Kehlani

Best Hip-Hop Songs of 2021

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A year full of rising rap newcomers and seasoned vets that delivered a solid soundtrack over the last 12 months. Continue reading…

Kehlani Confirms That They Prefer Gender Neutral Pronouns

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Kehlani GRID
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This past April, Kehlani came out as on an Instagram Live video. “I am gay, g-gay, gay, gay,” they later said on TikTok back then. We might learn more about this lifestyle embrace when their new album, Blue Water Road, is released at some point this winter. In fact, Kehlani has even said that the new music “feels vastly different than anything I’ve ever created before.”

The press rounds in the lead up to Blue Water Road have begun and in a cover story with beauty and style magazine Byrdie, the R&B star said that the new album “talks about love and coming into gayness.” In the revealing interview, Kehlani talks about notions of beauty, motherhood, fame, writing love songs, and of course, identity. Early on in the story, Kehlani addresses pronouns and how while “she” is acceptable, “they” just feels better.

“I don’t mind when people say ‘she’ at all, but something feels really affirming when people say ‘they.” For Kehlani, using non-binary pronouns feels like an earned respect. “It feels like… you really see me.”

It’s great to see Kehlani embracing who they are and how they would like to be seen. You can read the full profile here.

Kehlani is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Rico Nasty Said Being On Playboi Carti’s Tour Is Making Her ‘Wish I Was Dead’

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Rico Nasty Rolling Loud NY 2021
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At first, it seemed like Rico Nasty landing a role opening up for Playboi Carti was a good thing. The rising rapper is one of the most talented MCs in the game, and has made a way for herself as a woman in hip-hop who leans all the way into her own aggressive style of music. She’s a unique force, and one to be reckoned with. But everyone has their limits, and the disrespectful way Carti’s fans have been treating Rico when she’s onstage has begun to wear on her mental health.

Back in November, a fan threw a bottle at her while she was performing in Portland, and she nearly confronted them for the incident. She also was upset when fans booed her during an LA show, saying: “This is what the f*ck we gon’ do for you disrespectful muthaf*ckers out there.. B*tch, we gon’ sit in muthaf*ckin silence! Don’t you f*cking play! What you think this is, b*tch? It’s not that.” So far, Carti has been silent about the way fans have been behaving toward her, but Rico seemed to reach a breaking point tonight when she took to Twitter to let fans know how much she’s struggling.

“I dead ass need at least two hours out of each day. To just cry,” she began. “Crazy how I wanted a tour bus my whole life and now I just be on the tour bus crying myself to sleep every night 😂. I wish I was dead just as much as y’all do trust me. Y’all win.” Quickly deleting her tweets, Complex caught the missives before they were removed:

Rico Nasty Tweet
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Rico Nasty Tweet
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Rico Nasty Tweet
Twitter

Twitter has since erupted with support for Rico — including from artists like Kehlani — so here’s hoping she can focus on those messages of love and encouragement instead of a few terrible fans on a single tour. Check out some supportive messages for Rico below.

Kehlani Says Her Upcoming Album Is ‘Vastly Different’ From Anything She’s Written Before

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Kehlani announced her upcoming album Blue Water Road in a highly conceptual way. She unveiled the LP’s title with an eerie trailer, which teases a winter release date. The singer’s album announcement was different from how she’s publicized projects in the past, but that’s because this LP is apparently “vastly different” from what she’s written before.

Kehlani discussed her different direction in Rolling Stone‘s Musicians On Musicians series in an interview with Alicia Keys. The singer even notes that she wouldn’t put it in the same genre as her other albums:

“I’m about to drop music that, to me, feels vastly different than anything I’ve ever created. I wouldn’t call it the same genre sonically as I’ve done before. And I’m scared about it because I’m like, ‘Y’all may receive it and just feel like Kehlani is dropping another project.’ And to me, I’m making a pivot creatively because it was something I always wanted to do with people I always wanted to do it with.”

