When numerous musicians are remaining silent on the Israel-Hamas war, Kehlani is standing upcoming 2 Palestine. In their new new music video clip for “Next 2 U,” the R&B performer and a troupe of dancers dress in keffiyehs on their shoulders and dance in front of Palestinian flags. “They gon’ have to appear get me / They gon’ have to see about me / to get up coming to you,” Kehlani sings, twisting the song’s message to a lover into a assertion of defense. (“Next 2 U” is a single off their to-be-announced new album.) The video clip also opens with an anti-war quote from Palestinian poet Hala Alyan: “Keep your moon / We have our individual / Continue to keep your military / We have our identify / Keep your flag/ We have fruits and in / All the correct colours.” Also, it closes with a concept about the small children killed by Israeli forces in Gaza. “We tried using to make a scroll honoring the names of 1000’s of deceased young children,” it reads. “The checklist was so lengthy that our swiftest scroll at 3 minutes was illegible.” As an alternative, Kehlani is encouraging admirers to browse the checklist of names “at your have pace.”
