Kehlani

In a 2019 interview with Apple Music, Kehlani described getting signed after leaving the teen-pop group Poplyfe. Great, they thought: Now’s their chance to do something for themselves, something authentic. So they put out a couple of mixtapes. The response was good—2015’s You Should Be Here reached No. 5 on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop charts—but the business side kept insisting they could be something more, something like a “quote-unquote superstar”, they remember. “So I’m like, ‘Let me try!’ And then I try. And I’m like, I hate this.” Which, of course, is part of the appeal, in hindsight. Born in Oakland, California, in 1995, Kehlani Parrish has become one of the most grounded, inspiring voices in modern R&B, preaching messages of self-care, sexual fluidity and light New Age-iness in ways that feel frank, funny and real. They're perfect in their messy bun (“Unconditional”); they're down with astrology for reasons both sexual and psychological (“Water”); they're here to break bread with you, travel the world and sleep in different beds with you, but also to make revenue (“Change Your Life”). Above all, you get the sense that Kehlani is genuine—to themselves, to their music and to their audience. If they aren't 100% human, they do a good job pretending.