Kehlani is an American singer-songwriter from Oakland, California. Born Kehlani Ashley Parrish in 1995, they work across alternative R&B, contemporary R&B, hip hop, neo soul, pop and R&B, and are associated with HBK Gang and Kehlani Music.

Early career

Kehlani first gains attention as a member of the teen pop group Poplyfe, which reaches the final of America’s Got Talent. This early period in Oakland leads into a solo career in which they record and release a series of mixtapes and albums.

Mixtapes and breakthrough

In 2014, Kehlani releases their first mixtape, Cloud 19, which includes a guest appearance from Kyle Dion and places twenty-eighth on Complex’s list of the 50 Best Albums of 2014. The following year they release You Should Be Here, which Billboard describes as the year’s first great R&B album when it debuts at number five on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The mixtape features Chance the Rapper and BJ the Chicago Kid. They tour in support of the release, with the North American dates and selected European dates selling out, and the project earns a Grammy Award nomination for Best Urban Contemporary Album.

Albums and later releases

Kehlani’s debut album SweetSexySavage appears in January 2017, supported by the singles “CRZY” and “Gangsta”, the latter taken from the Suicide Squad soundtrack. In February 2019 they release the mixtape While We Wait, followed by the second album It Was Good Until It Wasn’t in 2020. That album is recorded and promoted under the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the cover and music videos shot at home. Their third album, Blue Water Road, arrives in 2022 and includes features from Blxst, Justin Bieber, Syd, Jessie Reyez, Ambré and Thundercat. They tour the album across the US and Europe with Rico Nasty and Destin Conrad as opening acts.

Recent work and recognition

Kehlani headlines concerts at the 2023 WNBA All-Star Game and the 2023 MLS All-Star Game. In 2024 they release the single “After Hours”, followed by “Next 2 U”, which includes a spoken introduction by Palestinian-American writer Hala Alyan and a spoken closing message dedicated to children in Palestine. They also issue merchandise created with Palestinian creative director and founder Yasmeen Mjalli of Nöl Collective, with proceeds going to support Palestinian, Congolese and Sudanese families in collaboration with Operation Olive Branch.

Later in 2024 they release the album Crash, featuring Jill Scott, Omah Lay and Young Miko, and the mixtape While We Wait 2, a sequel to While We Wait, featuring Lucky Daye, Lil’ Mo, Vince Staples, Destin Conrad, Dixson, Flo and Ludmilla. The mixtape is recorded at home over two weeks. Kehlani also collaborates with GloRilla on a Christmas-themed trap song in December 2024.

In 2025 they release “Folded”, which reaches number 7 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and is nominated at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards for Best R&B Performance and Best R&B Song. A digital Folded Homage Pack follows with remixes featuring Brandy, JoJo, Mario, Ne-Yo, Tank and Toni Braxton, and they later release “Out the Window”.