- 2 hours ago
Billboard Women in Music 2026 Impact Award recipient, Kehlani, Kehlani takes us deep into her creative process and emotional journey behind her latest single, "Folded," and her self-titled album. From bedroom recording sessions to navigating the complexities of the music industry, Kehlani opens up about her passion for R&B, the challenges of staying true to her artistry, and the impact her music has had on fans and the genre itself. She also talks about collaborating with iconic artists like Ludacris, Lil Wayne, and Clipse, the unexpected success of “Folded” and more!
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00:00There are some people who are like, I can't wait for y'all to stop listening to this toxic song,
00:03like this song is so toxic. And other people are like, oh girl, it's a sex song, like she just
00:08wanted to get cracked. And then there's other songs that's like, okay, so they had you messed
00:12up and he's gonna take them back and you just folded the clothes like that. I'm like, oh wow,
00:16let's talk about it some more.
00:26This album was two more albums before this. I think I was on tour and every single break I had
00:31in between all the tours, I was living in an apartment at the time and my engineer would
00:35come over and I was recording in my bedroom. So for months in between these touring months,
00:40every time we had a break, I was just in my room with my engineer writing completely alone
00:46to beat packs. And there's all this like kind of darker, emotional, I was like processing
00:53a lot of things that like were happening that I was like being completely silent, dealing
00:57with all this external chaos, but like I was muted. I was going through so much that I wasn't
01:01speaking and the only thing I was able to do was really like write in my room. And then
01:06I went to Hawaii to see my cousins and my friends and surf a little bit and write. And we
01:12made
01:12one song and I was like, it is not time for this weird ass album. Get right in the game,
01:18girl. Like it's not time for this right now. You want to go alternative so bad. And it's
01:22just not that. I know what time it is. We admitted, okay, it's time for myself titled.
01:27Like if there was ever a time it's right now. I just went on a really big tour. There was
01:32just all this chaos that I was at the center of. I just came out of it and went on
01:36kind of
01:37this like redemption tour of like, let me see who really is still here with me through
01:41all the chaos. And I was like, okay, all right, let's do it. I started making that album.
01:46That album was also not true to me at the time. I think it was a part of me, but
01:53I think
01:53I was shooting for it in this like, it's my self titled. I've got to go big. I've, it's
01:58got to be like, I've got to pull out all my stops and we made fold it. I was supposed
02:10to work on the feature. The feature didn't work out. I said, you know what? Let's just
02:14go to this studio house and let's take our shoes off and get in our sweatpants and just
02:18like make some music. And we made that song. And I remember sending it to everybody and
02:23being like, I don't know. We just kind of keep this one on replay. Like this one kind of
02:27has something to it. I don't know. I know it's not the club banger of the century that
02:31everybody wants is looking for, for my big comeback after my hiatus. Like typically, you
02:37know, you got the summer single and it's like the banger. It's just like, it's good R&B
02:41song. And then folded became what it became. And it gave me this really cool insight as
02:46to, okay, people might be in a receptive space for good old R&B. And I think in the past,
02:55people do this weird thing with R&B where they complain all the time about, is R&B dead?
03:00Is R&B dead? And there's so much of it out there. But R&B is also a genre that
03:05has so
03:05many sub genres within it and so many influences and so many successful people that are in current
03:10R&B are very much influenced by a lot of other sounds that they draw in. I'm like, okay, you
03:16guys might just be ready for some like good, traditional like R&B. And that made me excited
03:23because I haven't gotten to make that since my first album. So I went back in and now, you
03:28know, months later, literally months, Folded was made in June, came out in July. Months
03:33later, I have an R&B album. Folded told me everything. There's this sensitivity that all artists have.
03:39That's like, should I make what I want to make if you guys as a society aren't ready or really
03:46don't
03:47want it? No matter how much you say you want it. I will never forget people saying I was over
03:54singing.
03:54The songs are too long. And she's, does she have to do all that at the end of it? She's,
04:01you're singing too much. Reminds me of an interview I saw Missy Elliott saying labels literally called
04:05her in and told her she couldn't executive produce R&B albums anymore because people just didn't care
04:10about singing songs. R&B felt like that for a while. I definitely was like, dang, am I gonna do
04:15all of this just for y'all to say, you're, you're doing too much. But Folded showed me, I think
04:22people
04:22want good music. And that's not to say that there isn't any out. I have a lot of peers that
04:27I like
04:27adore who I think are doing it incredibly well. They're also getting a lot of good shine right now.
