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• “Back and Forth” is the first confirmed collaboration from Kehlani’s self-titled fifth album, featuring Missy Elliott.

• The release follows earlier singles “Folded” and “Out The Window,” continuing the album rollout.

• Kehlani discussed R&B’s resurgence and Missy Elliott’s influence during a 2026 Grammy Awards red carpet interview with REVOLT.

With her self-titled fifth studio album just a few weeks away, Kehlani has treated us to a brand-new single, “Back and Forth,” ahead of its full-length release.

Released at midnight Friday (April 10), the Missy Elliott-assisted song serves as another promising preview of the LP, following the Grammy-winning “Folded” and “Out The Window.” As heard during a live performance of the record at the NCAA’s Super Saturday Concert, the Supa Dupa Fly artist opened, “When I say new Kehlani / You know it’s some hot s**t / Let me say what I’m gon’ say, let me stay on the topic.” Shortly after, the Oakland singer launched into her verse.

“Why you so quiet? Silence sittin’ like sirens / If looks could kill, well then tonight might get violent / When the fit too fire, you always get to firing,” Kehlani sang. Safe to say, she’s not “goin’ back and forth tonight”! Take a listen to the record below.

Who else fans can expect to hear from on Kehlani’s self-titled fifth studio album

“Back and Forth” is technically the first collaboration we’ve heard from Kehlani, even though the “Nights Like This” artist has already teased Usher, Brandy, and more possibly appearing on the 17-song effort. Coincidentally, she spoke about Elliott while chatting with REVOLT on the 2026 Grammy Awards red carpet.

When asked about her efforts to bring R&B back to the forefront, Kehlani explained, “I think for so long, all the legends have been forced into a box to fit the new generation of what R&B is, and they’ve kind of dumbed themselves down a bit… and it’s not their fault. I remember seeing a Missy Elliott interview where she wrote, ‘The label stopped calling her to executive produce R&B albums because they didn’t want too much singing.’”

She continued, “So now, getting to see that everybody’s coming out like wait, ‘You guys want us to flex again and sing and do three-minute songs and bridges and key changes and all that.’ It’s going to be a great year for R&B.”

As previously reported, “Folded” producer Khristopher Riddick-Tynes is executive producing Kehlani’s upcoming project, which could also feature contributions from Tank, Ne-Yo, Jermaine Dupri, and Bryan-Michael Cox, as she hinted during her sit-down with Rolling Stone in January.

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