Kehlani Drops New Album ‘Blue Water Road’

Author Autumn Hawkins

April 29th, 2022 11:58 AM

Kehlani makes a splash with her newest album Blue Water Road. The two-time Grammy nominee singer and songwriter wants fans to know the amount of care she put into the creation of this project, “I want you to hear the time we put into it, the dedication we put into it, the joy we put into it, and the heart we put into it. There’s a serious pulse. I’m at peace now,” Kehlani explains of the LP, per Billboard.

Blue Water Road features the previously released singles “altar,”  “little story,” “and up at night” ft. Justin Bieber. The album also has contributions from Blxst, Syd, Jessie Reyez, Ambré, and Thundercat.

Blue Water Road is the followup to 2020’s It Was Good Until It Wasn’t, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart and led the Billboard’s Top R&B Albums chart.

10 of Kehlani’s Best Songs

• 10. “Morning” and Teyana Taylor ‘The Album’ (2020)

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  "Morning" from Teyana Taylor's 'The Album' features the two songstresses saying how they are done playing games and just want to get right into bedroom activities. The song is accompanied by a music video that Taylor directed. The song is currently certified gold status by the RIAA.

• 9. “I Like Dat” T-Pain (2021)

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  Kehlani joins T-Pain in the single "I Like Dat" which samples T-Pain's 2007 hit "Buy U a Drink (Shawty Snappin)." T-Pain expressed that Kehlani "made" the track during an Instagram Live saying: "She did her thing on this track and made it what it is." The official remix features rapper Bia and was released on October 1, 2021.

• 8. “Can I” ‘It Was Good Until It Wasn’t’ (2020)

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  "Can I" from Kehlani's 2020 album originally featured Tory Lanez but after the shooting that resulted in Megan Thee Stallion being shot, Lanez's verse was replaced with another of her own. “As someone with a large platform, as someone that people look up to, as a woman that makes other women feel safe and empowered, people were asking me, ‘Are you gonna keep somebody on it who doesn’t necessarily make us feel safe or empowered as a woman?’” she said per Uproxx. “And not only that but, you know, this situation was involving someone that I [am] extremely close to, so I just felt like on some loyal sh*t, and on some do the right thing, you have to be responsible. Absolutely I’m changing up the record.” Kehlani interpolates Aaliyah's 2002 posthumous "Come Over" on the chorus which she used previously in her 2017 hit "Personal." The song is currently certified gold status by the RIAA.
• 7. “Nunya” ft. Dom Kenedy ‘While We Wait’ (2019)

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  In this song, Kehlani tells an ex-lover that it is no longer their concern who she's with. Los Angeles-based rapper Dom Kennedy, who co-wrote the song with Kehlani, drops a verse as her ex. Kehlani chooses to end the relationship due to her man at the time being too friendly around other women. The song's music video features the singer who was pregnant at the time with daughter Adeya, strolling around as she parties on a mountain retreat. The song is currently certified gold status by the RIAA.

• 6. “Honey” (2017)

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  Kehlani showcases her pure vocals with an acoustic tune for her hit "Honey" which was released in 2o17. The California native spoke to MTV News about the origin of the song: "I am very openly queer," she said. "I thought that my music lacked representation of how my actual life is. I thought it was important to be myself fluidly in my music and not just in my life. My art mimics my life, so you know I have a girlfriend, and it's only right that that's what I make music about and that I'm able to put that out confidently." The song is currently certified gold status by the RIAA.

• 5. “Gangsta” ‘Suicide Squad: The Album’ (2016)

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  "Gangsta" is the fourth and final single from the DC comics film 'Suicide Squad.' Fans speculated that the song is a depiction of Harley Quinn's relationship with The Joker. Director David Ayer spoke about the song to Zane Lowe, "I heard this and a few bars in and I was like this is a beast, this is gonna smash, this is it. But the other thing is there was this emotional quality to it, that sort of raw, broken yet strong, haunting quality to it," he said. "I think I threw it on a flash drive and ran in to the editor and I'm like dude you gotta throw this on picture I need to see this right now and it just instantly worked." The song is currently at certified platinum status by the RIAA.
• 4. “The Way” ft. Chance The Rapper ‘You Should Be Here’ (2015)

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  In "The Way" featuring Chicago-bred rapper Chance The Rapper, Kehlani talks about what makes her boyfriend so special. Kehlani talked to Billboard about the collaboration: "I didn't send Chance the song for him to get in on it. I sent it to get the musical opinion of a friend whose musical opinion I really value. I sent it to him and was just like, 'Check your email, tell me what you think about the song.' He was like, 'Save me a verse for the remix,' and I was like, 'You could totally get on the original.' And he got on the original and it was really great." The song is currently at certified platinum status by the RIAA.

• 3. “Distraction” ‘SweetSexySavage’ (2017)

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  In "Distraction" Kehlani sings about wanting to keep things causual with a love interest so that she can remain focused on her goals. She told Genius how she came up with the theme for the track: "I was talking to this girl and I was like, it's cool to have a little thing but right now I'm so in my vibe. So you got to be a distraction but you really can't take away from what I got going on. I made it an Instagram caption first and then was like, 'that s--t was fire,' and took off the caption - we made this song right after." The song is currently at certified platinum status by the RIAA.

• 2. “Toxic” ‘It Was Good Until It Wasn’t’ (2020)

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  In "Toxic" Kehlani sings about blaming the Don Julio (tequila) on attempting to run back into a not-so-good relationship just because the sex is good. Kehlani freestyled most of the self-penned track and producer G.Ry vouches for the singer who says, "The night Kehlani did 'Toxic' we did about four to five records... she's the real deal." The song is currently at certified platinum status by the RIAA.
• 1. “Nights Like This” ft. Ty Dolla $ign, ‘While We Wait’ (2019)

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  "Nights Like This" was an instant hit. The track features R&B hitmaker Ty Dolla $ign. In "Nights Like This," the R&B singers talk about how you want to hit up someone when you're missing them but then just realize it could be a big mistake. The song marked the first time the two collaborated. They would later collaborate in "Universe." The song is currently two-times certified platinum status by the RIAA.

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Author Autumn Hawkins

Category:

• Music

Tags:

kehlani