Billboard Women in Music 2026 Impact Award recipient Kehlani takes us deep into her creative process and emotional journey behind her hit “Folded” and her self-titled album. From bedroom-recording sessions to navigating the complexities of the music industry, Kehlani opens up about her passion for R&B, the challenges of staying true to her artistry and the impact her music has had on fans and the genre itself. She also talks about collaborating with iconic artists such as Ludacris, Lil Wayne and Clipse, the unexpected success of “Folded” and more!
Kehlani: There are some people who are like, “I can’t wait for y’all to stop listening to this toxic song. Like, this song is so toxic.” And other people are like, “Oh, girl, it’s a sex song. Like, she just wanted to get cracked.” And then there’s other songs that’s like, “OK, so they had you messed up and you’re just gonna take them back and you just folded the clothes like that?” I’m like, “Oh, wow, let’s talk about it some more.”
This album was two more albums before this. I think I was on tour and every single break I had in between all the tours, I was living in an apartment at the time, and my engineer would come over and I was recording in my bedroom. So for months, in between these touring months, every time we had a break, I was just in my room with my engineer writing completely alone to beat packs. And there’s all this kind of darker, emotional … I was, like, processing a lot of things that were happening that I was being completely silent about, dealing with all this external chaos, but I was muted. I was going through so much that I wasn’t speaking, and the only thing I was able to do was really write in my room. Then I went to Hawaii to see my cousins and my friends, surf a little bit and write. We made one song, and I was like, “It is not time for this weird-ass album. Get your head in the game, girl. Like, it’s not time for this right now. You wanna go alternative so bad, and it’s just not that. I know what time it is.”
We admitted, OK, it’s time for my self-titled. Like, if there was ever a time, it’s right now. I just went on a really big tour. There was all this chaos that I was at the center of. I just came out of it and went on kind of this redemption tour of, like, “Let me see who really is still here with me through all the chaos.” And I was like, “OK. All right, let’s do it.”
I started making that album. That album was also not true to me at the time. I think it was a part of me, but I think I was shooting for it in this, like, “It’s my self-titled, I’ve gotta go big. I’ve gotta pull out all my stops.” Then we made “Folded.” So can you come pick up your clothes? I had them folded.
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