Kehlani

Kehlani Ashley Parrish was born on April 24, 1995, in Oakland, California. They initially trained in dance at the Oakland School for the Arts with aspirations of attending the Juilliard School. A knee injury during junior high led them to shift focus to singing. At 14, Kehlani joined the pop cover band PopLyfe, mentored by D’Wayne Wiggins. The group gained national attention on the sixth season of America’s Got Talent in 2011, finishing in fourth place. After leaving PopLyfe due to managerial issues and experiencing a period of homelessness, Kehlani released their first solo track, “ANTISUMMERLUV,” on SoundCloud. Former America’s Got Talent host Nick Cannon supported their early solo career, providing an apartment and studio time in Los Angeles, California.

In 2014, Kehlani released their debut mixtape, “Cloud 19,” which Complex magazine listed among its “50 Best Albums of 2014.” This was followed by the critically acclaimed mixtape “You Should Be Here” in 2015, which reached number five on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best Urban Contemporary Album. Following this success, Kehlani signed with Atlantic Records. Their debut studio album, “SweetSexySavage,” was released in 2017, peaking at number three on the Billboard 200. Kehlani continued to achieve commercial and critical success with their second album, “It Was Good Until It Wasn”t” (2020), which peaked at number two on the Billboard 200, and their third, “Blue Water Road” (2022), which was met with critical acclaim and reached number 13. Their fourth album, “Crash,” was released in 2024.