Kehlani Channels the Sound of Millennium-Era R&B for the Triumphant ‘Kehlani’: Album Review

Home Music Album Reviews Apr 24, 2026 12:04pm PT Kehlani Channels the Sound of Millennium-Era R&B for the Triumphant ‘Kehlani’: Album Review By Steven J. Horowitz Plus Icon Steven J. Horowitz Senior Music Writer speriod Latest D4vd Had ‘Significant Amount’ of Child Pornography in iCloud Account, Prosecutors Say 1 day ago Zedd in the Park Returns for 2026 Festival Featuring Zedd, Madeon, Porter Robinson, DJ Snake and More (EXCLUSIVE) 1 day ago Drake Announces ‘Iceman’ Album Release Date 3 days ago See All Nearly a decade after releasing her debut “SweetSexySavage,” Kehlani has finally arrived at the self-titled album. An eponymous project this deep into a career is no small proclamation — it’s traditionally a one-time event that’s meant to suggest a body of work is so emblematic that it speaks for itself, or it reflects the artist in such a way that it summarizes their creativity in the most complete way possible. That feels appropriate for Kehlani, whose 2024 album “Crash” was perhaps the most unfocused she has been on a record, grabbing across genre lines for a project whose broad scope created imbalance. “Kehlani,” her fifth studio album, course-corrects the spaghetti-against-the-wall approach of “Crash” by centering the sound in one specific arena: millennium R&B at the intersection of pop. Popular on Variety Related Stories Sister Group Buys Majority Stake in U.K. Digital Production Company After Party Studios