“ Can ’ t you tell I ’ m stealing because I ’ m hungry ?”
without any money to her name , and eventually graduated . She remembers these years with a
“ Can ’ t you tell I ’ m stealing because I ’ m hungry ?”
mix of pride and shame . “ There were times where I really had to do shit like wait outside of a train station and snatch iPhones out of peoples ’ hands and run and sell them ,” she says . “ I went through people ’ s houses . I ran through cars — all type of shit that I feel like made me grow up so fast . I ’ ve been banned from Walgreens . I ’ ve been banned from Walmart for stealing fucking clothes and food . Lucky ’ s caught me with a box of Wheat Thins and some bread . I was like , ‘ Can ’ t you tell I ’ m stealing because I ’ m hungry ?’” write . It wasn ’ t something I wanted to be involved in .” She returned home , feeling defeated , but a few months later he called again . This time , he set her up with an apartment in the Valley and arranged sessions with producers . He sent her to New York , where she met Jahaan and slept some nights in the studio , before returning to L . A . to finish her Cloud 19 mixtape . When she signed with Atlantic the following year , Nick Cannon got a nice check . “ Of course he did !” Kehlani says , a smile of gratitude igniting her face .
At this point , Nick Cannon , the host of America ’ s Got Talent , reappeared in Kehlani ’ s life , presenting himself as her miracle route out of Oakland . “ Nick Cannon got back in touch with me . He was just like , ‘ Yo , I remember you . What are you doing now ?’ I ’ m telling him , ‘ Nothing .’” Cannon brought her back to L . A , where he tried to place her in a rap group he was forming . “ The morals were twisted ,” she says . “ I was up there rapping shit that I didn ’ t
Issue 1 YAUDIO Magazine