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<\/a>It was Halloween 2025 when R&B artist Kehlani caught up with Inked Magazine<\/i>. She was leaving parent-teacher conferences with her daughter Adeya, anticipating the holiday hijinks ahead. \u201cShe is Wednesday. I am Morticia. We are about to get it popping,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
At the time, she was just weeks away from being honored by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers at the Women Behind the Music event, and from earning two Grammy nominations for Best R&B Song and Best R&B Performance for her hit single \u201cFolded.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFolded\u201d has become a movement of sorts, unfolding into six remixes by six vocal celebrity heavyweights: JoJo, Ne-Yo, Brandy, Toni Braxton, Mario, and Tank.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis happened completely naturally \u2014 I didn\u2019t do any of this,\u201d Kehlani insisted. While she initiated conversations with JoJo and Ne-Yo, the remaining four came in through an unexpected domino effect: Brandy hears it, wants to sing it. Braxton gets wind of it and wants it as soon as she recovers from an illness. Suddenly, the others wanted in on it, too.<\/p>\n
Fans were calling for a package deal: all six songs on one platform. And so, the \u201cHomage Pack\u201d was born. \u201cIt was just freaking natural, dude. Like, I don\u2019t know, it\u2019s been the craziest thing ever,\u201d she said. And still, the interest keeps coming. \u201cMaybe \u2018Folded\u2019 never ends. Maybe the clothes never actually get folded,\u201d she said jokingly.<\/p>\n
Kehlani released her single \u201cOut the Window\u201d in early November, conjuring flashbacks of \u201890s R&B, and giving fans vibes of Aaliyah, Janet Jackson, and Braxton, to name a few. The music video surged to more than a million views in one month on YouTube Charts and has held steady.<\/p>\n
And 2026 promises another swell: her fifth studio album, which the artist said is \u201calmost finished.\u201d And while there were few clues about the release date, online in-studio photos of Kehlani and James Fauntleroy suggest a powerful collaboration.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have way more collaborations than I\u2019ve probably ever had, and they\u2019re all people that I really, really respect,\u201d Kehlani said of the upcoming album. \u201cAnd I think the coolest thing about it is, there\u2019s no features that feel like, \u2018Oh, a label threw this together,\u2019 or \u2018Two people were popping right now, so we just threw it together.\u2019 It was all super organic; everybody\u2019s just loving the music that\u2019s being made. I have people that I adore and look up to on this, so I\u2019m really excited about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kehlani has built her life and career on instinct and evolution, characteristics that have both helped and hindered her. To understand the woman she is today, it\u2019s important to know where she came from.<\/p>\n Kehlani started making music around 2009, but her first major foray on the big stage was in 2011, when the 14 year old and her pop cover band PopLyfe performed on \u201cAmerica\u2019s Got Talent,\u201d making it to the top four before being eliminated. The band disbanded soon afterward, and Kehlani began her venture as a solo artist.<\/p>\n \u201cI just started dropping music on the internet and people started, you know, rocking with it,\u201d she told Hot 97\u2019s Peter Rosenberg in 2015. \u201cI think people just liked it because it was natural and it didn\u2019t feel forced.\u201d<\/p>\n Her breakout song was \u201cANTISUMMERLUV,\u201d a heartfelt homage to summer romance that goes nowhere. \u201cIt was just a good R&B song,\u201d she told Rosenberg. \u201cI think that really just kind of set things on fire.\u201d<\/p>\n That flame sparked her first major mixtape release in 2014, \u201cCloud 19,\u201d followed by \u201cYou Should Be Here\u201d in 2015, which earned a Grammy nomination under the Best Urban Contemporary Album category, the young performer\u2019s first nod by the Recording Academy. Her first studio album, \u201cSweetSexySavage,\u201d was fueling her solo music career, and as she worked on her next album, COVID-19 swept the globe.<\/p>\n Quarantine had the potential to put her new album on the back burner indefinitely, but Kehlani took charge instead. She became her own makeup artist, hairstylist, and wardrobe stylist, working alongside her videographer, Bri Alysse, who was sheltering in place with her.<\/p>\n The duo created music videos, such as \u201cEverybody Business\u201d and \u201cToxic,\u201d and shot the album\u2019s cover art: Kehlani peeking over her backyard wall, watering hose in hand. On the back cover, the scene flips to the artist\u2019s face, with an ominous scene of the world crumbling in the background. This would be her second studio album, \u201cIt Was Good Until It Wasn\u2019t,\u201d a 15-song compilation of deep, personal jams of tangled emotions and clarity. \u201cIt tells the story of the album, of a romantic situation I was in, with everything behind me being really crazy, and what\u2019s in front of me being really crazy too,\u201d Kehlani shared with Pitchfork in 2020.<\/p>\n In 2022, her next studio album, \u201cblue water road,\u201d unveiled Kehlani\u2019s blooming maturity, with attention-grabbing songs like \u201caltar\u201d and \u201cup at night,\u201d featuring Justin Bieber. The album received praise from critics and fans alike. In 2024, \u201cCrash,\u201d her fourth studio album, exposed the star\u2019s emotional complexity and honesty, with standout tracks \u201cAfter Hours\u201d and \u201cNext 2 U.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI actually made this album manic as hell. I am bipolar, and I didn\u2019t discover (that) until literally the week of album release,\u201d she shared. \u201cIt was a diagnosis that kind of made the album make sense for me because the album-making process was probably the most chaotic\u2026\u201d She combined pieces of songs with other pieces of songs, she explained, creating music in different countries, cities, and houses.