As Kehlani gears up for the release of her debut album SweetSexySavage, the Oakland bred singer is opening up about why she waited so long to release it.
During an interview with Zane Lowe on Beats 1, which followed the release of her “Undercover” single, Lani spoke about the recording process.
“I was making the album for like a year-and-a-half,” she explained. “It was so annoying. We’d have a date and then we’d make something else and it’s like, ‘This is cool. Let’s do more of this.’ Then we’d make something else and I’d meet another producer I was obsessed with and we’d vibe. It kept getting pushed back.”
But fans won’t have to wait much longer. SSS is due Jan. 27. Check out the full interview and see highlights from the convo below.
ON SUPERSTARDOM: “I don’t have the same goals I had when I first started. I don’t want to be this gigantic, extra famous, ridiculous ‘superstar’ necessarily. That’s what I wanted when I was little and it seemed super awesome. Now, I have fans that love me, I sell out my tours, I have awesome shows, my fans like me, and that’s all I’m really focused on.”
ON PRESSURE MANAGEMENT: “As far as pressure goes, it’s only as hard as how much you apply it to yourself. The outside world can apply as much pressure as it wants to but if you choose to handle it correctly, calmly, and thoroughly, take baby steps, and be patient with yourself, then everything should be cool. We apply too much pressure on ourselves that we don’t have to.”
ON DECOMPRESSING: “I meditate and I take time to be with people I care about. That’s what keeps me grounded, being able to see my family, do things for my family, and taking days to recenter myself.”
ON INDEPENDENCE: “You can think as independently as possible, but you have to remember that you made the choice to partner with somebody. Being 21 and creative, that’s something that fights it all the time. But it’s cool because I can handle it.”
ON WISDOM: “I’m still learning all these things. There’s nothing I can say a concrete note in stone. I’m only 21 and I get curveballs every single day. As far as I’m concerned, I don’t know shit.”
ON A DREAM COLLABORATION: “The dream is probably The-Dream.”
ON COACHELLA: “Coachella is crazy. I could never afford to go to Coachella. That was one of those things that I was like, ‘Dang. I just wanna go and experience it.’ The first time I went, I was like, ‘What is this magical music place?’ I never went again. To know that the second time I’m going is because I’m performing there is super tight.”
