Kehlani

Album: A Jaguar's Dream (2024)
Charted: 8 24
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Originally hailing from London, Jordan Adetunji is a Northern Irish alternative hip-hop artist based in Belfast.

    In this song, a confident and independent woman captivates Adetunji. He admires her looks, her self-assurance, and her ability to achieve her goals on her own. In the chorus, he likens her beauty and confidence to that of singer Kehlani, using fire and water metaphors to convey the intensity of his feelings.
  • Adetunji wrote "Kehlani" himself, with production by Prodbyli and VillaBeatz. The track incorporates a sample from Summer Walker's 2019 track "Potential."
  • Released as a single on May 19, 2024, Adetunji teased the track on TikTok four days earlier, posting a snippet with the caption, "Bro wrote a whole song about Kehlani, but why it kinda go hard," accompanied by a flurry of popular hashtags.

    On May 23, Kehlani herself posted a pair of TikToks where she vibes and lip-syncs to the track, giving it her personal endorsement.
  • It was a chance encounter with a Logan Paul's IMPAULSIVE podcast featuring Kehlani in 2023 that sparked this song. Inspired by the California singer's powerful image as a successful, independent woman, Adetunji found the perfect muse for his breakthrough single.

    "I was watching an interview on IMPAULSIVE podcast. It was in my living room, and I remember saying to my brother, 'Damn. [Kehlani] looks great,'" Adetunji recalled to Billboard. "But it wasn't just that... It was how much she's done over the years, and still been able to be such an uplifting person and a boss in her own way. I have always wanted to write a song about a woman who is a boss, creative in her way, and leads in her strides. For me, it just made sense. She was the picture of that. That's why I put her name in there."
  • Adetunji was hesitant about releasing a song referencing Kehlani, but his adventurous spirit prevailed. "At the start, I was feeling like, "Ooh. Should I do that? How is it gonna go? This can go wrong," but I'm a risk-taker. I don't care," he told Billboard. "I'm gonna post this. It is what it is today. That's why I'm happy I took that risk. Writing a song about someone, they might not mess with it, but she was a good sport. She's really been supportive this whole process. Shout out to her for that, for real."
  • Jordan Adetunji released a remix of "Kehlani" featuring the song's namesake on August 2, 2024. "Working with Kehlani has been a great experience because I've been able to see her process, and how she sings, how she places things, and how she says her words," he said.
  • Adetunji always wanted Kehlani to guest on the track but was too shy to ask her himself. "She hit me up and said, 'So am I gonna get the open verse?' and I was like, 'That's crazy!'" he explained to NME. "She was in the studio, and I needed to send her the file, so I was in the middle of the club trying to search for the right file; I'd named it something so dumb! I managed to get it to her, and she locked in on that one. The remix came out fire."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Stand By Me: The Perfect Song-Movie Combination

Stand By Me: The Perfect Song-Movie CombinationSong Writing

In 1986, a Stephen King novella was made into a movie, with a classic song serving as title, soundtrack and tone.

Modern A Cappella with Peder Karlsson of The Real Group

Modern A Cappella with Peder Karlsson of The Real GroupSong Writing

The leader of the Modern A Cappella movement talks about the genre.

Jeff Trott

Jeff TrottSongwriter Interviews

Sheryl Crow's longtime songwriting partner/guitarist Jeff Trott reveals the stories behind many of the singer's hits, and what its like to be a producer for Leighton Meester and Max Gomez.

Michael Schenker

Michael SchenkerSongwriter Interviews

The Scorpions and UFO guitarist is also a very prolific songwriter - he explains how he writes with his various groups, and why he was so keen to get out of Germany and into England.

Loudon Wainwright III

Loudon Wainwright IIISongwriter Interviews

"Dead Skunk" became a stinker for Loudon when he felt pressure to make another hit - his latest songs deal with mortality, his son Rufus, and picking up poop.

Little Big Town

Little Big TownSongwriter Interviews

"When seeds that you sow grow by the wicked moon/Be sure your sins will find you out/Your past will hunt you down and turn to tell on you."