The American singer Kehlani is one of the most beautiful voices of the modern R’n’b. While she has just been invited, in featuring, on a piece of Cardi B, Safe this Friday, September 19, 2025, return on our meeting with the star adored by Jay-Z and Drake.
Interview by Violaine schütz.
It is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful voices of modern R’n’B. And it is that reminds us of his featuring on the new single of Cardi B, Safe released this Friday, September 19, 2025. This song arrives a year after the publication of his latest album, Crash, a sexy, eclectic and summer opus on which was the superb After Hours and its mixtape While We Wait 2.
The featuring artist on the new single of cardi B
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Californian singer, composer and dancer, Kehlani collaborated with Cardi B, Eminem, burna Boy and Justin Bieber and she is already a superstar in his country. With nearly 10 billion streams, 16.5 million followers on Instagram and worshipers as famous as Jay-Z et Drake, the 30-year-old artist has nothing to prove.
However, she put her kingdom into play on her third album, the sleek, powerful and moving Blue Water Road (2022).The one who experienced a difficult childhood and deep periods of doubt offers, with this disc, a spiritual journey on self-love, healing and gender, from which her listeners will certainly come out different.
It was at the time of its exit that we met (via Zoom) a charismatic artist who majestically proves that the journey towards inner peace can be a journey as exciting as not devoid of sensuality and heat.
Cardi B – Safe (feat. Kehlani) (2025).
Kehlani, a free spirit … and tortured
The body of Kehlani is to contemplate like an open book. Tattooed everywhere, from the faces to the legs through the neck, the Californian has engraved in her flesh words such as “free espíritu” (“free spirit” in Spanish), “lost there” (“lost and found”), “fluid” (“fluid”) and “woke” (“awake”) or even her daughter’s first name, Adeya.
We can also detect on yoru skin the drawing of a paper plane, flowers, faces of icons Lauryn Hill et Frida Kahlo, the silhouette
Kehlani: A Journey of Self-Discovery Through Music
In adolescence, the girl then finds refuge in dance, especially ballet, before a high school injury pushes her to change lanes.Influenced by Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu, and Jill Scott, she begins to sing, and joined, from the age of 14, the Pop mainstream Poplyfe group.
From there, the young artist, a childhood friend of Zendaya and musician Prodigy, will chain mixtapes, singles and prestigious collaborations (Cardi B, Eminem, Justin bieber, Stormzy, Calvin harris, Teyana Taylor…). Her soft and sensual voice, full of humanity, seems endowed with consoling virtues, and her addictive and adventurous melodies (Gangsta, Toxic, Good Thing) often relate to the pangs of love.
But if Kehlani has become an icon, she also owes it to her magnetic aura and the fights she defends once the lights of the scene are off. The artist has always mentioned,in all transparency,the ups and downs of her mental health (notably her periods of depression) and openly spoken of her sexuality.
The one who was in a relationship with the rapper 070 Shake has in turn been defined as non-binary, pansexual, queer and lesbian. Gay love is also at the heart of her new songs. Serene, happy, inspired and free, the singer confides in her emotional and musical adventures.
Kehlani’s interview for the album Blue Water Road
Numero: In the text that accompanied your album Blue Water Road, you said: “The ‘Blue Water Route’ is a destination in my mind. I give access to everyone. It is an emotional, sexual and spiritual journey. For me, the album is like a glass house. It’s light, obvious, and the sun shines there aside…“
Kehlani: While I was making my last album, It Was Good Until It Wasn’t [released in 2020] I was in a heavy and dark state [the singer had just separated from rapper YG]. While for blue Water Road I was making a transition to get me out of certain harmful patterns. So I was in a much more joyful, radiant and peaceful state of mind. This new album represents my interior trip to this Renaissance. I recorded the songs in a beautiful Malibu studio, near the trees, with a view of the ocean.This is also why at the level of the sound I tried to get something that resonates in an organic way. I wanted to be very present on it, energetically speaking. To accompany this album, I shared on YouTube a documentary that follows me during a road trip. The images symbolize the feelings that I have passed. Thus, my fans have access to the world I created. People know, suddenly, where I am in my life.
Between your previous album, It Was Good Until It Wasn’t and this new disc, you explain that you have made a kind of detox or spiritual treatment (“Spiritual Cleansing”). What is it?
I tried to get rid of the part of me that was depressed and was constantly victimizing…
Kick the Habit: An Interview with a Rising Artist
A fan recently shared a deeply personal story sparked by the artist’s music. After ending a difficult relationship, she found herself lost and surrounded by negativity.Then, hearing the artist’s songs, she felt a surge of empowerment, exclaiming: “Come on, stop it all, I want to change my life.” She embarked on a journey of self-love and rediscovery. The artist reflects, “It’s giving me too much importance. I may have been the spark that sparked this path. But it was you who did all that.”
“My daughter and Zendaya love each other.”
What are your last artistic favorites?
I listened to a lot of classical music while making this album, but also Frank ocean. When I work on my music, I listen to genres far removed from my own, like jazz or funk groups. And I prefer music not sung in English to avoid influence. The only way to create something new, it seems to me, is to listen to sounds opposite to my usual universe. I also watched a lot of Wes Anderson films (but no action movies). I wanted my new album to sound cinematic, like a film soundtrack.
You were a childhood friend with actress Zendaya (with whom you almost founded a group) and the singer-musician Her. Can you tell us about your ties?
Yes, absolutely, we were part of the same group of friends. We respect each other,love each other,and we hang out together. My daughter and Zendaya love each other. they’ve remained very “normal” people despite their success. Even with the unbelievable things they achieve today,I see them as sisters.