The R&B superstar opens up to Roxy Bourdillon about sexuality, serenity and survival
Photo by Arturo Torres
Kehlani is a Grammy-nominated R&B powerhouse who scored a dizzying 753 million Spotify streams last year alone. Kehlani is a cutting edge queer icon with a back catalogue including sapphic-drenched smash hit Honey (“I like my women like I like my honey; sweet, a little selfish”). And, when I speak to her one late February evening on a transatlantic Skype call, Kehlani is abundantly, radiantly, in her own words, “ready to pop”.
Of course, I’ve seen her pregnancy all over social media. She’s been lovingly recording every moment of each trimester, sharing resplendent “preggo” selfies like a modern day fertility goddess with added swag. “I’m in the spotlight,” she explains pragmatically. “People are gonna go out of their way to figure my life out anyway. I’d rather I control it. It’s been pretty cool.”
She has a soothing, grounded aura that I suspect isn’t merely a by-product of impending mother-hood. Her answers are articulate, philosophical and wise beyond her 23 years. When I bring up the backlash her baby news garnered from some disgruntled gay fans, she is frank but serene. “There’s a lot of internalised homophobia within the queer community,” she begins evenly.
Read the rest of this exclusive interview in the April 2019 issue of DIVA, available now via the links below.
Only reading DIVA online? You’re missing out. For more news, reviews and commentary, check out the latest issue. It’s pretty badass, if we do say so ourselves.
