American singer-songwriter Kehlani released her self-titled fifth studio album “Kehlani” on April 24, 2026 via Atlantic Records.
The album is her first project since the 2024 album “Crash” and the 2024 mixtape “While We Wait 2”.
The album comprises 17 tracks, featuring guest appearances from Lil Wayne, Clipse, Brandy, Missy Elliott, Usher, T-Pain, Lil Jon, Big Sean, and Leon Thomas.
Produced by Alex Goldblatt, Allen Ritter, Andre Harris, Antonio Dixon, Babyface, Camper, Daniel Church, DIXSON, D.K. The Punisher, Don Mills, Jayme Silverstein, Jermaine Dupri, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Kamal Wilson, Khristopher Riddick-Tynes, OAK, Pop & Oak, Rich Harrison and The Stereotypes.
From the album, The first single “Folded” was released on June 11, 2025.
The song won Best R&B Performance and Best R&B Song at The 68th Annual Grammy Awards.
Kehlani told Jack Saunders of BBC Radio 1 about the album, “I feel like I got to give people a peek into my mind. It was less about here. I need to teach you something about my life or something I've gone through. But here's a peek into what made me the artist that I am. Here's a peek into why I sing, into why I write, and whether it's the actual context of the song or the people that I had featured, or sonically what I reference. It's all a peek into, like, just kind of my thought process creatively.”
She continued, “I mean, I feel so good when I listen to it. I feel really grown when I listen to it. Just it feels like a lot. Is very reminiscent of my first album to me, but just like the adult perspective. I was, I think 20 when that album dropped 20 or 21 and now I'm 31. And you can just hear the actualization and the growth and in my age and my tone and my perspective. And that's really how I feel, is very actualized and very adult.”
She added, “I just, I wanted to make something that made me happy. I really wanted to, like, Please myself and please my inner child. That's who really made it. I didn't if I had expectations, I know what that can lead to. So I try not to have any expectations of any in any way other than just, make myself happy.”
Kehlani told Zane Lowe of Apple Music about the album, “Growth doesn't always sound pretty at first. Sometimes it cracks. Sometimes it bends. But it always finds its way to the light. You're about to hear a heart that's been stretched, healed and reborn. A voice stepping into its truth with no fear, no filter and no apologies. You could tell I was fighting to try to find the good part of it, but there was so much pain and hurt in that intro (You Should Be Here.) To be able to come full circle-I'm 31 now, and I was 20-and you can hear it. You can hear it even in my tone of speaking voice, how I've grown up and I've matured and I'm confident now.”
She added, “What I wanted to happen on this album was I really needed all the features to feel like this joyous return to what they truly loved to do.”
Kehlani explained some tracks for the album.
“Anotha Luva” featuring Lil Wayne via Apple Music “So, you know, when he sent the verse back, my only requirement to Lil Wayne, was that he must flick the lighter. When I sent the song, I said, 'I have one request. I will never tell you what to do in this life, my king, but I need you to flick that lighter.' I need it because what I wanted to happen on this album was I really wanted all the features to feel this like joyous return to what they truly love to do, which they didn't really know what type time I was on. They was like, 'Okay, like I don't know what kind of song you're going to send and like you know like we the last album and we you know then we heard Folded and like what we've heard from other people in the industry. You're kind of like taking it back to your roots and like what is it?' And then they would get the song and they were like, 'Oh, I love this. I get
to do my thing.' So exciting, but he didn't send the verse initially back I think even in the beginning but I'm like how crazy is it to start the album and you hear the
lighter flick and he says my name and it just it feels so celebratory and such like I get to step back and just say, 'Take your place and do your thing.'”
“Folded” “So, the song is double entendre, about folding up someone's clothes that they left at your house. But you're mad at them, but you cared enough to fold it because the situation's not dead as in, 'I know it's cold between us, but tell me it's not frozen,' like it's not iced out, it's not done. So, come get your shit, I might be in a cute little outfit, waiting for you at the door because… give me one more try.
Then, I'll let your body decide if this is good enough for you. This love, this situation. 'Cause when you get here, we gon' hunch, 'cause that was all a part of my plan. And then, you can decide if it's worth fixing and saving because the fuck around and find out hunching is sometimes the deciding factor. It's not really if you're mature but, when I was younger it would've been maybe the deciding factor.
But it's that, 'I hate that I love you,' 'Come back,' 'This is kinda wrong.' But the only way we gon' find out is if we find out, huh?”
“I Need You” featuring Brandy via Apple Music
“It was really cool to build that Brandy song and imagine like what she would sound on it 'cause we didn't get to do it together 'cause she was on tour. And actually all of those backgrounds are me. I was like, 'I just know she's about to send me one hundred and fifty two backgrounds,' and she said, 'I love you so bad and here's my verse and my bridge with you, and I didn't have time to do these backgrounds, but, girl, you handled it for us,' and I said, 'I can't believe this,' in the best way. I'm like, 'I couldn't wait to see what little crazy thing she did,' all them runs. And also, she just like is so invested in the song being the best that it is. Like, she's literally like, 'Let me know if you need more. Let me know what you want to do. Let me know what this is. I believe in you. I love you.' Like, it's actually unreal to me that my hero is a good hero to have. You know what I mean? They say don't meet your heroes, but I met the out of mine and now she's like that's my girl. Meet your heroes.”
“Back and Forth” featuring Missy Elliott via Complex “I just DM'd her, 'What if I had a hypothetically, what if I had a song? Not saying I do have a song, which I do, I have a song,' and she was like, 'Girl, I love you,' I was like, I will throw up and cry and slide down the wall. She was like, 'Send it, girl,' she sent me a video like vibing to it like the next day like, 'Oh, I'm in studio right now. This shit's so hot,' and she was just like mumbling and I was like, 'What?' Missy, I'm so sorry to tell you that I showed everybody I knew that video. I was like, 'This is Missy Elliot jamming to my song.' And when she sent it back, I was just floored. Like as an R&B singer to hear Missy Elliott say, 'New [Your name],' that's on my mood board. I viscerally remember being in the car viscerally being in the car with my mom and like so gone coming on and just hearing 'New Monica.' I also remember 'New Jasmine,' you know what I mean? Like just all the Aaliyah songs, all the Timberland songs, like her own songs. Like you don't get these moments in this climate often. That's something that my inner child got to like check off the board and like nobody can take that shit away from me for sure. Like I don't have notes for anybody's verse especially I beyond respecting my elders. I respect anybodywho's a legend or has a solidified career. I'm not here to tell you how to do your art form.”
“Shoulda Never” featuring USHER via BBC Radio 1
“Usher did his classic Usher baby rap, and I got to follow it up in his footsteps and pay my homage to him in that way. And hearing me and usher rap back and forth is going down on my personal bucket list forever.
I mean, Usher's been doing it since he was literally a child. And Usher is a part of that rare triple threat. Can sing, dance. Looks great. Like is amazing. And also like, confession is one of the best RnB albums of all time. It was a pivotal, defining R&B album that taught us about storytelling. And all these multi layers of you can have fun in the club, but then you can get emotional, but then it's a sexy record, but then it's an introspective one, and it's an album that makes you think and it's thought provoking for decades later. So I learned a lot of that from Usher just like really full fleshing out these songs and making people feel.”
“Sweet Nuthins” featuring Leon Thomas “I love our song. That shit is a bop. It's so good in the car.”
