It’s been exactly two years and seven days since Oakland-native R&B artist Kehlani released her debut studio album “SweetSexySavage” (2017). The winner of Billboard’s “Rule Breaker” award in 2017, the singer described this album of having all three characteristics “sweet”, “sexy”, and “savage” in the lyrics, as well as the melodies of the tracks. Two singles from this album including “Distraction” and “Undercover” peaked at #13 and #11, respectively, on the Billboard “Hot 100” list. Another single, “Gangsta” from the movie “Suicide Squad with Will Smith and Margot Robbie, placed at #6 on Billboard’s “Hot 100”. Moreover, the album as a whole was ranked at #9 on the Rolling Stone publication of the “20 Best R&B Albums of 2017” and debuted at #1 on Billboard’s “Top R&B Albums” on February 18, 2017.
On February 5, the 23-year old star informed her fans through social media that she has a new mixtape dropping this month. Although the exact release date has not been specified, it has been revealed that the title will be “While We Wait”. It has been anticipated that the name is an allusion to the fact that the artist will be giving birth to her first child sometime in the upcoming month, in addition to the release of her second album, this upcoming year.
Although Kehlani keeps her fans eager for more, she always releases new work for them to enjoy. Last month in January, she dropped a collaboration single with Ty Dolla $ign titled “Nights Like This”. The single has already garnered much attention, placing #32 on Billboard’s “U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs” and #69 on Billboard’s “Top 100”. Its accompanying video also has well over 7 million views. In the workforce, no matter which industry you belong to, pregnant women are looked down upon and pitied by people who think that pregnancy hinders them from becoming successful and gaining accolades. It is safe to say that Kehlani has not let her pregnancy stop her from releasing some fire hits that have caught the attention of people globally, including fellow artists, causing more to finally take notice of her sheer talent and passion for her craft.
Until the new mixtape is dropped and on repeat, we can all keep listening to “Nights Like This” to fill the void of not having ‘Lani’s sweet voice serenading us (or hyping us up, y’all know she’s biflexual).