Initially, you didn’t really listen to radio. How are you balancing making your music and this idea of being radio friendly?

Kehlani: I feel like my voice is radio friendly and it’s about the power of the song and if it’s the right song. Often songs hit the radio and you’re surprised it hit the radio because you can’t even believe that it’s not the usual sound going on right now.

So, talk to me about your creative process.

Kehlani: I kind’ve skim through beats whether it’s on my email or I just tweet: ‘Yo, I’m in the studio. I’m beat-less. Send shit now! Hot shit. Fire emoji.’  I’m not picky or anything to where the producer has to be popping or not – if they make good music, they make good music. I think I vibe the hardest with my main producer Jahaan Sweet. When we get together it’s just crazy because he’s a person I’m comfortable with giving a lot of input like if he doesn’t like how a word sounds or how it’s going he’ll say ‘change this’ or ‘tweek this.’

So you might not tackle being “sexy” but you do touch on sexuality with “1st Position,” what or who inspired that record? 

Kehlani: I feel like they’re needs to be someone out there to get the message out without shoving it down people’s throats. I’m not out there saying ‘yo, yo, yo Gay rights! Be receptive!’ I’m offering a teasing type of playful song and giving the message with the song. A lot of people right now can’t digest things. It’s sad, Kendrick’s album should be the most talked about thing in the fucking planet right now but because a lot of hood ni**as aren’t going to be able to sit and grasp all of this amazing knowledge that was just given to them they’re just going to skim through it.

Do you feel like fans have to be spoon-fed these heavier topics?

Kehlani: In R&B, yes. I’m somewhere in between this crazy lyricism and good solid R&B to the point where I feel like it’s enough to digest. I got tracks on there that are more simple like “Act A Fool” you can jam but then I got tracks like if you listen to “How We Do Us” and if you listen to the lyrics I’m explaining an A1 situation and the lyrics are crazy like I deserve better. You have to find that midway point but don’t compromise because you don’t feel people will understand just be aware that some people won’t.

How do you think that affects you trying to enter the market as an R&B artist?

Kehlani: I think it gives me this wide ass open lane to just smash through. Style wise, the way I make music, there’s no one doing what I’m doing. I haven’t had to make some “2 On” or “Fancy.”  All that shit is great, I’m not bagging on it, music is doing it’s thing right now. Can you call it R&B, no.