04:33And it just speaks to the genre and it speaks to what people want from the genre. If we give
04:37them what they want, it's really at the core of what we want. All the R&B artists, we want
04:41R&B to
04:41be back. We want good long songs. We want three verses and bridges and, and modulations and all
04:48the things. We want that too. We just didn't think anybody else wanted it. I had a really hard time
04:53with features in the last couple of years. It was just hard to get them. It was hard to get
04:57them to
04:57return my calls. It was hard to get it to happen. It just, I don't blame anyone. There was just
05:02a lot going on.
05:03It was just so seamless. Like some of them were people calling me being like, yo, sis,
05:09let me know if it's something I could hop on. I was like, wait, what? Yeah, you could do that.
05:13What the hell? Like, and yeah, I mean, I even had reached a certain point where I was like,
05:17we have to stop adding people to songs, guys, because there's a lot of, there's a lot of features.
05:20But to me, when I think of myself titled, I think of something that makes my inner little girl
05:27who wanted a dream album one day. If I was putting it together, I would just go buck wild and
05:32just
05:32live out all my dreams and be like, matter of fact, I'm going to try to get everybody I ever
05:36wanted.
05:37And I did that. That's too many features for y'all. Take it up with Jesus. That's been my favorite
05:41part
05:42of this whole experience is kind of like cracking open the classic people who have been kind of
05:49pigeonholed out of their like thing for the last however long music's been kind of dumbed down.
05:57And they've all been like, wait, you want to, you came to me for what I'm, what I really love
06:01to do.
06:01Like, you don't want me to make some like muted, you know, 2020s version of this. Like,
06:06you want to take it back and do it for real. They're just as geeked as me. So that's been
06:10really cool.
06:11Yeah, man, I have this Ludacris verse. Ludacris is just one of those people that it would never be not
06:16good. Like he has maintained artistic greatness the entire time. And it's so signature to him.
06:26Like, I have a Ludacris verse that still sound like classic Ludacris. I have a Lil Wayne verse
06:31that's classic Lil Wayne. I have a verse from the clips that is classic. Like, that's the cool thing
06:37about I think what's happening on my album is none of these feel random and they don't feel like I
06:44just
06:44threw someone on there for the name factor. If I was growing up listening to R&B and these were
06:51the
06:51classic hip hop R&B pairings, everybody did just that. Like all of these people I went to were like,
06:59oh, this sounds like what I really love to do. Like, I'm about to have fun with this. And it
07:05really feels
07:05like that. None of it feels like they were trying to meet me on like a 2026 level. It kind
07:10of felt like
07:11I stepped into their world. So that was really fun. I really want to be able to do those really
07:17cool
07:19artistic curated things. Like I want to do this album. I like Carnegie Hall with an orchestra.
07:25I want some of these songs to make it into movies. I want this to lead me into like soundtrack
07:29trust
07:30where I can be brought in and like work on a soundtrack. You never really know what anything
07:36means when it comes to like awards. I've been completely gagged. And then I've also been
07:40completely not shocked. I wasn't shocked when Folta got nominated because everybody was just telling me
07:45it was for months, every day. Get your shelf ready for your Grammy girl. With Crash, I was like, wow,
07:51everybody really hated this. And then it got nominated for some things. So those things you don't really know.
07:57So I try not to think about those, but I really want to do really big shows, really cool shows,
08:01really cool experiences. And ultimately just like have a really historical personal moment for me.
08:08And hopefully keep adding new conversation to the genre because that's the coolest thing that
08:13Folded has done beyond anything is I'm watching the conversation change. And I'm a part of this
08:19conversation that keeps appearing every day is like, oh, it's getting quoted up there with like love
08:24by Keisha Cole. Like this is our generation's love by Keisha Cole when it comes on and everybody's
08:29leaving the club at two in the morning, or the club's been popping the trap music all night and
08:34then Folded comes on and everybody sings it. It's cool that it's making history in that kind of way.
08:39And I just want to keep being surprised, honestly. I rarely see people actually have the right
08:45conversation about the song. There's some people who are like, I can't wait for y'all to stop listening
08:50to this toxic song. Like this song is so toxic. And other people are like, oh girl, it's a sex
08:55song.
08:55Like she just wanted to get cracked. And then there's other songs that's like, okay, so they
09:00had you messed up and he's going to take them back. And you just folded the clothes like that.
09:03I'm like, oh wow, let's talk about it some more because it's actually, there's a lot that goes
09:08into the emotion that we're talking about. And I think it's a really mature perspective.
09:11Being able to see it cause a conversation like that was really, was really cool because that's
09:15really how we wrote it. We were sitting there like, okay, but like you really don't want to say bye.
09:19Like you might've overreacted, didn't you? And then you got to be embarrassed to tell
09:23them to come pick up their clothes. And then like, that's embarrassing, but it's kind of hot.
