BY MOSI REEVES August 9, 2017

Kehlani Parrish's music isn't meant to be a secret.

The singer, who was raised in Oakland and currently lives in Los Angeles, makes a winning sweet-and-sour blend of contemporary R&B. She can strike a confident yet self-aware pose. On her single "CRZY," she boasts, "If I gotta be a b—— I'ma be a bad one," then adds, "I kill 'em, I kill 'em, I kill 'em with compassion." Her music hearkens to the honeyed melodies typical of '90s stars like SWV and TLC, homage-paying references to past hits like New Edition's "If It Isn't Love" and Akon's "Don't Matter," and the ecstatic flights of melisma that suggest unfettered joy. Kehlani is a capable and surprisingly strong singer, too, though she often sticks to a strident middle range. When she professes her love, she tends to look for a roundabout way to do it. When she asks, "Do you want to be a distraction, baby?" on "Distraction," her seduction doesn't necessarily roll off the tongue. But it's appealing all the same.

READ THE REST AT NPR.