Kehlani Prioritizes Herself For New Album 'SWEETSEXYSAVAGE'

If you've been following the gritty sounds of Kehlani since her days as part of PopLyfe, the "America's Got Talent" teen group finalist, or even since her first mixtape, the unveil of her debut album, SWEETSEXYSAVAGE, might throw you for a loop. 

Backed in large by pop production gurus Pop & Oak, the collection, which was released on January 27th via Atlantic Records, finds our once scorned beauty on the road to self-discovery and healing with absolutely nobody in her way. While cuts like "Advice," "Piece of Mind" and even lead single "CRZY" present a sense of personal fulfillment, this is still the heavily tattooed and charismatic Kehlani you know and love, but just more grown. Gone are most of the troubles and miseries that the Oakland-born singer endured in her swift (but tumultuous) rise to stardom and in is a new era of womanhood for the budding 21-year-old R&B star.

After a celebratory west coast weekend of festivity in honor of the LP release, Kehlani jetted over to New York City and stopped by iHeartRadio for a one-on-one Q&A interview to chat about the album, leaving behind her old material and what it means to play "the biggest, blackest Coachella ever."

The album dropped on Friday. Did you get a chance to celebrate over the weekend?

I had two release parties. I had one in L.A. at Prince's old house, but it got shut down by the police in two hours because he has funny neighbors. Then I did one in San Francisco with my friends and family, and it was really fun. It was a great turnout, so I definitely celebrated.

What's the reaction from your friends and family? You've released mixtapes, but this is your debut album. It's a special time for you.

My family's really excited. I think we're all just on the same page, which is being happy that it's out. After having such a long year, being very tumultuous, it was one of those [eras]. We're just happy that it's out and it's something to celebrate. It's just good vibes.

Sonically, it's bigger than your mixtapes, and I think that's based off everything you went through. When did you come up with the perspective to turn this around and make it happier?

As an artist who writes her own music, I feel like every time you perform it, you go through what the song is about every single time. You breathe in that emotion, that experience, every single time. I didn't want to do that for the next two years of my life or however long I'm going to be performing this album. I didn't want every time I go on stage, to have to cry, or be scared, or get anxiety. I didn't want to do any of that, so I consciously made the choice to make the album very easy. I think it's very conversational. It's just fun and lighthearted. It's not too hard to understand. It's not too complicated. I wouldn't say it's surface level in a bad way. I'd say it's very conversational and I feel like it's listening to a friend talk to you. I made it for myself. I told myself what I wanted my girl best friend to tell me. That's why that sounds like that.

"Advice" does a really good job at that and so does "CRZY." You're not dissing anyone, but you're recognizing your own.

I'm just having fun, to be honest.

When did "CRZY" come about during the recording process?

"CRZY" was more recent. "CRZY" was maybe [in] June or July. [It was] kind of the first record after I went through a crazy situation. I needed "CRZY" for myself. I needed to be able to be like, 'If I'ma be a b*tch, you know what I'm saying, and kind of feel like I was powerful again.'

A lot of your fans that have been there since the beginning and are able to see that growth and really connect with it. 

I think I'm lucky to have fans that really care about me beyond the music. If I get injured or I get sick, they're like, 'Oh my God. Don't even perform. Just get better. Please! We're glad you're okay. How are your cats?' [They do] things like that. They're really dope. The fact that all the feedback I'm getting is even beyond the music. [They're like] 'I'm so glad to see you happy. I'm so glad to see there's happiness behind your eyes again, and your smiles don't look fake.' I love them.

You're going to visit all of them on tour. To go back to your point about going through the motions of your old material, will it be difficult to adjust and perform? You have so many fan favorites from the previous mixtapes.

I've been performing the same mixtape for a year and half. I'm so over that mixtape. I'm not doing anything from that mixtape. I might have a medley of two songs from the first mixtape and a medley of two songs from the second mixtape. Then I have 19 tracks on this new one to perform, so they should have came to the last tour if they want me to perform the old [stuff].

You're also doing Coachella. How do you feel about that?

I'm super excited, to be honest. It's the biggest, blackest Coachella ever. That's so tight. I remember it being talked about as this, no offense, like 'That's some white people sh*t. That's some, you know, EDM fist-pumping whatever.' I always think people felt uncomfortable at Coachella if they weren't fitting a certain bracket. But [it's] Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar, you know what I mean? Now, it's more political and epic. That's a statement, especially with everything that's going on in time right now, especially with politics and things like that. I don't think this could have come at a better time, in a better year. I'm really honored that they considered me for this time. I have a cool slot.

I read that you're already going through the creative motions of thinking about your next album.

Yeah, I want to just go somewhere and lock myself [in]. I think with this album the biggest problem for me was that I started working on a bunch of music and then I went through something that had me sit out from everything for about four months. I lost complete touch with the music that I originally recorded. I didn't believe in it. I didn't feel connected to it. I wasn't the same girl. I had to listen to it again and re-connect to it and re-find what I liked about it, almost become a fan of my old self, and then finish up and make things that I felt like I was missing. Once I get a chance to sit down and process the past two years and think about it, and not be on the road and dealing with a bunch of stuff at the same time, I can just make music. This next album's going to be super special, too.

Was it hard to look back and listen to those lyrics that you wrote and connect with them?

No, a lot of those situations [and] a lot of the stuff I sang about that you would think I made after the situation, I actually made before. They helped me though the situation partly. "Peace of Mind" sounds definitely like I'm referring to the recent situation, but I made that a long time ago, so I don't know, I'm just excited to keep growing and building. It's only my first album, so I've got a lot more to make.

Photo: Wendy George for iHeartRadio