Lately, Kehlani has been on the other side of the world touring in Australia and New Zealand. The SweetSexySavage sat down for a very candid interview with New Zealand’s RNZ. Speaking with Ellen Falconer ahead of her performance opening for Halsey, Lani opened up about a variety of topics from her early career, finding her sound, her debut album, and much more.
While talking about her debut album title ‘SweetSexySavage,’ she explained how the title was conceived, paying homage to TLC, and how it is also a reference to the complexities of women. Further into their conversation, Kehlani talked about mental health and her reasoning for speaking out and being a voice for people that might need support. Keeping the theme of support and female empowerment, Ellen asked Lani about her love for Beyoncé, Cardi B, and SZA.
On Solana, she expressed her love for all the acceptance that SZA is getting around the world. “She is a beautiful chocolate brown woman who is like taking over the planet right now,” she says. “As much as people don’t want to admit that colorism is a thing, colorism is extremely a thing, and to see someone of her color and her stature, looking how she looks, as extremely beautiful and talented as she is, winning 100 percent in first, I don’t think anyone can wish for anything more. That’s beautiful and it’s empowering to every single girl in America who is of color, and I think that’s just my favorite part. She’s very honest and vulnerable, and is not afraid to be that and stand in all of her truths in every single moment.”
On Cardi, she says: “We come from the same place, not the same place in America, but the same kind of background, the same hood, the same struggles. Seeing someone who doesn’t forget that and takes it everywhere with her and isn’t afraid to be exactly as hood as she is, is so admirable. Because when you get into this industry and you came from a place like that, their first thing is like ‘We’re going to send you to media training and we’re going to teach you how to talk.’ She doesn’t need any of that and she’s super intelligent and she just deserves everything that she gets.”
For herself, Kehlani shared how she just wants to keep traveling and keep making songs that connect with people and be able to put her friends into positions to be able to feel how she feels.
Watch the full interview below.
