Kehlani Talks New Album, ‘Blue Water Road’
Kehlani has opened up about their new album, Blue Water Road, and the path to self-acceptance in a new interview with The Independent.
Blue Water Road was released on 29 April and has been another critical success for the R&B singer. Executive produced by Pop Wansel, the album features guest appearances from Justin Bieber, Syd, Blxst, Jessie Reyez, Ambré and Thundercat.
In the interview, Kehlani addressed speculation that the Blue Water Road track Wish I Never was about rapper YG, who it was widely believed was the subject of a number of songs on Kehlani’s previous album, It Was Good Till It Wasn’t. “‘Wish I Never’ is definitely about that person [addressed on It Was Good Until It Wasn’t], but it’s coming from such a relaxed place, and it’s less about him but the s*** it created in my life, like… damn, that threw me off my axis a little bit.”
The singer went on to talk about their current state of mind, “I’m in my loving-myself, living-my-best-life era. Pasta and passion and other languages and travel…” Discussing their problems over the last few years, they said, “If all that chaos hadn’t happened, I don’t know if I’d be this person – someone I’m really proud of,” they say. “I’m proud of my resilience, of my withdrawal from things that don’t bring me joy.”
Kehlani went on to reflect on the meaning of the cover of It Was Good Till It Wasn’t, “I think it was a play on ‘the grass is greener’, because no matter where you looked it was chaotic,” Kehlani agrees. “I had chosen someone who wasn’t for me, and my big old stupid heart… I was looking at this chaos and going ‘I’m gonna touch it!’ Not even realising how beautiful the garden I was growing on my own side was.”