Kehlani Is Unapologetically Vulnerable With ‘SweetSexySavage’

Char Little

In 2016, good-girl-gone-bad Kehlani was perhaps best known for revealing via Instagram that she nearly took her own life after she was falsley accused of cheating on her ex-boyfriend, Cleveland Cavaliers player Kyrie Irving, with Party Next Door. Now Kehlani is back with her latest album “SweetSexySavage,” which is already receiving pretty big buzz on the Internet.

Fans can clearly see the transition Kehlani has made, physically and emotionally, since she released her mixtape “Cloud 19” in 2014. She followed “Cloud 19” up with the album “You Should Be Here” in 2015, which earned a Grammy nomination. But now, Kehlani is all grown up as she flaunts her pixie haircut and nearly nude physique on the cover of the highly anticipated album. The artwork alone indicates that she is going to provide a level of vulnerability like never before. The previous drama in Kehlani’s personal life has given her the liberty to express herself even more freely than she did in the first two projects.

It looks like Kehlani was able to channel that hurt and emotion into the 19-track “SweetSexySavage.” While she had already released two songs, “Crzy” and “Distraction,” the full album tells a story.

She opens it up with a spoken intro in which she offers a statement to her fans and critics. “My condolences to anyone who’s ever lost me; and to anyone who got lost in me, or to anyone who felt they took a loss with me. My apologies for the misunderstanding or the lack thereof; I’m sorry you missed the God in me. I’m sorry you missed the light. I’m sorry you missed the way I rose like a bird night after night…”

Track two, “Keep On” brings about a new feeling but still the same level of consciousness. While it’s a feel-good track, the lyrics offer more of Kehlani’s apologies for not being the woman who some thought she should be. She goes on to ask for a “Distraction” in the third song of the same name, but warns “don’t distract me.”

On “Piece of Mind,” Kehlani reveals she wants to get back to her old self and opens up about her nearly fatal moment. “At least I learned a thing or two about me and you, what we went through, it made me who I am… I can feel again, won’t be numb again, at least I didn’t mess it up, that was all your touch.”

The vulnerability continues throughout the rest of album including the single “Crzy.” She ends the album with “Thank You,” which shows a level of gratitude, and “I Wanna Be” along with the bonus track “Gangsta” from the “Suicide Squad” soundtrack. 

Kehlani’s “SweetSexySavage” is available on Apple Music Jan. 27.