Kehlani faced ‘pushback and loss’ after releasing pro-Palestine music video

American singer Kehlani Ashley Parrish, known mononymously as Kehlani, revealed she received backlash after releasing a pro-Palestine music video for her song ‘Next 2 U’.

During an interview with The Breakfast Club, Kehlani said she had no issues from her record label but received pushback and loss on things that were promised to her with the release of her new album Crash.

“Magazines, brand deals and opportunities that [I] was sad to lose, but at the end of the day I don’t regret [losing out, because] I can go to sleep at night,” she said, emphasising that she understood the role of art in liberation and what it meant to not remain silent.

The ‘After Hours’ singer said she knew what it meant to have a platform and the responsibility that came with it.

Talking about magazines that revoked opportunities, she maintained that they did not explicitly state that her support for Palestine was the reason behind their actions, however, these were “really big buildings with a lot of people, so it always makes its way back”.

When asked about artists who ignored her requests for collaborations, which she talked about during an Instagram live, Kehlani clarified that a lot more people were involved in artists’ teams than just the artists themselves, and while some had scheduling issues, other artists’ team members said they “didn’t f***k with” Kehlani.

“Things travel, people have conversations. People were respectful enough to not text me back and say, ‘Girl f***k you, I’m a Zionist’.” She continued that the larger issue was not about naming artists, but “how insidious the industries are that we can be so afraid to lose what we’ve built”.

According to the singer, many artists came from nothing and had a “scarcity mindset” to protect their careers because they had to keep feeding their families and continue to build their legacy, without risking what they had built.

“It’s sad because that does get dangled in front of our faces when it comes to really important political things that people don’t align with,” Kehlani stated, adding that even though the matter was sad and unfortunate, she did not hold it against anyone.

The singer dropped her pro-Palestine track ‘Next 2 U’ earlier this month, making a powerful statement as many musicians choose to remain silent amid Israel’s assault on Gaza.

The music video features Kehlani and a group of dancers donning keffiyehs and dancing in front of Palestinian flags — a show of solidarity for the Palestinian cause. The song’s lyrics, originally about a lover, have been repurposed into a declaration of defence.