The “Nights Like This” artist, Kehlani 29, ended their music hiatus in April with the release of their first 2024 single the feel-good summer anthem titled “After Hours.” But on Wednesday, May 15, she sweetened the deal by announcing the release of her upcoming fourth studio album, Crash, due this summer.
“CRASH 6.21.24 the album. ,” Kehlani wrote on social media, unveiling the intricate cover artwork that sees them sitting atop a smashed red car sporting a two-piece metallic set with mermaid-like cut-out pants and a silver-studded bra.
Crash follows the “Fμ” singer’s chart-topping blue water road album, which released in April 2022, making Kehlani’s new project her first full-length release in over two years. The mom of one kicked off the album rollout last month with their groovy “After Hours” track — which samples Cordel “Scatta” Burrell’s “Coolie Dance Riddim” — along with a music video that was shot on location at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas.
She celebrated the single’s release on Instagram, writing, “operation BACK OUTSIDE effective immediately .”
A few days before their album announcement, Kehlani posted a 33-second snippet of what’s presumably their next single on social media.
“wanna drop my favorite one next idc,” she wrote, also revealing the title “Next 2 U.” “when y’all want it .” A release date has not yet been announced.
Recently, Kehlani lent their voice to the WNBA’s newest franchise, the Golden State Valkyries, for their launch video. She also has a few live performances scheduled in Las Vegas this summer, plus sets at the Austin City Limits Music Festival in October.
In July 2022, Kehlani opened up to PEOPLE about crafting R&B songs that strayed from “pain.”
“I think that we as a generation have grown up understanding a lot of music as an expression of pain – so many important moments in R&B were from pain, and so many moments of my career were from pain,” they said.
Kehlani added: “Deciding that I was gonna change from that and that I was gonna grow from that was a scary thing because I knew there’d be people in my comments every time I get into something where I seem happy and they’re like, ‘Nah, I hope they break your heart and then you give us a SoundCloud drop’ or something like that.”
Crash will be released on Friday, June 21 via Atlantic Records.