Kehlani has fans buzzing with a teaser for her highly anticipated fourth studio album, ‘Crash,’ set to drop on June 21. The Oakland-born artist shared a snippet on her social media, featuring her in a steam room, wrapped in a towel, and singing, “I’m not the one, and I’m kind of crazy.”
Over the past month, Kehlani has been very vocal about her support for Palestine amid ongoing conflicts in the region. In her music video for ‘Next 2 U,’ released in late May, she reinforced her stance. The video begins with a poem by Hala Alyan and the slogan ‘Long Live The Intifada,’ referring to the 1987 uprising against Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
At the end of the ‘Next 2 U’ video, Kehlani included a message dedicated to the children affected by the conflict. ‘We tried to make a scroll honoring the names of thousands of deceased children,’ the message reads. ‘The list was so long that our fastest scroll at 3 minutes was illegible. The link to the casualties is provided in the description through Al Jazeera. Please take a moment to scroll at your own pace.’
After the video’s release, Kehlani took to Instagram to share more about her efforts: ‘this was the most daunting part of the process. [a] 120 page word doc,’ she began. ‘at highest speed, for an entire minute, we couldn’t even make it to january. LONG LIVE THE MARTYRED CHILDREN. GOD BLESS THE CHILDREN. head to @aljazeera@aljazeeraenglish to scroll at an honorable, appropriate place/pace. we bear witness.’
In addition, Kehlani launched merchandise for ‘Next 2 U’ that is produced in Bethlehem in a family-run sewing workshop. According to her website, all proceeds go toward supporting Palestinian, Congolese, and Sudanese families through Operation Olive Branch.
With ‘Crash’ set to release soon, Kehlani continues to blend her music with poignant social messages. Fans eagerly await what this new album will bring, both sonically and thematically.