09:27Like there's, there was a lot of levels to it. So yeah, it was, it was exactly what we intended.
09:32Now the only meme I see on my timeline is, I'm not Kaylana, your clothes will be
09:35and it's like in a garbage bag or at the Goodwill. Someone said it will be in Plato's allegory of
09:41the cave.
09:44Right. There we are. There was a lot of times where I wanted to fight the,
09:48I've been doing this for way too long allegations. And then here comes a song that is introducing me to
09:52people.
09:53on my fifth studio album and what is my eighth project, I think in general. And some people
09:58are just finding out who I am and you have to be not like rigid to that being possibilities.
10:06Folded is just a good song. Like I think it is just like, people keep asking me about what I
10:11think the magic sauce is in Folded. And beyond it being just a great R&B song, I have a
10:17deeper,
10:18longer theory that it's just, it's about where I'm at in my life. And I don't think that there
10:24was another time in my life that I could have handled the success that I'm currently receiving
10:29and the way I'm receiving it other than now. And I think just God is the only one who can
10:33see that
10:34like timeline and that internal timeline more than anything. And I'm ready now. So I, I hear you.
10:39I understand. I've been growing up in front of everyone since I was 13. Some people saw me on TV
10:46when I was 15. Some people have known me since my mixtape at 19. And I have quite literally just
10:53lived all of it in front of everyone. I'm just at the age where it's finally all clicking. Something
10:58happens when you turn 30. It's just true. That's just where I am. I'm 30. Everything's making sense.
11:03My motherhood is going incredibly well. My family life, my friends, my whole internal world is just
11:08finally, I guess, yeah, it's clicking, I guess, but I would attribute it to just, I'm, I'm finally 30.
11:16You know, I've learned a lot about what it means to carry your, your morality and your humanity
11:27and be under a microscope for it. I've learned a lot about what, you know, that expect expectation of
11:35like perfectionism looks like. I've learned a lot about what kind of pressure that comes with.
11:40I learned a lot about how to handle it correctly. And I've learned a lot of it through mishandling it
11:44and, you know, being contradictory and being hypocritical and kind of, that's just a human
11:51thing. And I think it's kind of something that everybody goes through when there is something you're
11:57passionate about that's related to morality and humanity. And like, it involves two very opposing
12:02opinions. And I'm just doing it in front of a gazillion billion people. The most important thing
12:07for me was to learn how to be called in and let people teach me and call me in, but
12:13also to really
12:15just trust that I know my heart and trust that even in the instances when I can't explain to millions
12:21of people why I've done something or what this meant, that there was a good reason because that's who
12:28I am. I never had a plan B. I trusted that no matter what, if I had to fall on
12:32my face,
12:33I'd find a way to pick it back up. That's how I've always been my whole life. I would be
12:35outside
12:36selling candy. If I had to, that would be fine. But this has always been my, once it started rolling,
12:42oh, I'm going to find a way to do this. And you also have to be okay with the ebbs
12:45and the flows.
12:46You know, like I said earlier, it's going to change. You might come out and be the greatest thing to
12:51people that they ever saw. And then you might have a couple of years where the venues might get smaller
12:55and the shows might change. The energy might change. The numbers might change. That's not
12:59what this is about. This isn't about how many nods you got this year, how many acknowledgement,
13:03you know, I know I'm here to talk about an acknowledgement. So that's, I'm very grateful.
13:07But more importantly, it's about the people who come to see you at the shows and the people who
13:13listen to the music and the people who say they were changed by a song they heard and they got
13:18through
13:18their breakup because of this song, or this happened because of this song, or when you spoke in this
13:23interview about XYZ, I received it from you because I love you. And maybe my friend couldn't tell me
13:27that it's about, it's about those real lives that you change. And when you focus on that,
13:32the art arises to that occasion. And then, you know, these kinds of things do come.
13:36What impact had the most moment? Honestly, it was probably when the remix package of my song
13:43started developing because it was all happening completely naturally. There was only two artists
13:47that I asked to be a part of it. And that's when like, it was already taking its own shape.
13:51I really was just waking up and my favorite artists ever were just covering my song.
13:56I just remember being like, what is happening? Like, I can't really tell what's happening.
14:00I kind of feel like I know what's happening, but I, but I'm, I'm, it's making no sense to me.
14:04We were able to actually put it out. And that was just, it was, it was really cool.
