Kehlani recently made a surprise appearance on Creed III, singing a song made by Tessa Thompson’s character, Bianca, whose hearing loss issues prevent her from performing. The Oakland native found initial fame as a member of the teen group Poplyfe, which placed fourth in season 6 of America’s Got Talent.
Kehlani gained global recognition and a recording deal with Atlantic Records after releasing the mixtapes Cloud 19 and You Should be Here. Since then, she has released three albums: SweetSexySavage, It Was Good Until It Wasn’t and Blue Water Road.
Kehlani is of African-American, European, Native American, and Hispanic ethnicity
Kehlani was born on 24th April 1995 in Oakland, California. She was raised by her maternal aunt, Tanya Marie French, after her father, Elon Thompson Parrish, died and her mother was imprisoned.
The singer is of African-American, European, Native American, and Hispanic ethnicity. Kehlani specified that her Native American tribe is Blackfoot Cherokee. She also stated that she has small amounts of Mexican and Filipino ethnicity.
Kehlani addressed her ethnicity in May 2020 after Lana Del Rey posted on Instagram that Black women are not criticized for creating music about cheating, nudity, and sexiness. Kehlani tweeted:
“I keep being mentioned lately so I wanna say it’s ok to call me mixed. It’s not a diss. It’s ok to recognize I do not face the same issues as Black women with two black parents. It’s ok to call me mixed.”
“Don’t turn this into a struggle moment cuz even that’s a huge privilege that people can’t figure out what I am,” Kehlani continued.
During a May 2015 interview on HOT 97, Kehlani praised her aunt for keeping her away from drugs and negative influences. Kehlani also stated that she’d mended bridges with her mother:
“My mom is about to move in with me – she just got out. Everything happens for a reason; God’s given me this task for a reason. She was in and out. She understands that I had to leave to go to LA to do what I had to do in order to save the rest of my family and save her and make sure everybody’s straight.”