For many of us, the start of the COVID-19 pandemic left us back in our parents’ house, staring at the ceiling on late nights, scavenging Spotify (or Apple Music if you’re that kind of person—no judgement) for something new, to expand our music tastes because, well, there wasn’t a whole lot to do back then. And in that year, I found them again—on May 8th, 2020, Kehlani released their third studio album, It Was Good Until It Wasn’t. I couldn’t tell you how they resurfaced in my head after two long years since I first heard them featured in Cardi B’s song Ring, and what possessed me to listen to the new album in its entirety, but from then on, I was a devout fan. Here are the reasons why I fell in love with Kehlani, and why, in my humble opinion, they deserve to be recognized and regarded as one of the most influential, groundbreaking music artists of our time.
1. The Love and growth throughout their albums and mixtapes is unparalleled.
I’ll admit, as Kehlani has been in the music scene since they released their first mixtape as a love-struck yet naïve 19-year-old in 2014, I haven’t been a dedicated fan for nearly as long as thousands of others. Nonetheless, the way they write and vocalize their love for others is nothing short of a colorful, heartfelt, angelic masterpiece. IWGUIW did wonders in speaking to my soul on every single track and how I felt about one person in my life at that moment: from Toxic, to Can I, to Hate the Club and back again, Kehlani hits every possible emotion one could have about a complicated situationship in the album. Now, in 2022, from the release of their newest album Blue Water Road, a new Kehlani stricken with maturity, humility, and reflection expresses their abundant love for life and its connections, as little story, up at night, and everything hold places as my forever favorites, speaking to me about the toxic love I let go in order to put myself first. Any emotional labyrinth you as a twenty-something individual could be experiencing, Kehlani doesn’t just get it, they take pride in feeling it with you.
2. The energy of their concerts is a can’t miss, life-altering experience.
We all know the feeling of having an artist you’d sell your good soul to see in concert—and as you can naturally guess, Kehlani won that competition for me. After their Blue Water Road Trip tour in the United States was launched this past May, my friend and I wasted no time in making a last summer hurrah Portland weekend trip out of the event that we were sure would change our lives. It was clear to the Moda Center audience that a five-year absence of touring since 2017 had starved them of what they do best: performing for their fans they cherish. After performing 30 plus songs across their eight-year music career, to an all-woman backup dance crew, to an unbelievable vocal range filled with pure power, there wasn’t a soul that wasn’t struck with awe. Although they’re tragically wrapping up their final BWRT tour dates in Europe for the remainder of 2022, have no fear: Kehlani is selling tickets to a livestream of their sold-out London show on December 4th—and believe me, regardless of your fan status, prepare to be enlightened.
3. They unapologetically own their sexuality and produce music for those experience non-traditional love.
I was perhaps sold, along with thousands of other Gen Z and millennial listeners, on Kehlani’s nonconformist musical dedication when first listening to their sweetly softspoken song Honey in 2017, captivated by the lyrics, “I like my girls just like I like my honey, sweet, a little selfish…” Make no mistake, Kehlani produces their magic for the world around them from not only writing their lyrics from a woman-to-woman lens, but additionally, most of their songs throughout their nearly decade-long career adapt gender neutral language, as the artist is well-aware that sexuality is a complex, ebb-and-flow concept that necessitates leaving traditional heterosexual limits behind. It became a core memory of mine, eyes wide and smiling from the balcony, when yet another proposal was sprung during their effortlessly perfect love song melt, with Kehlani proudly boasting, “I think I got the record for like most gay proposals at a concert ever in history, like…ok you know what, let me say lesbian, because the last time I said something about gay, all the Lady Gaga fans were like, ‘excuse me!’”…but shout out all the lesbians in the building! This one’s for y’all.”
And just in case an extensive musical career hitting all the right figurative notes wasn’t enough, Kehlani has broken out into their first acting role by being featured on Showtime’s season 3 of The L Word, where, according to Variety, the singer “will play Ivy, a makeup artist and young parent who heads up Alice’s glam team and falls for the wrong person.” Season 3 was conveniently released to viewers on Friday, November 18th, just in time for all of our fangirling needs to be met over Thanksgiving break.
For more of a prime example of the pure, transparent, down-to-earth beauty our music scene needs more of in 2023, follow Kehlani on directly Instagram, TikTok, and Spotify of course, invest in her website, and don’t forget check out her top fan account @kehlanisource. It’s one of my greatest comforts to know that even if my music taste changes throughout the years ahead, I will never not take pride in loving Kehlani with my whole heart.