The singer went on to note that she’s nervous to see people’s reactions to the project, but hopes to take the feedback in stride. “I guess I just be nervous, but I had to also stop psyching myself out,” she continued. “I try to look from this big bird’s-eye view of like, ‘Well, I’m probably going to drop like five more albums. I’m going to have this experience a bunch of more times, don’t freak out, be like water, let it come out. Let people think whatever they think.’ I try to always come back to the emotion that I felt when I was creating it.”

Read Rolling Stone‘s full Musicians On Musicians profile with Kehlani and Alicia Keys here.

Kehlani is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Kehlani And Russ Tease Fans With An Possible Joint Album

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In 2020, Kehlani and Russ both took big steps in their careers. Kehlani dropped her second album It Was Good Until It Wasn’t, which proved one of the most popular R&B projects of 2021. Russ, on the other hand, sharpened his artistry with Shake The Snow Globe. Now it looks like they may bless their respective fan bases with a collaborative album, which they teased on social media.

Kehlani kicked things off with a video of her and Russ at a party with the caption “a mixtape or ? @russ.” Afterward, a Kehlani fan page reposted the video on their Twitter account with the caption “MAKE IT HAPPEN. @Kehlani x @russdiemon via Kehlani IG Stories.” Russ responded, “Russ x Kehlani project [eye emoji].”

The upcoming project would not be the first time two have worked together. Last summer, they teamed up on “Take You Back” collaboration and its elegant music video. Until the potential project’s arrival, fans can keep an eye open for Kehlani’s upcoming third album, Blue Water Road as well as additional singles from Russ, who’s dropped a new song on a weekly basis since the beginning of May.

Kehlani is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

T-Pain And Kehlani Recruit BIA For An Additional Dose Of Confident Flavor On Their ‘I Like Dat’ Remix

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After pushing through his Instagram DM debacle earlier this year, T-Pain got to work in fulfilling requests from artists to collaborate, all of which he missed out on over the past couple of years. Furthermore, the singer called on some acts to work with him, one of them being Kehlani. Earlier this year the two united for “I Like Dat” and it’s a record that’s grown to be one of the more popular releases from the past few months. The duo now looks to give it an extra boost by calling on rising rapper BIA to remix the song.

The remix to “I Like Dat” is BIA’s latest spotlight in 2021 and for this occasion, the Massachusetts-bred rapper shows out. The remix comes after she teamed up with G Herbo for “Besito,” a track that’s set to appear on the upcoming deluxe reissue of her debut project, For Certain, which she released last year. “I Like Dat” is not the only song that BIA has remixed this year. Back in July, she teamed up with Nicki Minaj for a fresh version of her viral hit song, “Whole Lotta Money.” The remix came equipped with new verses from the rappers, with both of them briefly rapping back and forth at one point.

You can vibe out to the new remix in the video above.

Kehlani is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Meek Mill Shares His ‘Expensive Pain’ Tracklist Featuring Lil Baby, Young Thug, And More

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This Friday, Meek Mill is set to drop his fifth studio album, Expensive Pain, after a tidy rollout that included both a slick new single with fellow Philadelphian Lil Uzi Vert, “Blue Notes 2,” and some questionable cover art. Today, he’s shared the star-studded tracklist via an Instagram post of the handwritten track titles and features. Scribbled on plain lined paper with multiple differently colored markers, even the tracklist appears to reflect the new “artistic” direction the album appears to be taking.

Along with the aforementioned Uzi Vert, guests on the album include A$AP Ferg, Brent Faiyaz, British rapper Giggs, Kehlani, Lil Baby & Lil Durk (on the previously released “Sharing Locations“), Moneybagg Yo, newcomer Vory, and Young Thug. Also included is the track “Angels,” which appears to be a loving tribute to Meek’s Dreamers artist Lil Snupe and his friend Nipsey Hussle. Meanwhile, it appears “Flamerz Flow” and “War Stories” will not appear on the album — at least not this version. Looking at the trend in releases over the past 18 months, we can likely expect them to pop up on the inevitable deluxe.

