Every person who IвЂ™ve been following has been younger. I think in my situation, yes it is hard to find someone that accepts that, but they are people out there. Some get mad because IвЂ™m the one with all the opportunities but thatвЂ™s because IвЂ™m the one working my ass off. IвЂ™m had to tell him, Yo, IвЂ™m not going to talk to any of these people, theyвЂ™re fans, you know what IвЂ™m saying? They like my music weвЂ™re not about to have a romantic conversation. I had a guy that was intimidated because I had fans.

And yeah, I think people expect me to play the whole girl-guy thing. A guy would expect to be вЂњthe guyвЂќ in the relationship. I mean, with guys I feel like itвЂ™s funny because for a while it was very intimidating.

Has that drive ever turned off anyone? You touch on it a little in your song вЂњGet Away.вЂќ Most of them are like, вЂњDamn! I wish I was doing what you were doing at your age.вЂќ Everybody starts somewhere and everybody moves their own pace-my start just happened to be really early. Now IвЂ™m in the room with these people and they already know I can deliver. But now IвЂ™m 19, IвЂ™ve got this mixtape, I went on tour, and IвЂ™ve got another one dropping. I was meeting people who were a lot older than me and having to prove how driven I was because I really didnвЂ™t have much to show for it. I focus on all of my projects but the next thing is going to require a ton more.Д¬learly! Now, with you being 19 and all, what sort of pushback, if any, have you receive? Are people trying to mold you in a certain way because of that? Trying to focus on what IвЂ™m going to do next, you know what IвЂ™m saying? The next thing has to be big, a bigger project than before. What would you say has been the most challenging part then? ItвЂ™s one thing for people to recognize you on the Internet, but then another thing when itвЂ™s in the real world. You donвЂ™t really know itвЂ™s real until itвЂ™s happening. All these things I used to dream about are happening. I think going on tour and having people in the audience sing all my words-you know, doing shows and not having to sing a single lyric because the audience knows everything-is surreal. WhatвЂ™s been the most surprising thing thatвЂ™s happened to you? ItвЂ™s been nine months since you first dropped your mixtape. She commands the attention of everyone already. ItвЂ™s no wonder she was signaled out as a solo artist during her stint on season six of AmericaвЂ™s Got Talent. Though, Kehlani isnвЂ™t boisterous sheвЂ™s got a magnetic confidence to her that she wears on her heavily tattooed sleeve. SheвЂ™s coming up at a time when her contemporaries favor enigmatic identities over boisterous ones. Even though our conversation happened over the phone,В itвЂ™s clear the girlвЂ™s resilient. Her drive is what puts her in her own special class of R&B artist. ItвЂ™s pretty safe to say, if you donвЂ™t know her name now, you will by the time 2015 bows out. Bay-area native Kehlani is just shy of turning 20 and already has one wildly successful project under her belt (2014вЂ™s Cloud 19) and is slated to have another hit record when You Should Be Here (YSBH) drops Tuesday, April 28. If it seems like the people featured in buzzy success stories are getting younger by the minute, that's because itвЂ™s true.

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