On Friday, January 27, Kehlani brought something sweet, sexy, and savage into the music world. After attempting suicide because of the rumor and rather harsh comments on Twitter that were spreading about her cheating on NBA star, Kyrie Irving, the R&B artist took some time for herself. Now almost nine months later, Kehlani has proven through her newly-released album that she’s not afraid to share what she’s gone through and helps her fans understand her perspective on love.
The “SweetSexySavage” album, also known as SSS, begins with a spoken word poem by Reyna Biddy. Kehlani makes it clear that she’s not going to apologize for who she is, but she will apologize if you can’t understand that.
She continues her album by being straightforward and honest about her experiences with her past lovers. She also criticizes herself based on how she felt she acted in certain relationships. This was a unique take on her part, because artists usually tend to write songs about people they’ve had experiences with and not talk about themselves while being in that situation. In the first song, “Keep On,” she says, “You can tell the world that I’m a narcissist. I would think they’d listen to you. ’Cause I ain’t been the best that I coulda been.” She tells you that she goes crazy in her single “CRZY,” one way or another she will love you in her single “Undercover,” she might do you dirty in her single “Do U Dirty,” she’s going to take her own advice in her single “Advice,” and she tells you that she’s in her feelings in her song “In My Feelings.” This is just a few of her straightforward comments throughout her album.
Because Kehlani is unafraid to share her thoughts and experiences throughout the album, this was a way to help women not be afraid to be as frank as she is. It’s also very personal. So whether you know about Kehlani’s past or not, after hearing the entire album, you’ll feel like you just had a conversation with her one-on-one and truly understand the pain she has gone through, the mistakes she’s made, and how much of her love she’s willing to give in the end.