You Should Be Here (mixtape)

## Critical Reception

The song’s lyrics might be the biggest red herring of all. Kehlani spends most of You Should Be Here switching between telling various dudes to get their shit together and the rest on a mission to inspire humanity. Kehlani has little in common with other former-child-stars-turned-singers Zendaya or Tinashe (Kehlani and her band made it to the finals on "America’s Got Talent"), and she has little in common with the music of cool, casually misogynistic R&B bros, and in spite of a connection to PARTYNEXTDOOR and hailing from Oakland, neither of those facts figure much into her music, at least on an obvious level. If there’s a contemporary comparison to be made, it’s Frank Ocean. Kehlani, along with right-hand-man producer Jahaan Sweet, shares Ocean’s auteuristic vision and plainspoken eloquence. And, much like Ocean, when Kehlani veers toward the maudlin, somehow the sincerity of it all redeems itself.
The beating heart at the center of You Should Be Here forgives some of these dips into mawkishness. You Should Be Here’s dynamism and generosity is something to be amazed by, especially considering Kehlani is all of 19 years old. On the stunning "Wanted", she sings, "As a woman/ When you are broken/ You make a choice to stay down or go in," but the chorus, one of resounding triumph, begins with the declaration, "He makes me feel wanted/ Like no one has before." Kehlani weaves an emotional, stirring thread through her songs that mostly feels joyful, even when she’s lurking on Instagram ("Jealous") or being vexed by a new flame ("Yet").
When some of these songs soar in their choruses, like on "Wanted", the title track, and the synthy, bubble-gummy kiss-off "How That Taste", Kehlani’s full-throated vocals and live-band sound recall '90s R&B groups like Total. But the album also strays to lots of other places: into jazzy, new jack swing-influenced R&B, straight-ahead devotion hymns (penultimate stomper "Bright"), capital-P pop ballads (closer "Alive", which would not sound out of place in a current adult-contemporary rotation). It’s this unabashed ambition that makes You Should Be Here resonate long after one has internalized its motivational urges ("Can't nobody love somebody that do not love themselves") and tender observations on the mechanics of relationships (see the wistful "Unconditional"). That Kehlani manages to breathe new life into these sounds and romantic musings is inspirational. She keeps telling people to follow her lead, too—just refer to the album’s title. Link

But the ambitious, self-assured new album from the Oakland singer Kehlani, You Should Be Here -- a follow-up to the well-received Cloud 19 mixtape from 2014 -- suggests that R&B singers still have plenty to contribute. This is a concept album. It's an intense, focused exploration of all, or nearly all, the relationships the singer is involved in, both romantic and familial.
Kehlani doesn't waste much time: after a short intro, she delivers the album's first cooed line, "I'm looking right at you, but you're not here," immediately suggesting the unknowability of intimacy. She's addressing a lover, but that line could apply to anyone with whom she is closely connected: siblings, parents or friends -- they're drifting apart, and she doesn't get why.
Many of the songs on You Should Be Here channel the same heady mixture of longing and uncertainty. In "The Letter," Kehlani refuses to name a subject until the last possible moment. "Your words were supposed to get me through my heart ache," Kehlani sings. "Maybe I didn't deserve you. Maybe I just couldn't cure you." This could be about any betrayal or disappointment -- until she suddenly drills down into details more than 2/3 of the way through the song: "every girl needs a mother." "Wanted" describes a newly-made connection, possibly fresh love, but the vocabulary of spiritual uplift in the song comes straight from gospel, as if she's found religion. There's courage here in holding back, a defiant choice to keep things ambiguous.
"Wanted" mixes chirping samples with a harpsichord-like sound: although Kehlani is based in Oakland, she doesn't rely on the production style that defines, unites, and sometimes constrains many of the young artists coming out of the Bay Area. She picks instrumentals that weave twitchy splotches of manipulated vocals around the beat -- part Kanye soul-rap, part the Weeknd -- especially on the martial title track. Young R&B singers often pick a mode they like and stick to it (for better or worse), but here the music never gets get stale: "How That Taste" jolts forward with imperial swagger. A couple tracks later, "N----s" borrows from the '90s for a sweet, wordless opening, and then double backs with a statement of power.
Statements of strength can risk veering into holier-than-thou territory. Kehlani's "Bright" preaches "don't be misled," but it's lacking the explosive fervor and inventive instrumentation of the best modern gospel. Other guidance songs -- by someone like Tye Tribbett, for example -- risk more, and make a bigger point.
But "Bright" is sandwiched by two of the album's most daring songs. "Alive" is relentlessly upbeat, like '00s Natasha Bedingfield -- a bold move at a time when R&B is dominated by doom and gloom, slow tempos and dark, soporific voices. And on "Yet," Kehlani repeats the title phrase: "You ain't my enemy yet, but you ain't a friend to me yet." She's using ambiguity to her advantage now, suggesting that You Should Be Here is more than just a one-time catharsis -- it's a way forward for a fresh voice. Link

The mixtape is etched in contemporary times with references to Instagram pictures and song titles such as “Niggas,” a song that details growth in her love life from a naive girl to a woman who realizes her worth. She surprises with her maturity and self-awareness. You almost forget that this is a girl who still can’t even buy a drink from a bar when you hear the perspective she takes when speaking on her estranged relationship with her mother on “The Letter” and the uplifting messages on the “Bright.” BJ The Chicago Kid gives Kehlani a brilliant assist on “Down For You.” The two flex their powers for a modern duet with an old school feel reminiscent of your favorite 90’s R&B song with a new school kick to it.
Where it exceeds in style and attitude, the album does backtrack in true technique. While talented beyond her years, Kehlani’s writing could use a bit more depth. Her emotion and melody gives you the feeling, but the words themselves seem to remain at a surface level, something that could surely be improved with the help of more experienced songwriters.
Overall, Kehlani’s You Should Be Here shines as bright as she does. An introduction that will be well received by many. Link