Rae Khalil

Charismatic, down-to-earth singer/rapper and songwriter Rae Khalil blends progressive R&B and organic hip-hop with an upbeat disposition. Hailing from Torrance, California, she established her career in the late 2010s and had a couple independent projects to her name by the time she co-wrote Anderson .Paak’s Grammy-winning “Lockdown.” Paak subsequently signed her to his Def Jam-distributed Apeshit label, for which she recorded her proper debut album, CRYBABY, released in 2024. Khalil has also appeared on Paak and Knxwledge’s Grammy-nominated Why Lawd?, and counts the likes of SiR, Carrtoons, and Pip Millett among the other artists who have sought her. Khalil, born Kenya Rae Johnson, grew up Los Angeles County, raised in a household where she absorbed everything from classic soul, jazz, and funk to punk and golden-age hip-hop. She fell under the spells of Stevie Wonder and Erykah Badu, and started writing rhymes after she got into Wu-Tang Clan and Chance the Rapper. Through the social platform Vampr, she linked with producer Jared Rubens, and in 2018 debuted with a handful of singles that led to the full-length Girlfriend, issued that December. FORTHEWORLD, the follow-up, landed in June 2020 and was highlighted by “ALLSTAR,” a woozy dancefloor funk collaboration with Free Nationals, Anderson .Paak’s self-sufficient backing band. A couple weeks later — on Juneteenth, to be precise — Paak released “Lockdown,” co-written by Khalil, and the single went on to win the 2021 Grammy for Best Melodic Rap Performance. Khalil continued to issue the occasional single as she contributed to Raedio’s Bankroll EP, Zombie Juice’s “Alto” (also assisted by Devin the Dude), and SiR’s “Life Is Good.” In 2024, she was featured on Pip Millett’s “Eating Out” and two tracks from Why Lawd?, Paak and Knxwledge’s Grammy-nominated second album as NxWorries. Khalil’s first album for Apeshit, CRYBABY, appeared in August. The lead single, “IS IT WORTH IT,” teamed her with Paak and Alissia Benveniste, and other tracks featured the likes of Freddie Gibbs, Benny Sings, Tiana Major9, and Zacari. ~ Andy Kellman