Expensive Pain is due 10/1 via Atlantic Records.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Kehlani Puts Her Crush On An ‘Altar’ In Her Cottagecore-Inspired Video

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After serving up her While We Wait album in 2019 and It Was Good Until It Wasn’t LP in 2020, Kehlani is gearing up for yet another release in 2021. The Bay Area singer returned this week to tease her upcoming Blue Water Road release, which she has now previewed with the new love struck single “Altar.”

Directed by Kid Studio, the opulent video leans into the recently popularized cottagecore aesthetic, filled with flowing outfits, colorful flowers, and rustic decor. Kehlani and her crush delicately dance around the small house until nightfall and the room is filled with the warm glow of candlelight.

Speaking about the new single and video in a statement, Kehlai said it’s dedicated to the ones she’s loved loved and lost. “To all those i have lost, all the angels i have gained, all those that walk with me with hands cracking my chest open, this is for you. i love you,” she wrote.

Ahead of the “Altar” visual’s release, Kehlani announced her Blue Water Road album with an eerie trailer. It opened with the singer stranded on a deserted dirt road with an injured leg. A dragonfly lands on her hand and instantly burst into flames. So far, Kehlani hasn’t shared a solid release date for the upcoming album, but she did note that it’s slated for a winter release.

Watch Kehlani’s “Altar” video above.

Kehlani is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Kehlani Announces Her New Album ‘Blue Water Road’ With A Beguiling Trailer

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Kehlani, the Bay Area singer who helped to launch a revival of R&B with her mixtapes Cloud 19 and You Should Be Here and continued to carry the flag while breaking new ground with albums SweetSexySavage and It Was Good Until It Wasn’t, is preparing to release her new album, Blue Water Road, this winter. She announced the album with a beguiling trailer which is sure to spark curiosity for what appears to be a highly conceptual project.

The cinematic clip shows a snippet of a larger, magical narrative, opening on a closeup of a demolished statue and pulling away to the singer nursing a bloody leg injury as she traverses a barren landscape via a deserted dirt road. She encounters a buzzing insect, which she catches, but the bug bursts into flame, causing her to drop it on the ground. When it lands, a group of vines bursts from the gravel to collect its remains, then Kehlani is overshadowed by something that rises up in front of her off-camera before a smash cut to black and title cards reading “Blue Water Road. Coming This Winter.”

Watch the trailer for Kehlani’s new album Blue Water Road above.

Kehlani is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Nicki Minaj Seeks Help From Kehlani, Jhene Aiko, Summer Walker, And More For An Upcoming Track

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Earlier this year, Nicki Minaj made it clear that she was working on music thanks to the re-release of her beloved mixtape, Beam Me Up Scotty. Three new songs were attached to the re-uploaded project, with one of them being “Seeing Green” with Drake and Lil Wayne. From that moment on, new releases from the Minaj arrived at a consistent rate. She teamed with Polo G for their first collaboration before remixing BIA’s hit record, “Whole Lotta Money.” Nowadays, the Pink Friday rapper is hard at work on what appears to be her next album, and as she progresses with it, Nicki took to Twitter to put out a special request.

After sharing a sultry snippet that features her repeatedly singing, “yeah,” Nicki revealed she needed help from a crew of singers to complete the song. “Barbz: ask Keke, Tamar & Brandy to redo this,” she wrote in a tweet. “That’s what I sound like in my head. Would love to hear ppl who can rlly do it.” In a second post, she added, “Summer, Jhené & Kehlani can be good in the blend as well with their harmonies.” Kehlani caught wind of the tweet and asked Nicki to be a bit more specific with her request. “Just challenging 6 gurls to redo that lil thing I sang,” Nicki replied. “It’s on my story. Then I’ll take the a cappella & put together a lil Smthn,” she wrote, adding, “no big zeal zo.”

Summer Walker also responded to Nicki and wrote, “I’d love that [black heart emoji].” Nicki replied, “Okay puddin pop. Love you. Dm it or post it when u want. No big zeal.”

It’s unclear when the record Nicki has in mind will arrive, but fans sure are excited for its release in the future.

You can view Nicki’s tweets above.

Kehlani is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.