From Taylor Swift sitting down with Paul McCartney in London to Erykah Badu and Summer Walker delving into love, songwriting, and UFOs, Rolling Stone’s Musicians on Musicians series brings together musicians of all kinds in conversation. The musicians are the ones who ask the questions, resulting in deep dialogues about music, life, inspiration, and creation, as well as live and in-person interactions.
Alicia Keys was a part of Kehlani’s life soundtrack as she was growing up in Oakland in the 2000s. Kehlani would go on to have her own career, establishing herself as one of her generation’s most inventive singers, straddling the realms of R&B, pop, and hip-hop. But she never forgot about Keys, and she even mentioned her in the song “Can I” from 2020’s It Was Good Until It Wasn’t. You can imagine how it must have felt for Kehlani to sit across from Alicia this summer and hear how much she admired her music.
The two artists met in L.A. late this summer, accompanied by moderator Briana Younger. And, as one might expect from two songwriters who never hold back, they went deep quickly. Keys and Kehlani, who both have new releases coming out this winter (Kehlani this winter, Keys on Dec. 10), discussed everything from spirituality to crafting love tunes to knowing when to leave the studio when things aren’t working out.
