Kehlani sees success as divine intervention

The Oakland-born singer-songwriter believes it's finally time for her big break as she hits a 'new peak'

- BY CERYS DAVIES

IRVIN RIVERA For The Times

KEHLANI Parrish has a hit with "Folded," which has reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Kehlani has always been told she’s "one song away" from truly making it big.

When the Oakland-born R&B singer came onto the scene in the 2010s with her uninhibited mixtapes, “Cloud 19” and “You Should Be Here,” listeners were immediately charmed by her candid lyrics and her staggering vocal abilities. But once the shimmer of being the “new hot shiny thing” dulled and she settled into her life as a musician, she realized she was being held to a different standard.

“It stopped being about my art. It became a question of ‘Are they keeping up on the charts? Are they getting nominations? Are they getting this cover?’” said Kehlani. “It can really trip you out as a creator. It starts to leak into all of your thoughts. There is a sense of freedom, though. I can just do what I want.”

More than a decade into her career, the 30-year-old singer, whose full name is Kehlani Parrish, seems to have finally landed her long-prophesied “one song away” with “Folded.” Easily identified by its arsenal of classical strings and wishful lyricism, the nuanced breakup anthem, released in June, is her most mainstream track yet — earning two Grammy nominations for R&B song and performance as well as becoming her highest-charting song on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 7.