Oakland R&B star Kehlani returns today with the new album blue water road. It’s her first full-length since 2020’s It Was Good Until It Wasn’t, which climbed to No. 2 on the Billboard 200. You can still pick up your vinyl edition of the that album on Amazon now.
Kehlani started teasing blue water road late last year before officially confirming its arrival in an Instagram post last month. Along the way, she also shared three singles off the LP: “little story,” “altar,” and “up at night,” her second collaboration with Justin Bieber. (She previously joined him on his Changes track “Get Me.”) Kehlani says the album’s title refers to a “destination in [her] mind.” “I’m giving everyone access. It’s an emotional journey, a sexual journey, and a spiritual journey,” she said in a statement. “To me, the album is like a glass house. It’s light, transparent, and the sun is shining right through it.”
Apart from Bieber, blue water road includes a slew of other major names, including Thundercat, Syd, and Jessie Reyez. But that doesn’t mean Kehlani is looking to garner mainstream attention with the project. “I’m so glad to be settled into my fan base and in my little world,” she told Byrdie. “I can experiment and have fun. I don’t feel like I have to deliver a radio single right now.”
