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Friday, 10 February 2017 14:30

Album Review: Kehlani - Sweet Sexy Savage

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The wait is finally over! Kehlani dropped her album around 11 pm on Jan. 27, and the world came to a halt. All you could see on social media was screenshots of each individual's favorite song. After two years since her last release, her fans were patiently waiting for the arrival of her first album. The wait was worth it; her fans were gifted with a story of heartbreak, growth, love, and life. It's no secret that Kehlani is just like us and goes through everyday problems and just like a real artist she exemplified her flaws in her music.

From auditioning for America's Got Talent to selling out stadiums and having a worldwide audience, R&B star Kehlani is a perfect Cinderella story. Only 21 years of age, the Oakland native got two huge nominations, one for Best New Artist at BET and another for Best Urban Contemporary Album at the Grammys. After releasing one extraordinary mixtape, the edgy R&B singer is proving to be unstoppable. It's no secret that R&B has lacked in content in previous years; thus, it seems to be no real R&B star that rises to actual stardom like they did in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. According to Hip Hop Icon Sean Combs, Kehlani is the “one that is currently saving R&B”.

Kehlani released her first mixtape in 2015, and since then her fans have been patiently waiting for her next project. While waiting for the release of her new project Kehlani released two singles CRZY and Distraction that were well received by her fans. The two singles are now on her debut album entitled ‘Sweet Sexy Savage’. ‘Sweet Sexy Savage’ consists of 19 tracks including an intro. It’s rare for an artist to still use intros being that a lot of artists don’t particularly do those as much as they did in the golden days.

Kehlani knew what it meant to introduce an album, a project, and a masterpiece. She used the spoken word from Reyna Biddy, which introduced you to the artistry and passion of the project while simultaneously demonstrating the album substance. Listening to the album with bass and in a room, one could only imagine the vibes that were created when recording the album. It's crzy to think that only at 21 years of age Kehlani is knocking down barriers as she continues her career, getting better and better gradually.

When listening to the project you hear Kehlani's influence from Lauryn Hill and Aaliyah. The intro reminds me of Lauryn Hill poetry, and her song ‘Too Much’ gives an Aaliyah feel. In the song ‘Too Much’, Kehlani is singing about how she is too much of a woman, and that plays on Aaliyah’s song ‘More Than A Woman’. The beat in the song ‘Too Much’ also sounds very similar to a Timbaland beat. The Oakland native appears to be very great at pulling from R&B legends and creating a separate lane for herself.

The album cover of ‘Sweet Sexy Savage’ is a picture of Kehlani without a top; hence, appearing the artist to be naked. It's a good representation of the songs because when listening to the album you can hear Kehlani's vulnerability and rawness in her voice. The song ‘Everything Is Yours’ has to be Kehlani's most naked song thus far. The song depicts Kehlani just giving everything she owns away, her love, soul, money, and energy into her first love. The song is intensified by her repeating, "my ring is yours"; by doing that, Kehlani stressed how willing she is to give her all to her partner.

If you have ever been in a relationship and experienced the feeling of love within the relationship, you can relate to the work of art. Overall the quality of her vocals and the distinct beats make for a great piece of werk. Each song illustrates a different stage of a relationship and magnifies the feelings on the inside. On a scale from 1-10, the album would be considered an 8.8. Check out the album below!

Read 10218 times Last modified on Thursday, 06 April 2017 18:22

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