Kehlani has yet to release her debut album, but she’s already nominated for a Grammy. The Oakland songstress is up for Best Urban Contemporary Album for her 2015 mixtape You Should Be Here. Before hitting the stage at Power 106’s Valentine’s Crush concert at The Forum in L.A. on Friday (Feb. 12), she spoke to Rap-Up TV about the honor.
“It feels super crazy. I’m getting gigglier and more antsy and more anxious by the second,” she gushed. “I’m just really excited to get there and kinda be in the vibe of everything and feel the whole presence of the Grammys.”
The nomination came as a complete surprise to the “Did I” singer. “I kinda didn’t believe that it happened at first. I was like, ‘You guys are playing me,’ and then my phone started blowing up. I was like, ‘This isn’t a joke. This is real life.'”
The Tsunami Mob leader is currently “finishing up and perfecting” her Atlantic Records debut. “I’m definitely applying the pressure because this one has to get Grammy nominated too,” she said, while revealing that it “should be out very soon.”
In addition to working with her previous collaborators and some new producers, she would love to collaborate with one unexpected artist—Sam Smith. “I want to do something really random people wouldn’t expect me to do like Sam Smith or an old public figure, some old head tastemaker, some genius person.”
In the meantime, catch Kehlani, in her “first dress and heels ever,” at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards on Monday (Feb. 15). “I’m praying I don’t fall, and if I do, you heard it first, I think I’m gonna fall,” she laughed.