{"id":2102664,"date":"2026-08-20T14:00:16","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T11:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2102664"},"modified":"2026-08-20T14:00:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T11:00:16","slug":"kehlani-photos-from-the-billboard-cover-shoot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2102664","title":{"rendered":"Kehlani: Photos From the Billboard Cover Shoot"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/cover-kehlani-billboard-2026-bb9-micaiah-carter-1-1800.jpg?w=1024″]<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\tTrending on Billboard\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

It\u2019s early afternoon on a sizzling, sticky late-July day in the hills of Topanga Canyon, high above the stretch of the storied Pacific Coast Highway that connects Santa Monica, Calif., with Malibu. But there\u2019s a different type of warmth inside the orange-curtained cottage on this quiet, bucolic property, where a reunion between two longtime friends and collaborators is about to begin.<\/p>\n

Kehlani and Leon Thomas \u2014 two of the hottest artists in R&B right now \u2014 immediately hug. \u201cI get to do this with someone I actually know and love,\u201d Kehlani says with a wide smile. Clearly relishing his role today as musician-turned-journalist, Thomas notes, \u201cI\u2019m doing an interview with fam so here we are. I feel like a young Bryant Gumbel.\u201d They both burst into laughter. \u201cOh, you stoked,\u201d Kehlani says. \u201cThey gave this man a mic!\u201d<\/p>\n

The longtime co-writers (her \u201cSweet Nuthins,\u201d his \u201cDirt on My Shoes\u201d), fellow Grammy winners and friends are here to talk about 31-year-old Kehlani\u2019s sharp upward trajectory in the wake of her global hit, \u201cFolded,\u201d and being honored as Billboard<\/em>\u2019s 2026 R&B\/Hip-Hop Power Players R&B Artist of the Year. And it\u2019s doubly fitting that Thomas, 33, is sitting in the interviewer\u2019s seat: The \u201cMutt\u201d hitmaker appeared on the cover of Billboard<\/em>\u2019s 2025 R&B\/Hip-Hop Power Players issue as the Breakthrough of the Year honoree.<\/p>\n

Released last June, \u201cFolded\u201d stamped several exclamation points on Kehlani\u2019s long-established career. Marking the singer-songwriter\u2019s first top\u00a010 on the Billboard Hot\u00a0100 (No.\u00a06), the single garnered two Grammys in February: best R&B song and best R&B solo performance \u2014 Kehlani\u2019s first wins after seven nominations. Now RIAA-certified double platinum, \u201cFolded\u201d has become one of the most enduring R&B hits of the decade, spending an astounding 52 weeks on the Hot\u00a0100 and a record-breaking 20th week at No.\u00a01 on the Mainstream R&B\/Hip-Hop Airplay chart. Released in April, her self-titled fifth studio album debuted at No.\u00a04 on the Billboard\u00a0200 (her fourth top\u00a010 career entry) and No.\u00a01 on Top R&B\/Hip-Hop Albums, the latter another first.<\/p>\n

Read the full Kehlani cover story here.<\/em><\/p>\n