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a pretty insane process, and I just wanted to be able to have a pivot that got me out of like, \u2018OK, I\u2019m making the same thing over and over again.\u2019 I just really wanted to take the chance for a pivot, and that combined with an insane manic episode\u2026 boom, crash,\u201d she explained, adding, \u201cI am happy that I put something out that was daring on my behalf. It got some cool nods, and I think it got people to take a peek into all the different ways my brain can work. The tour was the thing that really reignited my love for the album.\u201d<\/p>\n On November 21, 2025, Kehlani was honored with the Alchemist Award at Femme It Forward\u2019s Give Her FlowHERS Awards Gala, a fitting honor for a songstress with transformative tendencies. Kehlani thanked the organization on social media, highlighting that she has the cover of \u201cThe Alchemist\u201d inked on her arm, and describing an alchemist as \u201csomeone who transforms things for the better through an almost seemingly magical process.\u201d<\/p>\n Stunning even when clad casually, the songwriter has undergone several transformations and gathered many tattoos in the process. The same year she appeared on \u201cAGT,\u201d ink emerged on her skin. She was just 14 when her best friend inked her knuckles, stick-and-poke style.<\/p>\n \u201cI became a Guinea pig for all the homies who got a tattoo gun and were like, \u2018Yeah, I\u2019m doing tats in my garage, and tats in my kitchen, and tats in my bedroom, at my mom\u2019s crib,\u2019\u201d Kehlani shared. \u201cAnd I also had a lot of piercings. I just kind of skyrocketed into it.\u201d<\/p>\n During these early days, she donned her natural curls and sported tomboy togs, wearing oversized tees and hooded sweatshirts, and then graduated to feminine streetwear, paring baggy pants with bralettes and bomber jackets, a combination of powerful femininity and masculinity that epitomizes her sexuality.<\/p>\n As she evolved, Kehlani\u2019s fashion fluidity continued to flow with soft silhouettes, high-level glam, leather, latex, and wide-leg trousers, and her catalog of tattoos swelled. Notably, a vibrant, multihued sunflower envelopes her left shoulder, nuzzling one of her most tenderhearted tattoos: a baby\u2019s arm sporting a bracelet with the name \u201cAdeya,\u201d planets dangling from her fingers. \u201cIt is her hand holding the universe, because I always want her to know that the entire solar system and all the stars in the world and everything\u2019s possible \u2014 it\u2019s all hers,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Two portraits on her left leg still give Kehlani an emotional charge to this day: one of her father and the other of her aunt. She said these tattoos give her strength, remind her of where she came from, and assure her that she is loved. \u201cMy dad\u2019s portrait is peeking out of the pants on the \u2018Crash\u2019 album. We always thought that was really cool because it was such an accident,\u201d she shared. \u201cIt\u2019s like you see my face and then you look down my leg, and you see my dad\u2019s full face just poking out of the pants. He\u2019s my biggest guardian angel, and I thought that was really, really special that he got to be on that cover with me.\u201d<\/p>\n Focused on motherhood, her career, and self-care, the artist can reflect honestly about past behaviors and choices, owning the good and the not-so-good, while remaining committed to her convictions. She\u2019s balancing a hectic schedule and centering herself on her surfboard \u2014 both figuratively and literally. She chooses to be \u201cradically transparent\u201d about her mental health and is focused on nurturing her inner landscape. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI lost a lot last year; a lot changed last year. You know, there was a lot of mess and chaos and craziness last year, and also a lot of shifting because of my beliefs in my heart. And to see such a big turnaround, I really just want to say it\u2019s entirely possible to have a thriving career and also stand for things that you believe in,\u201d Kehlani shared. \u201cAnd it\u2019s entirely possible to change your narrative \u2014 and I\u2019m not even talking about publicly, but change your personal story \u2014 at any time in your life by taking control of your healing and taking the reins of your world and going inward and doing what you need to do. I think those are the most important things. I get up and remind myself now, \u2018You\u2019re in control of all of this, and you just need to keep pushing and be consistent and really focus on your growth and keep your eyes on God.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Kehlani has weathered storms and is learning to meet the world more authentically. She\u2019s \u201cvery, very settled\u201d in who she is, letting go of the things she cannot control. \u201cI am very uninterested in performance or trying to be any kind of all over the place. And it\u2019s kind of just making me more simple, to be honest,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n One day years ago, Kehlani was battling with her emotions when someone told her to smile because \u201ctoday is the best day ever.\u201d The uplifting phrase stuck with her, so she had it inked on her calf. \u201cIf you think about it, that means tomorrow is and the next day is, the next day is too, because every day is today,\u201d she explained. \u201cAnd it just reminded me to lift my chin up and poke my chest out and ground myself when I think the world is ending and my life is over and just say, \u2018Hey, let\u2019s slow down and remember: today is the best day ever.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n As the conversation wrapped, Kehlani was readying herself for mom mode. \u201cShe\u2019s about to sugar it up here,\u201d she said, referring to Adeya\u2019s imminent sugar rush. It\u2019s these occasions that are perhaps the most important to Kehlani, and ones that remind her that \u201ctoday is the best day ever.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/a>\u201cOne Hell of a Story\u201d<\/h2>\n
<\/a>\u201cIt\u2019s the Everything for Me\u201d<\/h2>\n
<\/a>\u201cIn My Feelings\u201d<\/h2>\n