Controversies

N-Word Controversy
Kehlani caused controversy after she released her mixtape, "You Should Be Here". On the mixtape, it includes a song titled "N*ggas" where Kehlani sings about men who think they're all that. What truly caused attention was the fact that many people were shocked at Kehalni's use of the word and many people found that she had no right to say such a derogatory word for someone who is so racially ambiguous. Kehlani back tracked and said that is she a mix between black, white, Native American, and Hispanic. While some people defended Kehlani and her use of the word, others were quick to give her backlash saying that she has no right to use such a word when she's "barely" black herself. Below are just some of the comments Kehlani received when she uploaded the song on YouTube.

Kyrie Irving and PARTYNEXTDOOR Cheating Scandal
In early 2015, rumors started erupting that rapper and singer PARTYNEXTDOOR was dating Kehlani. The rumors that were circulating online ended up being true as the couple began making it very obvious that they were together. They were both very open about their relationship and would frequently be seen hugging and holding hands in public. In July 2015, PARTYNEXTDOOR uploaded a song called "Kehlani's Freestyle" that confirmed the breakup, and featured PARTYNEXTDOOR speaking frankly about his failures as a boyfriend. While neither of them confirmed the breakup, the song lyrics weren't at all subtle.

Later on that year, PARTYNEXTDOOR posted a picture of a model posing in his swimming pool and captioned it, "21 questions." Kehlani was spotted commenting on the picture and simple, "F*ck you." This caused many users to crowd on Kehlani's page demanding answers for why she would comment such a thing on that picture. She never responded. She then posted an image on Instagram that was captioned, "Now live with it." Many people thought the was directed at PARTYNEXTDOOR, but it is currently unknown. Below are the two images:

Beef with Kamaiyah & Keyshia Cole
In Late April, Kamaiyah revealed that she no longer is on good terms with Kehlani whom used to be one of her very close friends. Allegedly the falling out was resulted from "All Me" a collaboration between Kehlani, Kamaiyah, and Keyshia Cole. The song was meant to be on a joint album full of collabs between Kehlani and Kamaiyah but due to creative differences the entire project was scrapped, and All Me was meant to be as well. (Kamaiyah then accusing Kehlani of being colorist and calling her black and ghetto as the reason behind said cancellation) However, due to the trending hashtag #DropTheSongKehlani, Kehlani decided to release All Me, but removed Kamaiyah from the song without her previous knowledge.

In February 2020, Keyshia Cole and Kehlani were meant to release a music video of All Me, but Keyshia was neither seen nor credited on the song.