14:08I would never not be a fan. And all these people were people that I've actively like been like,
14:13you're my favorite, whether it was like online or like in person, I was like, by the way,
14:17I love you. Like I live for you to have those moments kind of like, you know,
14:20wrap around and, and those people like, you know, reach back and touch back. Um, yeah,
14:24I think it was just like, you know, stay in this attitude of wanting to like,
14:30when you feel inclined to do that, continue to do it. You know,
14:32when you want to show people love, do it. When you want to be a fan of something,
14:35do it. When you meet people you love,
14:37like don't hold back and you should tell them and you just don't know when they're
14:40going to, you know, return it. It just shows you that there's no timeline or certified clock
14:47on when God feels like it's, I guess your ceiling, I guess whatever ceiling you
14:53invent for yourself, it just shows that it doesn't compare to like what ceiling God has for you.
14:58And that there's just no way to ever tell. I never really had expectations. I wasn't the kid
15:03that like started singing in front of a computer screen of like Madison Square Garden on the computer
15:09screen. It was like, I'm making a collage of this. I'm going to do this one day.
15:12I really just was a kid that loved to sing and I got the opportunity to sing and I started
15:18to sing
15:18and then I got the opportunity to drop a project and I dropped it and so on and so forth.
15:22And it
15:22came very like gratitude based. I'm just happy to be here. I'm just happy to be here. And this has
15:27definitely allowed me to reshape my framework in that kind of way where now I can be like, wait,
15:33is it okay that I want to do bigger things? Is it okay that I kind of like,
15:37I have some things that I think like I can actually, I have the potential to do.
15:42And so it's like completely like rerouted me in that way. I do want to play Madison Square Garden
15:46one day. I do want to be able to sell out stadiums and be in those kinds of rooms. And
15:51I do want to
15:51be able to work with people I always dreamed of working with and really breaking down those kinds of
15:56barriers. Coco Jones is incredible. Incredible voice, incredible commitment on stage, super well-rounded,
16:03Destin of course, but he's, he's doing it in this cool, funky, like different. It's very Justin
16:09Timberlake to me. I have an artist named Ezra who is 19 years old. He's from Fresno, California.
16:17He sounds like an entire 90s R&B group in one boy. He produces and writes like it all himself.
16:26He just
16:26blows my mind. He's staying true to it. It's incredible because he's 19. So I'm like, what do you know
16:31about
16:31this? But also like, it's all he's ever grown up with in love. So he's killing it. There's a lot
16:35of
16:35people. There's Ombre, incredible. And she's also has this really cool alternative, like kind of
16:41rockstar influence. I don't know. That's the thing. It's like the genre is being upheld. And it's just
16:46that people have to be willing to accept that things have always had other influences. We wouldn't have
16:51D'Angelo if we held him to a standard of not being influenced by folky kind of things. It's so
16:57much room to
16:57play. And I think a lot of people are doing it well. Incredible R&B ingredients are like really
17:03musical, you know, real instruments being played, vocals handled with care and, and, you know, limits
17:10being pushed here and there with the vocals. You know, I have my limitations and we pushed it. There's
17:16a lot of, I can't, I can't sing that. Yes, you can. I've heard you sing it before. Sing it
17:20on this
17:21project. Just really mature lyrics. I think it's a very 30 year old album, if I could say so much.
17:27The paper plane that used to be on my face, it is no longer really on my face. It's kind
17:32of there
17:33a little bit when I don't have makeup on, but I've been getting it removed where I look really hard.
17:36I run into people with it all the time and I'm always so curious because I'm like,
17:40why did you get that? Because I barely knew why I got it initially, but the meaning kept unfolding
17:50as time went on. But I run into people with it all the time and I'm like, period girl,
17:54not telling me. Was it just for me? The funny thing is running into people with tattoos that have
17:59tattoos of me that have tattoos that no longer exist because I have cover-ups or removals. And so now
18:06they have a portrait of me with the tattoo on its face that I no longer have. And I was
18:11like,
18:11that is so funny. So I don't know. I may look completely different. Give it a couple years.
18:19The conversation is now, y'all just got here? Y'all just now seeing this? What about names 10 years,
18:2710 to 12 years of things? I verbatim said when people trashed my last album, I said,
18:34watch, if my next album does well, people are going to then bring up the last album and say,
18:39oh yeah, but y'all was hating on this one. That's just kind of how it works. It's always cyclical
18:44like
18:44that. But what's cool is that the people who are just now discovering are now being shown a Kehlani
18:49history vault that is adding to the conversation of what people think I deserve and what people
18:56think it's time for and what people think has always existed in me and what's possible for me
19:02and what people see for me that sometimes I don't even see that far. So it is the first time
19:07I think I
19:07have that opportunity to kind of like bounce all those perspectives at the same time. I'm just happy
19:14to be here. I'm happy all this is happening. I'm happy life looks like a 180 compared to this time
19:20last year. And I hope, you know, next year that is the same thing only in a positive way. I
19:24got to
19:24be careful how I speak. That is my only wishes.
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