Kehlani: “Distraction”

BY: Michael Perris

With her debut album, SweetSexySavage, set to be released on January 27, Kehlani is ready to soar. The music video for “Distraction”—watch it, above—is the second from that album and her most elaborate and beautiful to date. The 21-year-old artist from Oakland, California (born Kehlani Ashley Parrish), is not easily pigeonholed: she’s of mixed race—black, white, Hispanic and Native American—and is romantically interested in both men and women. But her success is clear and present: she was a Grammy nominee last year for her urban-contemporary mixtape, You Should Be Here, and this year for her contribution (“Gangsta”) to the Suicide Squad movie soundtrack. At PROVOKR, we’re psyched for more Kehlani, and soon.