By Cameron Lee
October 3, 2024
Photo: Myicha Drakeford / CLTure
It was apparent early from the booming drums and distortion-heavy guitar at the beginning of Kehlani’s set, that this was not going to be your average R&B show. At times, it felt like a full-on rock concert, infused with Kehlani’s tender voice, natural spirit, and striking back-up dancers. It was a memorable return for the Oakland, California artist, who has a prolific output of hits at the age of 29.
The first big fall concert of the year at Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre certainly held an aura. It was a showcase of streetwear fashion and an inclusive assembly of many races and orientations. The mid-70s temperatures and a clear sky made way for a captivating evening.
With an audience about three quarters full for the opening act of the evening, the emerging rapper Anycia displayed a carefree charisma and lyrical proficiency. With just her DJ, she spit her raw street tales with tracks like “What Did I Do?,” “BRB,” and most popular recent hit, “Back Outside,” which features fellow Atlanta rapper, Latto.
It was hard not to see and hear the resemblance of early Destiny’s Child with UK R&B and 2022’s Brit Rising Star group, FLO. Jorja Douglas, Stella Quaresma, and Renée Downer, all in their early 20s, exhibited remarkable vocal harmonies over the 2000s hip-hop influenced production, reminiscent of the Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins era. Synchronized choreography, harmonizing layered vocals, and the musical wizardry of their close collaborator, MNEK, was on full display. Performing their 2023 collab featuring Missy Elliot, “Fly Girl,” which interpolates Elliot’s 2002 hit, “Work It,” the group treated the audience to a scintillating dance routine during the rap portion of the track. FLO finished their set with “Check,” the dancy techno-tinged track from their highly anticipated debut studio album, Access All Areas, set to be released on November 15. For a group so young, the talented trio demonstrated the chemistry and cohesion of a veteran R&B group at the peak of their artistry.
Kehlani has openly admitted that their latest album, Crash, has been the most polarizing release to date. Experimenting with different instrumentalists, producers, and even genres, the album veers away from the atmospheric love-stricken R&B that made Kehlani one of the biggest stars in the genre. That experimentation made for a mesmerizing show on Wednesday night with stunning instrumentation, production, and dance performances. The songs were brought to life with incredible depth by the skilled live band, who performed intricate guitar runs, haunting synths, and thunderous drumming throughout the near-90-minute set. Yet, none of it drowned out Kehlani’s pristine voice (flexed early with Crash album openers “GrooveTheory” and “Next 2 U”) or her effervescent charisma showcased on song’s like the Christina Aguilera flip, “What I Want,” which brought out her dance crew for the first time of the evening.
“Nunya,” “You Should Be Here,” and “The Way” represented the first run of songs outside of Crash, with the latter invoking the evening’s first sing-along moment as the audience collectively sang the final verses and Kehlani joked about not remembering the lyrics. Joined again by her dancers for a seductive rendition of “Sucia,” which features a spoken-word intro by Jill Scott, Kehlani performed a medley of her biggest hits from 2020’s It Was Good Until It Wasn’t (“Toxic,” “Can I,” “Water,” and “Hate the Club”) with only two songs (“Distraction” and “Gangsta”) from SweetSexySavage.
Following a stirring performance of the title track from Crash, Kehlani dedicated a cover of Bruno Mars’ “Marry You” to a newly engaged couple they met at the meet-and-greet in Raleigh the previous day. Kehlani took a moment to express some heartfelt words to the couple saying, “I wish you guys a long life full of health and love and success and peace. May you alway choose each other,” before moving into the promiscuous track, “Lose My Wife,” saying “this next song, it don’t apply to y’all. Enjoy each other.” With a riveting hip-hop dance number for “Deep,” which features Kehlani’s daughter singing on the track, the evening’s penultimate song, “Nights Like This,” the mega hit collab with Ty Dolla $ign from 2019’s While We Wait, was one of the biggest highlights of night.
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Kehlani finished the night off with an extended version of “After Hours,” which featured the remix integrating Destiny’s Child’s 2005 song “Cater 2 U.” The best dance routine of the evening was saved for the final song, which was the rhythmic dancehall version of the track, ending the show with high-energy spirits.
It was an idyllic night celebrating Kehlani’s expansive catalog, on an evening that finally felt like autumn in Charlotte. With the dynamic band masterfully performing the R&B artist’s eclectic collection of music, Kehlani proved that they are still evolving, leveling up on the performance on each of their last three tours. While Crash might be Kehlani’s most polarizing album to date, there’s no question the live experience may change the minds of many of her fans.
Setlist:
“Next 2 U”
“GrooveTheory”
“What I Want”
“Nunya”
“You Should Be Here”
“The Way”
“Toxic”
“Sucia”
“8”
“Can I”
“Water”
“When He’s Not There”
“Clothes Off”
“Hate the Club”
“Distraction”
“Gangsta”
“Tears”
“Vegas”
“everything”
“Honey”
“Border”
“Open (Passionate)”
“Crash”
“Chapel”
“Marry You” (Bruno Mars cover)
“Lose My Wife”
“Deep”
“KEHLANI”
“Ring”
“Nights Like This”
“After Hours” (Cater 2 U Mix)
“After Hours”
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