Kehlani is about to hit us with some new music, but before all that she opened up to Playboy about what masculinity and femininity means to her, finding a new approach to songwriting, and how “being a mom is the sexiest thing ever.”
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After gracing her and in turn our Instagram feed with a procession of lingerie clad Savage X Fenty ambassador pics, Kehlani, switched things up during 20 questions with Playboy, baring what’s on inside, rather than out for the publication's second ever digital cover.
Never fearful to reveal herself, in whatever means she feels, you can always count on Kehlani to keep it real, and so her sit down with Playboy was nothing but. From discussing the impact her critically acclaimed 2020 album, It Was Good Until It Wasn’t has had on her, her love of creating, not allowing outside pressure to weigh her down, to the challenges, or rather lack there of, to balancing expectations.
When asked what is currently inspiring the next Kehlani project, she alluded that her journey of self-work and discovery, while different, is far from complete. “I have taken this opportunity during quarantine to go extremely inward,” she shared, “cracking down on my spiritual journey and spiritual self and enforcing boundaries I never had.”
As for her new music, Kehlani explains it as “a reflection of a healthy self, healthy love for the self, healthy love with spirit, healthy love - healthy everything around me…. It feels really refreshing. It feels grown. All of a sudden, I got these mom hips. I got this mom sensuality and grown-woman attitude and this in-touch-ness with my body that I never had before.”
In the begging of her career, song writing was all about internalizing lessons and growth and proving she was a bad you know what. With age, Kehlani admitted she “learned how to write with some depth about sadder things. I always wrote my way out of sadness with uplifting angles, but It Was Good Until It Wasn’t taught me to alchemize my sorrow.”
When asked to define what masculinity and femininity means for her and what it took for her to arrive at those definitions, Kehlani was once again an open book.
“I’ve discovered that I’ve run from a lot of femininity. I was way more comfortable in a more masculine space. I feel more masculine when I am in my stillness and I’m grounded in a quiet, contemplative mode. I feel most feminine when I’m being the mother of my house. I also feel my femininity when I take time for self-care… and saying how beautiful I feel.” She said, also describing beautiful flower-filled bathtubs, hair masks and body oils, “my femininity makes me feel soft and gentle and tender and careful in a different way than my masculinity makes me feel. I’m trying not to let it fall into the gender norms of feminine and masculine, but for me it does a tiny bit. But I also am very fluid in both of those settings.
Either way, Kehlani effortlessly oozes sexuality, admitting to feeling “sexiest when I’m really bare.” As for her thoughts on being a sex symbol, she noted her mom status has only leveled her up. Professing, “I hope people know being a mom doesn’t make you less sexy. Being a mom is the sexiest thing ever.”
Among the 20 questions answered, Kehlani also discussed the challenge of balancing expectations, how her creative process goes, never feeling professionally trapped despite her long-lasting career, as well as the hardest and easiest parts to fame and so much more.
You can check it all out here, including this fun fact: she’s looking for a doula certification program.
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