Review: From Vine to Billboard: Kehlani Reaches New Heights With New Mixtape âYou Should Be Hereâ
âSomebody said sheâs Tumblr music,â read the text message from my friend in reference to Kehlani Parrish, the Oakland breed songstress. Itâs reductive, but to some degree, heâs right. Â Parrish creates music that caters to a generation thatâs struggling to balance their romanticized ideals of early adulthood with reality.
Parrish, now simply Kehlani, emerged in 2011, with the band Poplyfe, on âAmericaâs Got Talentâ, where after their Seattle audition, Piers Morgan said she was talented, but didnât need the band. She politely replied â⌠when we get into an electric set, you wonât say what you just said.â Poplyfe finished in fourth place.
Now at 20 years old, Kehlani has reemerged as a tattooed, toking solo act thatâs in tune with her womanhood and her ability to command the attention of both her peers and her elders. You Should Be Here is a mixtape dedicated to lost friends, fallen family members and individuals the songstress has yet to encounter. YSBH explores the emotions that surround Kehlaniâs journey with self-discovery and her rising success, while dissecting the ups and downs of her relationship with a metaphorical âhimâ. Â
Tracks like âAliveâ, âBe Alrightâ and âBrightâ are overflowing with empowerment and positivity, and each speak to the coming of age moment that ultimately will catapult Kehlani into stardom. Although each track draws from Kehlaniâs personal experiences, they contain a lyrical vagueness that leaves room for listeners to draw their own meaning based on their personal experiences âWantedâ, tells the story of her finding selfless love and has elements that liken this track to contemporary gospel which leads the listener to assume Kehlani holds any belief in the higher power close to her heart. Thankfully, Kehlani successfully walks the thin line that separates inspirational and preachy. Â
Similar to the generation her music caters to, Kehlani seems to be in love with love. Tracks like âThe Wayâ featuring Chance the Rapper and âDown For Youâ featuring BJ The Chicago Kid are as romantic as they are realistic. Thereâs no mention of material items or either partyâs physical appearance. Instead, she trades lines with each of these men about love that places emphasis on reciprocity. Â On âNiggasâ she declares âno moreâ, as sheâs reached the point where she no longer desires to give parts of herself to loves that stifles her. She expands upon this concept on âRunninââ. âDoes it make you nervous, Iâm not afraid to say what I want? /âcause I know every man has a fear of a strong minded woman,â she sings on the interlude placed towards the lower half of YSBH. Itâs clear that with finding herself, Kehlani found her voice and she refuses to shy away from it.
For every ounce of femininity to Kehlani and her music, thereâs two more ounces of strength that bend gender norms. You Should Be Here is simply a taste of that.
âI wouldnât even call my R&B right now necessarily what the current state of R&B is,â said Kehlani to Billboard magazine in a feature for their May 2015 issue. âThat's something that interests me though, and I want to learn how to make cool, current R&B that's radio-friendly. I bring a vulnerable honesty to R&B that I feel like a lot people donât. I donât know if theyâre scared or they think it wonât make them money or they think itâs gonna stop them from reaching a broader audience, but thereâs a whole bunch of us out there who need healing, and I feel like I bring that out.â
I hope Kehlani never learns the secret formula to radio hits because sheâs already found a formula that works.
