Kehlani is a 31 year old singer/songwriter & dancer from Oakland, California who introduced themself in 2014 off their debut extended play Cloud 19 followed by the debut mixtape You Should Be Here during my senior year of high school. They would later make their full-length debut SweetSexySavage under Atlantic Records & later appeared on RVIVAL, which is universally accepted as the shittiest thing Eminem’s ever made. It Was Good Until It Wasn’t, Blue Water Road, the While We Wait series & Crash were all moderately received too & it seemed like their eponymous 5th LP might change that.
After the intro, the opener “Anotha Luva” featuring Lil Wayne begins with both of them talking about not wanting to love anyone else than those they’re currently with whereas “No Such Thing” featuring Clipse samples “Runnin’” by The Pharcyde to let their soulmates know how special they are to each of them. “Folded” made for a great contemporary R&B/smooth neo-soul single singing about the end of a relationship while “I Need You” featuring Brandy produced by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis surprisingly details the aftermath of a breakup.
“Oooh” moves on from there singing about nothing mattering when they & their romantic interest start fucking with the windows open while “Back & Forth”fuses contemporary R&B & pop rap although the interpolation of a song R. Kelly did of the same name with the late Aaliyah was ok. “Shoulda Never” featuring Usher links up over a Babyface instrumental for a duet about wasting each other’s time until “You Got It” describes their partner as heaven sent.
Hip hop soul & contemporary R&B collide on the 2nd single “Out the Window” revisiting the themes of “Folded” pleading for their ex-girlfriend not to throw everything they had away while “Still” gets over a DJ Camper beat to sing about this person they’re addressing eventually apologizing for losing them. “Call Me Back” featuring T-Pain joins forces depicting a couple trying to contact each other cellularly while “Pocket” featuring Cardi B talks about needing someone to lift up them up.
“Lights On” featuring Big Sean goes for a smoother R&B/pop rap vibe thanks to both Jermaine Dupri & Allen Ritter getting sexual topically while “Sweet Nuthins” featuring Leon Thomas III continues the themes of lust together, wanting nothing but to make sweet love. “Cruise Control” sends a message to a partner who’s trying to go a bit too fast in a new relationship & “Unlearn” ends with them singing about the difficulty of loving an individual who’s still healing.
A lot of Kehlani’s previous output to come out in the past decade are average at best but looking at the list of guests appearing on their eponymous album, it’s an improvement above everything she’s done previously although there have been other full-lengths in the R&B genre in 2026 that’re significantly better. The production furthermore takes secondary influences from the hip hop soul, neo-soul & pop rap styles to provide a sweet glimpse of their artistic evolution.
Score: 3.5/5
Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!
Legends Will Never Die 