Kehlani, After Hours | Song Review 🎵

Grammy-nominated R&B artist Kehlani delivers a pleasant, sexy pop-oriented R&B single with “After Hours.”

[otw_shortcode_dropcap label=”I” size=”large” border_color_class=”otw-no-border-color” shadow=”shadow” square=”square”]n her first single of 2024, “After Hours”,  Grammy-nominated R&B artist Kehlani collaborates with a team of writers: Alex Goldblatt, Cordel “Scatta” Burrell, Daniel Upchurch, Diovanna Frazier, and Khristopher Riddick-Tynes.  It was produced by Goldblatt and Riddick-Tynes. A terrific groove is established at the onset.  Notably, “After Hours” samples “Coolie Dance Rhythm” by Cordel “Scatta” Burrell.  Fun fact: “Coolie Dance Rhythm” was also sampled in the 2004 Nina Sky hit, “Move Ya Body”. With an electrifying instrumental supporting her, Kehlani brings the heat. [/otw_shortcode_dropcap]

First and foremost, Kehlani serves up clear, sexy vocals. She never over-sings, maintaining a cool, calm, and collected approach.  Lyrically, “After Hours” isn’t deep or transcendent, but it is enjoyable. “We don’t gotta take it slow / I’ma hit the gas if you’re ready to go,” she sings in the first verse, adding in the second, “We ain’t even know they turned on the lights / We missed the last call ridin’ on a high.” Ooh, we! The ‘non-verse’ sections of “After Hours” encompass a refrain, pre-chorus, and chorus, as well as a bridge that appears following the second chorus.  The section to beat is the tuneful chorus:

“Why don’t you stay?

Stay here after hours

I know you don’t wanna leave

Stay here for after hours.”

All told, “After Hours” is a pleasant, well-rounded, and sexy, pop-oriented R&B cut. Kehlani delivers a song that is a surefire vibe.

Kehlani // “After Hours” // Atlantic // 4.4.24

[📷: Brent Faulkner/The Musical Hype; Atlantic; Clker-Free-Vector-Images, Królestwo Nauki, OpenClipart-Vectors, Pete Linforth, Tumisu from Pixabay]