Kehlani’s New Single “Everybody Business” Soothes Pandemic Pains

The heartbreak vet is back with another love song

By Nyasha Drakes

Kehlani loves out loud on her new single “Everybody Business.” Lilting acoustic melodies begin the heartfelt ballad that was dropped April 16. The 24-year-old songstress is known for very public relationships, like the infamous 2016 drama between R&B artist PartyNextDoor and NBA player Kyrie Irving. Since then the R&B singer has never been afraid to hurt publicly and dropped her 2017 album SweetSexySavage and 2019 mixtape While We Wait. Her projects are often genre-bending by fusing the sounds of pop, R&B, and hip-hop. Her trademark is her bleeding heart and songs from Kehlani feel like reading through pages of her most private diary. It's honest, lovely and though she may be hurting, you get the sense she feels better letting it all go.

“Everybody Business” was born from many talented hands. The Neptunes and Jay-Z’s 2003 single, “Frontin” is the sample of choice. Pharrell’s old bars tell the story of a new girl scared to fall, so she acts unphased but he knows she’s frontin’. Kehlani sings a slowed, melodic version of the upbeat and fast-paced sample. However, her version reassures her lover that no matter what the tabloids, fans, and rumors are saying, “I ain't never been a half-ass lover // Rather lay out on the train tracks for ya // Hit the pavement for ya // Make a statement // And you ain’t never had to ask for that // It's included in the packaging…” 

She makes it clear that she’s a girl who would never front or pretend. This song is a bright billboard down a major highway proclaiming her loyalty, honesty, and love for the special person in her life.

Her euphonious voice is hard to forget, it’s rich yet soft and bold but comforting. It’s hard not to think of the classic song “Love” by Keyshia Cole where she laments about having and losing love. Love songs have this special way of burrowing into our souls and staying etched there forever. Especially in our current haze of panic and uncertainty, listening to an artist like Kehlani is, at least for a moment, reassuring and sure to lift you from anxiety’s quicksand.

The music video directed by Hyphy Williams begins with fans conversing about her love life. “She makes it our business by posting that shit everywhere...now it’s everybody’s business.” One fan even says “so she belongs to the streets?” So in true Kehlani fashion she took to the streets...of her neighborhood to shoot the music video. She stands in the middle of the street, wired mic in hand to deliver the honest lines. “So, if you hear that rah-rah-rah about me // Talkin' all out the side of they mouth about me // I beg you, don't listen // I beg you, just hear me // Believe me

With her back against the backyard fence, images of all her past tabloids pop up on the screen but she waves them off. The heartbreak vet shows us that she rose from her past traumas stronger and better than ever.

Listen to “Everybody’s Business” here.