Kehlani, Back and Forth | Song Review

Grammy-winning R&B singer-songwriter Kehlani collaborates with Grammy-winning hip-hop icon Missy Elliott on the intriguing single, “Back and Forth.”

New Kehlani (Kehlani Parrish, she/they) is always a treat, particularly after a pair of 2025 bangers: “Folded” and “Out The Window”. The Grammy-winning R&B singer-songwriter taps Grammy-winning hip-hop icon Missy Elliott (Melissa Elliott) for the assist on “Back and Forth”.  “Back and Forth” is the seventh track from Kehlani’s 2026 self-titled album (arrives April 24). Parrish wrote the song with Elliott, Khris Riddick-Tynes, Jonathan Yip, Ray Romulus, Jeremy Reeves, Ariowa Irosogie, Daniel Upchurch, and Dawit Kamal Wilson.  Ooh-wee, what a list, what a list! Riddick-Tynes and The Stereotypes produced it.

“Back and Forth” begins with a signature Missy Elliott shout-out.  The nostalgia is real! From there, Missy drops a few bars, gassing up Kehlani.  Kehlani enters the mix with her glorious pipes in the first verse.  “Why you so quiet? / The silence hit like sirens,” they sing. She rides the smooth R&B backdrop like a champ, barely breaking a sweat.  Even though she doesn’t perspire, she still brings some bite to the centerpiece, the chorus:

“I ain’t goin’ back and forth tonight, I’m goin’ out

… I ain’t picking up the phone for nun’, nuh-uh, before the lights come on

…I ain’t going back and forth tonight, I’m out

(So don’t you start that shit when I get home).”

Missy Elliott contributes ad-libs to the verses, pre-chorus, chorus, and the post-chorus: “Let’s get it, let’s go.” Kehlani drops a second verse, filled with attitude. She asserts, “All your pride and jealousy (Uh-huh) / That’s gon’ make me leave you alone.” Mic drop! Beyond her ad-libs, Missy Elliott drops a playful, unapologetic bridge: “Nigga, I ain’t doing this tonight / I’m ‘bout to drive off… / All that back, back and forth got me feeling like Aaliyah.” All in all, Kehlani, with the help of Missy Elliott, drops an intriguing single with “Back and Forth”. No, it doesn’t eclipse “Folded”, her best song to date, but it’s another consistent, highly enjoyable R&B joint, nonetheless.

---

Kehlani » Kehlani » Atlantic Records Group LLC » 4.24.26 [📷: Atlantic Records Group LLC]

---