"[7][8] Its follow-up, You Should Be Here (2015) entered the Billboard 200, received gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and was nominated for Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards.

[14][12] Early in their life, Kehlani aspired to train as a dancer at the Juilliard School, but they had a knee injury in junior high, which led them to turn their attention towards singing.

[15] While living with their aunt, Kehlani was exposed almost exclusively to R&B and neo soul artists, such as Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu and Jill Scott, whom today they describe as some of their early musical influences.

[30] In March 2016, Kehlani guest featured on English singer Zayn's single "Wrong" from his debut solo studio album Mind of Mine.

[31] Their song "Gangsta" was featured on the soundtrack for the August 2016 hit movie Suicide Squad, which gave them and their music some beneficial recognition, as it reached number 41 on the Hot 100.

[32] On November 26, 2016, Kehlani revealed the title of their debut studio album SweetSexySavage,[33] which was released on Atlantic Records on January 27, 2017.

[9][34] In December 2017, Kehlani guest featured on American rapper Eminem's single "Nowhere Fast" from his ninth studio album Revival.

[36][37] Kehlani served as an opening act on American singer Demi Lovato's Tell Me You Love Me World Tour in North America, which started on February 26, 2018, and concluded on April 2.

[38] They then opened on American singer Halsey's Hopeless Fountain Kingdom World Tour on the Oceania leg during April 2018.

[39] In March 2018, Kehlani guest featured on American singer Charlie Puth's single "Done for Me" from his second studio album, Voicenotes.

[40] In April 2018, they guest featured on American rapper Cardi B's single "Ring" from her debut studio album, Invasion of Privacy.

[42] On February 22, 2019, their third commercial mixtape While We Wait was released by Atlantic Records and debuted at number nine on the Billboard 200 and sold 34,000 album-equivalent units in its first week.

[48] They were also set to be a supporting act alongside American rapper and singer Jaden Smith for Bieber's Changes Tour, which was pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, after the session they decided that the songs would fit better on a separate project, and began working on their third studio album, Blue Water Road.

[58] To support the album, Kehlani embarked on the Blue Water Road Trip tour in the US and Europe from July to December 2022.

[64] The video, which premiered on May 31, 2024, began with a poem by Palestinian-American writer Hala Alyan and the demonstration chant "Long Live the Intifada", an allusion to the 1987 uprising against Israel's presence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

[65] In the music video's outro, Kehlani vocalized a personally penned message dedicated to the children in Palestine who perished in the Israel–Hamas war.

[66] Kehlani's fourth album, Crash, was released on June 21, 2024, and featured collaborations with Jill Scott, Omah Lay and Young Miko.

In Instagram posts, they voiced disapproval for celebrities who have chosen to remain silent on the matter, implying that they prioritize their personal business endeavors over addressing a pressing humanitarian crisis.

[88][89] In November 2023, Kehlani signed an open letter calling for a ceasefire and an end to Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip.

[90] On May 27, 2024, Kehlani voiced their criticism on Instagram, this time directed at specifically fellow musicians for remaining silent about the Gaza–Israel conflict in Palestine.

[103] In an interview with Power 106, Kehlani discusses their attempted suicide was due to the negative media response as well as their first major heartbreak.

[108] In tandem with the release of their single "Next 2 U" in 2024, they unveiled merchandise created by Palestinian, Nöl Collective creative director and founder, Yasmeen Mjalli.

The entirety of the proceeds from the sales of the merchandise went towards aiding Palestinian, Congolese and Sudanese families, in collaboration with Operation Olive Branch.