With NPR‘s Tiny Desk, Kehlani revisits her greatest hits and honors nations.
Following Ryan Leslie, the Bay Area singer/songwriter, backed by a band and background vocalists, sang a few of her notable mentions in an intimate setting. The set includes “Distractions,” “After Hours,” and “Nights Like This.”
While known for her protest rants and support of Palestine’s freedom, she takes a moment to honor several nations and encourage others to do the same. After “Can I,” the nervous singer says, “I want to take a second to say: Free Palestine. Free Congo. Free Sudan. Free Yemen. Free Hawaii. Free Guam,” they say. “It’s deeper than this. I need everybody that’s here right now, everybody that’s watching, to step up, to use their voices.”
Kehlani shares that the Tiny Desk concert was a long time coming. It supports her new album, CRASH, which was released last month, and the upcoming tour that begins in August. She revealed that many of the album’s feature requests went unanswered, allegedly due to her views on current events.
Her new album includes guest appearances by Jill Scott, Young Miko, and Omah Lay. The hit songs “After Hours,” “Next 2 U,” and “Sucia” are among its 13 tracks. She released the music video for the album’s title track in June.
The performance’s synopsis reads:
“When I first heard Kehlani’s debut mixtape, it was a comfort that reminded me of home. The proud Oakland, Calif. native was 19 years old when that project dropped, and so was I. The tracklist was exactly what I needed as a new Washington, D.C. transplant, thousands of miles away from all of my loved ones in the Bay Area. Over the past decade I’ve followed Kehlani along their journey, growing with them as we both experienced young adulthood. Vulnerability is their superpower, and that power was put to the test at the Tiny Desk, where Kehlani succeeds with flying colors.
“It’s been a long time coming. I definitely know I’m overdue for doing this [Tiny Desk],” Kehlani says in their set. The journey starts with “Nights Like This,” the heartbreak single from their 2019 mixtape, While We Wait. Then, Kehlani switches gears into “Distraction,” from their debut album SweetSexySavage, followed by an effortless merge into “The Way,” from the 2015 project, You Should Be Here.
The set then accelerates into “After Hours,” the groovy, summertime anthem from their latest album, CRASH. Kehlani conquers the Desk with raw and real talent, setting them up for a future in music that is full of possibilities. I’m eager to see their next destination”