Leven Kali

Songwriter/singer/producer Leven Kali makes richly produced alternative R&B with a personal lyrical perspective outside the norm. Early appearances on Drake and Playboi Carti tracks and a semi-viral single made in collaboration with Syd opened doors for Kali, and he proceeded to create thoughtful and nuanced solo releases like the 2020 album Hightide and the 2022 EP Let It Rain. He wrote and/or produced material for Beyoncé, LE SSERAFIM, and Teddy Swims before he returned in 2025 with "Are U Still," his feel-good first single for Def Jam.Kali was born in Holland to a musical family and raised in Santa Monica, California. Just out of his teens, the artist began making a name for himself with some high-profile collaborations. In 2016 and 2017, he co-wrote songs for K-pop acts such as NCT U ("The 7th Sense"), Taeyeon ("Starlight"), and Red Velvet ("Rookie"), and was featured on tracks by Drake ("Do Not Disturb") and Playboi Carti ("Flex"). He followed these shortly with solo tracks, including the futuristic R&B single "Yours" in June 2017 and "Do U Wrong" in early 2018, which featured former Odd Future affiliate Syd. The three-song EP I Get High When I Think About Us arrived later that year, and in 2019, Kali released his first album-length project, Leven Kali: Low Tide. He followed the next year with Hightide, an album that included guest spots from Topaz Jones, Smino, Ty Dolla $ign, and more. Kali released several singles in 2022 and assembled some of them into the club-flavored Let It Rain EP. Meanwhile, Kali branched out with more collaborative work. He was credited on four songs from Beyoncé's Renaissance, and was sought out by Kyle and Skrillex before he hit the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 as co-writer of Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter track "Bodyguard." He co-wrote Teddy Swims' "She Got It" shortly thereafter. Signed to Def Jam as a solo artist, Kali released "Are U Still," his first single for the label, in February 2025.
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