Born as Kehlani Ashley Parrish on April 24, 1995, R&B singer/songwriter Kehlani was born. Born from a unique ethnic blend, such as African-American, Caucasian, Native American, Spanish, and Filipino-Native American, Kehlani was raised by her aunt because although her mother was in and out of jail, her father died while she was a girl. The early music of Kehlani was inspired by Neo Soul and her aunt’s R&B singers, including Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu, and Jill Scott. Kehlani grew up and attended the Oakland School of the Arts in Oakland, California, where she learned ballet and contemporary dance.
But a fracture to her knee kept her from building a future as a ballerina. She was assigned to the music department of OSA, where she began to concentrate on music. She was hired as the vocalist of a local band, PopLyfe, at 14 years of age. In 2011, the band participated in the “America’s Got Talent” talent quest series, but they only placed in fourth position. Judge Piers Morgan told Kehlani during their final performance, “You’ve got real talent, but I don’t think you need the group.” Because of many administrative and contractual disagreements, Kehlani quit the band at the conclusion of “America’s Got Talent”
Kehlani was transient between 2012 and 2013, hopping from house to house and mostly staying on couches. I went through a lot of growing up, becoming living on the road, going around, crib to crib to crib to nursery. Only trying to graduate from high school.
So I was called by Nick Cannon,”I went through a lot of growing up, being on the streets, being homeless, moving around, crib to crib to crib. Just trying to graduate high school. Then Nick Cannon called me,” In 2013, Kehlani was questioned regarding participating in a rap group by Nick Cannon, the host of “America’s Got Talent” Initially, she decided and went to Los Angeles, but then she didn’t like the group’s path. She started stealing products from grocery stores to maintain her life after she came back to Oakland. Months later, her first solo track called “ANTISUMMERLUV” was posted by Kehlani on SoundCloud. Cannon called her back after hearing the song and he bought Kehlani an apartment in L.A.
