That year, they also made the “spiritual choice” to spend a year living completely sober. Promoting the album while stuck at home in the midst of the early COVID-19 lockdown, Kehlani even co-produced and directed most of the visuals. In May 2020, Kehlani released their second album It Was Good Until It Wasn’t, which reached Number 2 on the Billboard Chart and featured collaborations with James Blake, Ty Dolla $ign, Jhené Aiko and a since-removed Tory Lanez feature. In March 2019, they gave birth to Adeya, whom they now co-parent with their ex, musician Javaughn Young-White. “Because the way that it chased me around for years… If I hadn’t been as strong as I was, I would have quit.”īut, of course, they didn’t. “I have moments where I’m like, how did I come back from that privately, and how did I come back from that publicly?” they say. Their 2017 debut studio album SweetSexySavage was a commercial success, peaking at Number 3 on the US Billboard chart, but Kehlani was still reeling from the fallout of the breakup with Irving when it was recorded. “I’m just so used to earth-shattering shit.” “Ever since 2016, me going viral for anything that isn’t music gives me the fucking shudders,” they say. A couple years later, Irving made a point of putting the cheating storylines to rest.Įven now, it’s still difficult for Kehlani to see their name in the news or trending. Kehlani ended up in the hospital after a suicide attempt and considered quitting music. In early 2016, Kehlani endured a significant mental health crisis after gossip sites picked up on a rumour that they’d cheated on their then-boyfriend, NBA player Kyrie Irving. And it took a prolonged period of rebuilding and personal growth to make it through. That Kehlani is still here is significant in itself. “And it’s always going to mean the most to me for the rest of my life, because it’s my first fully comfortable and out piece of music.” “I made the album that I wanted to make,” Kehlani says. “I’ve had to actually sit and write down, ‘this is a moment where I’m experiencing what I think is joy.’ How do I implement this? Not only implement this into my life, but how do I let this lead and let these experiences be the prioritising factors?”įrom there, Blue Water Road – executive produced by longtime collaborator Pop Wansel and named after the street it was recorded on – emerged. “I think there’s a big difference between happiness, contentment and joy,” Kehlani says.
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Even in the midst of these significant changes – or perhaps, because of them – the album sounds like it comes from a place of security, of knowing oneself both in and out of a relationship and learning, in Kehlani’s words, how to prioritise joy in daily life. Over the past two years, they came out as a lesbian, began using she/they pronouns and chose to have their breast implants removed. The songs came from a pivotal period in Kehlani’s life. It was recorded at an Airbnb in Malibu, not far from where we’re having breakfast. Kehlani’s third studio album, Blue Water Road, is due out April 29 th. “A check-in and some wine,” they confirm. “We had a check-in,” Kehlani tells me, before cackling when I inform them that celebrating a seven-month anniversary with a “check-in” is very gay behaviour. “Elsa was about to pass out from heatstroke.”) They also observed the seven-month anniversary of their relationship with the rapper 070 Shake. (“She was dragging Elsa around this party,” Kehlani says, shaking their head. Kehlani spent the weekend celebrating the third birthday of their daughter, Adeya, with a giant water gun fight and a special appearance from Frozen ’s Elsa. “That’s probably what I’m gonna name my future book.”
“If I could name this chapter of my life, it’d be, ‘Oh… so, this is life!’” Kehlani says, enunciating the ellipsis as “dot-dot-dot” to make sure I get the punctuation right. These days, they have the energy of someone who has recently figured out the key to happiness. Kehlani released their first mixtape at 19 and has been prolific since: the two mixtapes (including 2016’s Grammy-nominated You Should Be Here) and two studio albums that followed cemented them as one of the defining R&B artists of their generation. I’m at that point.” It’s an understandable slow-down period. “I’m trying to get through all these James Baldwin essays. “I’m trying to watch three documentaries a week,” they say.
“I really do.” Their biggest concern these days is more in line with a beach-bum retiree than a global R&B star: they’re trying to figure out how to fit surfing daily into their schedule. “I feel old, yo,” Kehlani says as they pick at a bowl of granola and an egg sandwich. They feel more like they’re about to turn 50. When we meet for breakfast on a Malibu pier during a balmy mid-April morning, Kehlani is just a few weeks from their twenty-seventh birthday.