Dissecting Kehlani's 2019 EP Follow Up ‘While We Wait 2' - The Mixtape

Following the release of her eclectic fourth studio album Crash released in June of this year, Bay Area native singer-songwriter Kehlani has released a 14-song mixtape as a follow up of her 2019 EP While We Wait, serving as her second full-length release in 2024. Vince Staples, Lil’ Mo, DIXSON, FLO, Lucky Daye, LUDMILLA, and kwn served as the LP’s additional guest appearances. Meanwhile, production was handled by the likes of previous collaborators Ant Clemons and Scribz Riley, to mention a few. Later in the year, Kehlani is set to embark on their “CRASH WORLD TOUR”  with supporting acts Anycia and FLO.

The mixtape contains a mixture of 90’s-2000’s influences as samples, a nod from Kehlani to the rnb classics that came first and defined the genre, including ‘Sitting Up In My Room’ by Brandy, and ‘4Ever’, by Lil Mo featuring Fabolous. The mixtape kicks off with 'Love Like', and 'When He’s Not There', featuring Lucky Daye, which also served as a pre-release single. On ‘Love Like’, Kehlani collaborates with DIXSON, Mamii, and D. Phelps who begins the mixtape with a steady-tempo tune that details intimacy, specifically in its emotional and physical expressions. Kehlani balances confidence with sensitivity and handles an intense love with a gentle and somewhat taciturn perspective. ‘When He’s Not There’ is a duet that explores infidelity and illicit meetings unbeknownst to the ‘man’ in question who is really a ‘boy’. "Lord knows I won't end a happy home but I’ll leave a condo broken" - This unapologetic approach that Kehlani deals with the subject matter of emotional vulnerability in the opening of the mixtape leads into the track  ‘S.I.N.G.L.E’, a declaration of independence and freedom, influenced by Brandy’s ‘Sitting up in my room’, and an acronym for ‘So I’m Never Gonna Love, Ever’.

‘S.I.N.G.L.E’ deals with the prospects of solitude and isolation after standards and expectations have not been met by the lover in question, the singer claiming that she wants to love with ‘no limits’ but cannot do so when all the lover in question seems to do is ‘get in her way’. The Timbaland-inspired track ‘Clothes Off’ sees KWN join Kehlani for a back-and-forth assertive track, that does the opposite of suggesting an innuendo, as the title contains. ‘Know Better’ is the long-awaited track which has been teased by the singer since 2019, sees Kehlani playing with the ideas of permanently wanting to break free of expectations, urging her lover to ‘make it official’ while they’re both still ‘young and crazy’ despite the issues that may come with long term serious commitment. Created from the sample from ‘4Ever’ includes a verse from Vince Staples and Lil’ Mo contributing to a layer of ad libs on the upbeat, DTB produced track.

‘Border’, which has garnered praise from fans for Kehlani’s ability to portray the experience of dealing with anxiety, provides a picture of the experience of living with mental health struggles whilst simultaneously desiring an escape. Kehlani contrasts personal experiences of wanting to ‘cross the border’ and leave ‘California’ and her demons behind, California serving as a symbol of stagnancy and stunted growth with the overarching matters of security, safety, love and stability as the light that is waiting at the end of the tunnel.

‘Form of You’ featuring Destin Conrad and CHILDOFNINES sits at the halfway point of the mixtape, a poetic spiritual ballad opening with a spoken word from CHILDOFNINES, in which affirmation and self-restoration is explored, described as a ‘walk on wet sand’ with one set of footprints in it, (‘footprints’ being a reference to the track of the same name on ‘While We Wait’) upon the discovery that the speaker has been carried along by this form of love. The speaker realises that they are not ‘too heavy’ to be held in the hands of pure love. Kehlani slides onto the ballad on top of a stripped piano reminiscent of gospel tones, and along with Destin Conrad, leads us through the reality of her ‘search for the sun’ that she found in the form of her lover. Destin Conrad, a long-time friend and collaborator of Kehlani, adds the final missing piece to the track, gliding in seamlessly and completing the track with his honest lyricism that details the ‘blessings’ that arrived on his doorstep despite his pessimism.  

‘Let Me Down (San Diego Interlude)’ sits at the halfway point of the mixtape, serving as a pocket of mellow and solemn lyricism as Kehlani pleads for her trust not to be betrayed ‘again’, while the AJ Tucci and DTB produced track ‘Around’ is a more upbeat track that reveals questioning in whether she is really and truly present in the ‘orbit’ of her lovers world, or just around for the ulterior motives of others and the sake of taking up space, while wanting to show that her only desire is to show she is ‘pure’.

‘Ballin’ revisits the complexity that secret relationships bring, while Kehlani uses wordplay as a mirror of her hiding the real intensity of the connection she feels in real life. ‘First Life’ confronts the vulnerability that one has to deal with when alone; the singer asks "how could I know what I want if I ain’t ever been on my own?". Emotional baggage, referenced as ‘skeletons’ are dealt with proficiently while being balanced with the exploration of practising patience and honesty in a new relationship. ‘Slow Dance’ featuring DIXSON sees the endurance of the mixtape being maintained as the songstress continues to explore themes of sexual transparency and intimacy, reminiscent of the sound and style present in the majority of 2019’s While we Wait. The mixtape’s penultimate track ‘8’ sees FLO, set to open up Kehlani’s CRASH World Tour, join the singer on an anthem and uses mathematical wordplay of the euphemism ‘ate’ (‘8’) to showcase their wide range of vocal abilities against a smooth track produced by DIXSON and Ant Clemons.

The mixtape closes off with a remix of ‘After Hours’ the lead single of Crash, featuring Brazilian singer-songwriter LUDMILLA, and produced by Alex Goldblatt and Khristopher Riddick-Tynes. LUDMILLA stirs a Latin fusion into the uptempo track, reviving the fan-favourite anthem and giving it a summer twist that will have listeners reminiscing on the past summer, whilst serving as the perfect ending to such a comprehensive mixtape.

While We Wait 2 is a project that demonstrates once again that the Bay Area-born two-time GRAMMY Award songstress will never shy away from the truth, but consistently spread out the hard-hitting facts across the table and meet them with soft reassurance that can often be found in introspection. While Crash served as the electric studio album that caught the attention of fans and listeners across the world, While We Wait is a quiet reminder of the purpose Kehlani’s art serves in this world. In the end, it’s been proven once again through this sonic collection of songs that Kehlani is not one to shy away from documenting the complexity of the human experience - and so her journey of artistry continues.

Listen to While We Wait 2 below: