We all have those artists that we absolutely love. Whether it’s Beyonce, Rihanna, Michael Jackson or Taylor Swift. Mine just so happens to be Kehlani. Kehlani is an up and coming artist from Oakland, California. Some people may know her as the lead singer in a group called “PopLyfe” while others may know her from the song “Gangsta” in the movie “Suicide Squad”. She recently released her debut album “SweetSexySavage” last week and decided to do signings in a few cities to celebrate its release. One of those cities happened to be Atlanta. Decatur being so close to Atlanta, I decided to take advantage of this opportunity and meet her since I know this would never happen back in my home state of North Carolina.
The signing was scheduled to start at 2pm, but I knew I had to be there early in order to get a good place in line, or at least a ticket to see her. So, I decided to venture out into Little Five Points around 11:00am when the store that was hosting her signing, Criminal Records, opened. I arrived at approximately 11:10 and a line had already started to form outside. I immediately ran inside to grab my “ticket” which consisted of her album and a wristband. Once I got those, I hopped in line and played the waiting game. I met an adorable couple that was standing in front of me, and we spent a good little while having random conversations to help the time move by a little faster and to forget about how cold it was outside (the high was 45 degrees and the wind was blowing pretty aggressively).
At around 1:00 PM everyone started to get a little impatient and we just spent that hour constantly checking her SnapChat to see what she was doing and if she was close. Shortly thereafter her “crew” showed up, so we knew she was close and everyone started to freak out a little. I’m thinking to myself, “ Is this really happening? Will I really get to see her today?”, and then the line started to move.
My heart began to race a little, but they were only letting 30 people in at a time to get their CD signed, and I was in the 3rd group to go, so I had time to get myself together. When my group of 30 people was sent in I was filled with nervousness and I saw her. It was Kehlani. She look amazing and was glowing. When I got to the front of the line I was “star-struck” and didn’t really know what to say. I had the biggest goofy smile on my face when I saw her and she returned the favor with a nice soft smile. I handed her my album, we exchanged a few words, she signed it and handed it back to me. When I left the store the couple and I chatted about how happy we were and how sweet Kehlani is as a person. Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to take pictures with or of her past a certain point but it was okay because I finally got to see in her in person.
So, I guess the question is: Was it worth standing in the cold for 3 hours, and losing most of the feeling in my feet to finally meet her? And I would answer that as YES. Would I do it again? Absolutely. Except next time, I would wear a lot more layers and bring more snacks to eat while I’m waiting in line. Fortunately, she’ll be back in Atlanta on April 7 for a concert and I definitely plan on being there. I’m sure it’ll be amazing.
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