Southern Plug Magazine: Leaders of the New School ft Remy Ma Volume 2 Issue 1 C | Page 53

Combining a voice that sounds made for classic soul with cutting-edge music, Khalid
is a singer/songwriter from El Paso, Texas. Raised by a military family, Khalid lived in
Germany and upstate New York before settling in Texas. He was first inspired to
make music by his mother, who was a singer and loved '90s R&B artists such as
Brandy and TLC. While still a teenager, he began making music in 2015, incorporating
influences as wide-ranging as Frank Ocean, India.Arie, Alt-J, and Father John Misty in
the songs he posted online. He eventually connected with the producer SykSense,
who, along with Tunji Ige and Smash David, worked on Khalid's bittersweet breakout
single "Location." Released in mid-2016, the song hit the Top 10 of Billboard's Hot
R&B Songs chart the following January. Another single, "Hopeless," preceded Khalid's
debut album American Teen, which arrived in March 2017.