Surfing the Pacific Ocean’s peaceful waves along with enjoying San Diego’s breeze brought Kehlani the tranquility needed to craft their upcoming project.
Lani returned on Thursday (April 4) with their first offering of new music since 2022’s Blue Water Road. The airy “After Hours” hit streaming services oozing with good vibes spurring fans to get outside ahead of summertime.
The groovy track features a familiar sample implementing the drums from Nina Sky‘s 2004 hit “Move Ya Body,” which peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100.
“We don’t gotta take it slow/ I’ma hit the gas if you’re ready to go/ I wanna speed it, breathe into your clothes/ The way you touch my neck got me ready to fold,” she sings.
Kehlani caught up with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe on Thursday where she detailed her love for “Move Ya Body” when it came to sampling and how she wanted to create more cheerful music rather than the sorrowful tunes her fans cling to.
“Because those drums, when they drop, it’s so recognizable and everybody just loses it. It’s one of those things where it drops and everybody goes, ‘Woo,’ and bends their knees and puts their hands on their knees,” she explained.
“Coming out of this pandemic to global tragedy to global tragedy to global tragedy, I was like I’m not really in a space to make something that feels super jarring or super sad. I’m very outspoken about these things, but I want my art to provide some kind of life and fun. I wanna hear this outside and I wanna feel good.”
Kehlani still hasn’t revealed the title or release date of their anticipated LP. Her last LP Blue Water Road peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard 200 and No. 8 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.
Listen to “After Hours” and watch Kehlani’s Apple Music interview below.