuing to grow. Kehlani has created a unique sound that many new R&B fans love. She is inspired by artists like Lauryn Hill and Erykah Badu.

Started Young

Her performance journey started at a young age as she attended the Oakland School for the Arts in her childhood years where she studied dance. Although she originally aspired to pursue dance, at fourteen she was recruited as the lead vocalist by an Oakland cover band that went by the name of PopLyfe. The band made it onto America’s Got Talent’s 6th season (2011) and ended up finishing in fourth place.

It was during this time that Kehlani was told she should pursue a solo career. After disputes with the group, she decided to leave and in 2013 got an offer from Nick Cannon to join a new rap group which she ultimately turned down.

Soon after that the performer released her first solo track on SoundCloud titled "ANTISUMMERLUV" which again caught the attention of Nick Cannon. He then bought her an apartment and time in the studio in Los Angeles. This led to the release of her first mixtape in 2014 Cloud 19. In 2015 she opened for rapper G-Eazy on his “From the Bay to the Universe” tour.

Growing In Stature

2015 also brought Kehlani’s Grammy-nominated second mixtape You Should Be Here to the world, which was received extremely well as it debuted at number five on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and got her a record deal with Atlantic Records. The album’s tour sold out every North American show as well as numerous Europe dates. By this time, she was a major up and coming artist recognized by both Rolling Stone and Complex magazine.

The predictions were correct as 2016 took her career up a level once again. The artist featured on One Direction singer Zayn’s single “Wrong” which gained attention from both fandoms. She then also went on to have her song “Gangsta” featured in DC’s Suicide Squad reaching number forty-one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Debut Album

In 2018 after the release of her debut studio album SweetSexySavage (2017) , Kehlani opened for both Demi Lovato (Tell Me You Love Me World Tour, North America Leg) and Halsey (Hopeless Fountain Kingdom World Tour, Oceania leg). Over the rest of 2018 and 2019 the performer did some major collaborations with artists such as Charlie Puth, Cardi B, Teyana Taylor, Ty Dolla Sign, Justin Bieber, and more. While also releasing her 2019 EP While We Wait which includes one of her top singles Nights Like This Ft Ty Dolla Sign.

Her second studio album It Was Good Until It Wasn't (2020) debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 charts in the United States and is known to fans as one of her most iconic works. She then followed up with her 2022 album Blue Water Road which has features of Justin Bieber, Blxst, and Syd. Through the rest of the years she released her fourth studio album Crash 2024, and While We Wait 2, a tribute to her 2019 Mixtape.

 

Most recently in 2025 Kehlani’s song “Folded” was nominated at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards for Best R&B Performance and Best R&B Song. Along with her music career the artist has also used her platform to advocate for human rights and political issues. With each new project she grows her fanbase and significantly adds to modern R&B. With fans patiently waiting for her new album Kehlani continues to grow and receive her flowers as the years come.