Kehlani on Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players Cover: "R&B Is Dead" Is Lazy, Not True

Kehlani covers Billboard's 2026 R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players issue, published August 20, in a conversation with singer Leon Thomas. She rejects the recurring "R&B is dead" claim: "I hate the idea that R&B is dead. It's never gone anywhere. People are just a little lazy in looking up new artists to dive into." She pointed to the volume of weekly R&B releases fans aren't surfacing, not a shortage of music.