Kehlani Breaks Down Every Song On 'Crash' Track By Track | Making The Album

9 July 2024, 16:47 | Updated: 26 July 2024, 16:27

By Sam Prance

Kehlani opens up about the meaning behind all of their 'Crash' lyrics on Capital Buzz's Making The Album podcast.

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Making The Album is back with another iconic episode and this time we're speaking to the incredible Kehlani and discussing all the songs on their genre-defying fourth studio album 'Crash'.

For anyone new to this, Making The Album is a Capital Buzz podcast and video series in which we take you, the fans, inside the recording process of your favourite records. To date, Sam Prance (that's me - hi) has spoken to Niall Horan, Ashnikko, Madison Beer, Victoria Monét and Chappell Roan about their projects.

Now, it's Kehlani's turn. In this episode, they open up about working with Jill Scott on 'Sucia', flipping Christina Aguilera's 'What a Girl Wants' into a sex jam and how coming out as a lesbian has changed how they write. Kehlani even sets the record straight on how you actually pronounce their name.

Hit play on the video below to learn how 'Crash' was made. You can also listen to the full episode on Global Player or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

To give you a little taster, below are some highlights of what Kehlani had to say about each song.

LISTEN TO KEHLANI ON MAKING THE ALBUM NOW

Kehlani Breaks Down Every Song On 'CRASH' | Making The Album

1) GrooveTheory

"Starting with this song, I knew it was ambitious, because I was saying, 'This is either going to make people really excited or it's going to completely turn them off, and they're gonna hate my stinking guts.' But people that I really appreciate musically were mind blown by the choice of this song, and especially being able to split it and making the first song a two-part song was also a little ambitious. But I think we did a cool thing."

2) Next 2 U

"I've been yelling on every social media that I possibly have [about Palestine, Sudan and Congo] but a music video is just a staple thing that lasts longer, that more people will see and that my fans would be able to replay because they're attracted to the music first. And in my opinion, if you really listen to the lyrics of the song, it is a freedom song. It is a revolutionary song. It is a song that is about fighting for what you believe in."

Kehlani - Next 2 U [Official Music Video]

3) After Hours

"I miss dancing. My last album, it just wasn't dancey. I wasn't feeling that way. And the music wasn't that way. And I went on tour and was like, 'Oh, I kind of miss this. So when I make the next one, I'm gonna have to remember that that's what I want to do.' And so I made this whole album purposely to tour it. There's a lot of like things that were specifically for a live sound and then specifically to have fun performing."

4) What I Want

"Honestly, that's what a girl wants. That's self explanatory, so I just listed off all the things I want."

5) Crash

"It's funny because I really am a head ass in love. I'm corny but I think just being honest about the imperfection of how love is, or how two imperfect people can create a really solid love, I think is the trick to not being corny. You kiss me like you want to make love to all my f---ing demons - gotta be honest here!"

Kehlani - Crash [Official Music Video]

6) 8

"When I was bi, I was still writing about dudes sometimes. And then once I came out and I had to go on a tour, I ended up changing all the lyrics on stage. It is really liberating from my personal experience to know that I don't have to go on tour and change any lyrics and it can just be what it is."

7) Sucia

"We essentially deconstructed Jill's verse and made it an intro. And at first she was like, 'Why would you do that?' And I was like, 'No, hear me out. I's so cool. And it comes after '8' and it's like this coochie eating anthem and then you start it off with, 'I'm nasty'! Come on! Hear my vision Aunty Jill!' And she's super incredible. So to get her in classic true freaky frog form, I'm honoured."

8) Better Not

"It was an interlude. I had a couple of clicks and a little guitar loop. And I was like, 'We should produce it for real and then I should sing it as a country song.' It's a situationship song of 'Dang, I really I really rock with you. And I also can't be mad at anything you're doing because you're technically not mine. But also don't ever do no shit like that again in your life.'"

Kehlani - Better Not [Official Audio]

9) Tears

"That one definitely started as a club banger but the third verse wasn't there. And then I was like, 'You know what could go really cool right here, that one part from that other thing that we really liked, but we're not using it.' So let's just tailor and doctor it. We played operation a lot on this album. We were getting in our mad surgeon bag."

10) Vegas

"I'm a whore for Vegas. I get there and I can feel my blood start to change. It was a perfect place to encapsulate what this album felt like and I just couldn't believe we didn't have a song called 'Vegas' yet. Especially it not actually being about Vegas, but just saying what happens here stays here. It's just like Vegas. I love that cheeky line, it's super sneaky."

11) Deep

"[My daughter] just started singing along and I was like, 'You can go in there and do it if you want.' And she did it and it was one take. I honestly was gagged."

Kehlani - Deep [Official Audio]

12) Chapel

"It is the hardest thing in the world. You want [a relationship] to work, and want it to make sense, so bad. And sometimes it just isn't the most fruitful thing about what two of you have. So that song is definitely about having all the emotions and the wants to be with that person for life and take it there. And it's being like, 'I know, we're kind of just wasting time.'"

13) Lose My Wife

"The whole story of 'Crash' is this crazy epic weekend trip, or however long in Vegas. [This] is that sober moment, the next day or at the end of the night when you're like, 'I actually wilded out. And I really got to sit with all of my decisions, and I got to sit with my energy.' It's not a true story. It's a very trifling verse. I just wanted to write a good verse."

How do I listen to Kehlani's Making The Album episode?

Download the free Global Player app and subscribe to Making The Album via this link to listen to Kehlani's episode right now. You can also listen to Kehlani's episode on Spotify, Apple and all platforms. And if you want to watch the interview, you can head to the Capital Buzz YouTube channel or Global Player.