Get unlimited access to everything VICE has to offer.

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

4 Magazines Delivered to Your Door

Kehlani Explains Why It’s Important for Kids To Grow Up With R&B

Share on X (Opens in new window)X

Share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Facebook

Share using Native toolsShareCopied to clipboard

Over the years, R&B has taken a backseat to genres like hip-hop and pop. That’s not to say that it’s gone completely out of the mainstream. Artists like Kehlani, Chris Brown, and Leon Thomas are amongst the forefront of artists keeping R&B popular and in the conversation. But in comparison to decades past, it’s not even close. The future generations might miss out on some of the greatest music of all time if not properly nourished.

It’s this concern that fires Kehlani up. The way she sees it, R&B is vital for the children. However, it’s not just in the spirit of boosting the youth’s tastes and curiosity. It also allows them to come closer to their emotional side. The Oakland-bred crooner appeared on a February 2026 episode of Celebrity Substitute, where celebrities teach elementary schoolers some important skills.

Before they worked with the students personally though, host Julian Shapiro-Barnum asked why R&B is so vital for kids to learn. Ultimately, Kehlani explained that the music helps children to learn how to embrace their positive and negative emotions. Then, they’d have the capability to properly express it. As a result, they don’t bottle everything up until they explode. Instead, children can be vulnerable with the people they love in their life.

Kehlani Said That Kids Need To Learn Their R&B Classics

“It helps you express big feelings,” the 30-year-old declared. “It taught me that I can be vulnerable and, in lot of cases, teaches certain people that aren’t always offered the space to be vulnerable, to be vulnerable. Being able to have those spaces where they can just hoot and holler and beg and plead and feel those feelings.”

If Kehlani were to give kids one artist to listen to in order to drive this point home, it would probably be Brandy. In a November 2025 interview, they stressed that the “Always On My Mind” crooner should be on everyone’s Mount Rushmore of R&B singers.

“I don’t think I would ever call my greats my peers,” Kehlani explained. “Would never call her a peer. We’ll always call her a mother. Would always call her in my Mount Rushmore of R&B. Every R&B singer that you ask if you’re talking about vocal GOATs, they’re gonna say Brandy. I would never, respectfully, get into an argument about Brandy Norwood. I would never be explaining Brandy Norwood to anyone.”

Additionally, Kehlani expressed how special it was to give Brandy and Monica their flowers when they all performed together. “I’m just glad I got to give her her flowers,” they added. “Even if they had only brought me out to give her her flowers and say what I got to say, that would’ve been just as good as being able to sing my song. I also was really grateful to be there in Monica’s presence as well, and give her her flowers privately.”

Share on X (Opens in new window)X

Share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Facebook

Share using Native toolsShareCopied to clipboard

(Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for The Recording Academy) Kehlani Explains Why It’s Important for Kids To Grow Up With R&B 1 minute ago By Caleb Catlin

Kehlani Explains Why It’s Important for Kids To Grow Up With R&B

(Photo by VALERIE MACON / AFP via Getty Images) When Movies and Music Collide: 7 of the Most Effective Uses of Iconic Tracks in Feature Films 53 minutes ago By Caleb Catlin

When Movies and Music Collide: 7 of the Most Effective Uses of Iconic Tracks in Feature Films

Screenshot: Bandai Namco Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3 May Have Been Accidentally Leaked by Bandai Namco 3 hours ago By Brent Koepp

Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3 May Have Been Accidentally Leaked by Bandai Namco

(Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for BET) Lil Kim Recalls How Biggie Helped Her Buy a Car Because She Didn’t Know How To Drive 4 hours ago By Caleb Catlin

Lil Kim Recalls How Biggie Helped Her Buy a Car Because She Didn’t Know How To Drive

(Photo by Prince Williams/WireImage) J. Cole Teases Coming out of Retirement and Says Some of His Albums Were Just ‘Practice’ 4 hours ago By Caleb Catlin

J. Cole Teases Coming out of Retirement and Says Some of His Albums Were Just ‘Practice’

Photo: Thomas Barwick / Getty Images Do Gen Z and Millennials Still Have Boozy Nights Out? 10 hours ago By Ashley Fike

Do Gen Z and Millennials Still Have Boozy Nights Out?

Photo: taviphoto / Getty Images Could This 5,000-Year-Old Bacteria Trapped in Ice Be the End of Us? 11 hours ago By Luis Prada

Could This 5,000-Year-Old Bacteria Trapped in Ice Be the End of Us?

Photo: svetolk / Getty Images Is DMT the Key to Lasting Depression Relief? 11 hours ago By Luis Prada

Is DMT the Key to Lasting Depression Relief?

Photo: Natali Dobrovolskaya / Getty Images Why Positive Affirmations Make You Feel Worse When You Actually Need Them 12 hours ago By Ashley Fike

Why Positive Affirmations Make You Feel Worse When You Actually Need Them

Photo: mikiell / Getty Images Humans Are Going Back to the Moon, but We Need to Know More About Moonquakes First 12 hours ago By Ashley Fike

Humans Are Going Back to the Moon, but We Need to Know More About Moonquakes First

Add your account details

© Vice