Kehlani Shuts Down Narrative That ‘R&B Is Dead’: ‘People Are Just a Little Lazy in Looking Up New Artists’

Kehlani has been at the forefront of keeping R&B’s heartbeat thriving in 2026, and she doesn’t want to hear any narratives about the genre being dead.

The R&B singer graces the cover of Billboard ‘s 2026 R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players issue published Thursday (Aug.

20), which features Kehlani in conversation with Leon Thomas.

The Oakland native believes fans driving the idea of R&B fading are just too lazy to dig into the staggering amount of weekly releases in the genre.

“But we’re in a cool space right now.

There’s so much R&B and so many different routes.

You can pick who you want to be a fan of and what cross-genre mixes you want to experience,” she tells Thomas.

“I hate the idea that R&B is dead.

It’s never gone anywhere.

People are just a little lazy in looking up new artists to dive into.

There’s plenty everywhere you look.

I’m finding someone I like every day.” Kehlani also dishes on the double-edged sword of music’s entry point being so accessible, but it’s actually making it tougher to keep the attention of fans and build a strong base for a long-lasting career.

“I guess maybe it’s not hard to break through because you can post a TikTok or a video or get on Twitter and be like, ‘Here’s my song, and it’s great.’ People connect, people love you.

There you go,” she said.