SweetSexySavage

SweetSexySavage is the debut studio album by American singer and songwriter Kehlani. The album was released on January 27, 2017 by Atlantic Records.[2] Kehlani started work on the album shortly after the release of her mixtape You Should Be Here, with work proceeding into 2016. Kehlani described the album as having three elements; Sweet, Sexy and Savage,[3] which are intended to be reflected in the album's lyrical content and production.

SweetSexySavage
Studio album by Kehlani
Released	January 27, 2017
Recorded	2015–2016
Studio	Atlantic Records (Los Angeles, California) Milkboy the Studio (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Genre	R&B[1]
Length	58:29
Label	Atlantic TSNMI
Producer	Iamsu! (exec.) Pop & Oak Some Randoms Autoro "Toro" Whitfield Trevor Brown Zaire Koalo Jahaan Sweet Rex Kudo Sevn Thomas Nick Seeley Charlie Heat Picard Brothers The Featherstones Novawav Composer P-Lo JMIKE Djemba Djemba
Kehlani chronology
You Should Be Here (2015) SweetSexySavage (2017) While We Wait (2019)
Singles from SweetSexySavage
"Crzy" Released: July 15, 2016 "Distraction" Released: July 23, 2016 "Gangsta" Released: August 1, 2016 "Keep On" Released: January 27, 2017

Kehlani was the lead writer on all tracks aside from "Intro", which was written by Reyna Biddy. Production on the project was handled by Pop & Oak, Jahaan Sweet, Charlie Heat, among others, who worked to incorporate a variety of different sounds on the album.[4]

The album received mainly positive reviews from critics, generating a Metacritic score of 76, which ranks as Kehlani's third-highest score after her mixtape You Should Be Here from 2015, and before her mixtape While We Wait from 2019. It debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200, moving 58,000 album-equivalent units in its first tracking week.[5] To promote the album, Kehlani embarked on the SweetSexySavage Tour.

Background and production

After wrapping up the North American leg of the You Should Be Here Tour, new recording sessions for the album started in Philadelphia around Halloween 2015.[6] The album was announced to be arriving "soon" in mid 2016 by Kehlani on Twitter. Work continued into 2016 where Kehlani finished and since has passed it onto her label.

The bulk of the album's production was handled by Pop & Oak,[7] with Kehlani also working with many others, including her musical director and producer Jahaan Sweet, who she worked with on her mixtapes.

The album was inspired by TLC's album, CrazySexyCool.[8] Kehlani also cited Natasha Bedingfield, Colbie Caillat, Gwen Stefani, and Pink as the biggest inspirations for the album.[9] She stated that it was "more fun and aggressive" than her earlier work.[10]

Singles

"Crzy" was released as the lead single from SweetSexySavage on July 15, 2016,[11] and peaked at number eighty-five on the US Billboard Hot 100. Kehlani performed the single on Jimmy Kimmel Live! to promote the album's release.

The second single, "Distraction", was released on July 23, 2016, and also peaked at number eighty-five on the Hot 100. The song impacted rhythmic radios in mid-January and has peaked in the top 40 of the rhythmic radio charts. Its accompanying music video received over 2 million views in one day on YouTube.[12]

"Gangsta", which is featured in the DC film Suicide Squad was released on August 1, 2016, as the album's third single. The fourth single, "Keep On", was released on January 27, 2017.

Promotional singles

The first promotional single from the album, "Advice",[13] was premiered on Zane Lowe's Beats 1 show on December 1, 2016.[14] Kehlani premiered the album's second promotional single "Undercover" on January 5, 2017 during Zane Lowe's Beats 1 show. "Do U Dirty" was released on January 12, 2017 as the album's third promotional single.

Release and promotion

Kehlani promoted the album using the initials 'SSS'[15] before finally announcing the album's title on November 27, 2016 via Twitter.[16]

Kehlani revealed the album's cover on November 30, 2016.[17] The album was made available to pre-order on iTunes on December 1, 2016 along with the promotional single "Advice". SweetSexySavage has 19 tracks on the deluxe version.

On January 27, Kehlani promoted the album's release by performing "Crzy" on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.[18]

Tour

Main article: SweetSexySavage World Tour

Kehlani announced that she would be going on a world tour in support of the album on December 2, 2016. Tickets went on sale on December 14, 2016 with concert dates in North America and Europe. The tour began on February 21, 2017 in Montreal, Quebec at Club Soda, and is scheduled to conclude on November 19, 2017 in Mexico City, Mexico at the Corona Capital Festival. A portion of the European leg was cancelled due to Kehlani having surgery on her stomach. The tour visited cities across North America, Europe, Oceania and Asia.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	6.8/10[19]
Metacritic	76/100[20]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[21]
The Daily Telegraph	[22]
Entertainment Weekly	B[23]
Exclaim!	8/10[24]
Financial Times	[25]
The Guardian	[26]
NME	[27]
The Observer	[28]
Pitchfork	7.0/10[29]
The Times	[30]

At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 76 out of 100 based on 17 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[20]

Shahzaib Hussain of Clash gave the album a 7 out of 10 and said, "The production can at times become repetitive, yet it's Kehlani's versatility as a songstress that elevates the more cookie cutter numbers."[31] Nick Levine of NME gave the album 4 stars out of 5 and commented that "the album is cohesive without feeling too samey."[31]

Ryan B. Patrick of Exclaim! gave the album an 8 out of 10 and said, "by getting intensely personal, Kehlani adds a human side to the recordings that's multilayered and unapologetically self-determined."[24] Andy Kellman of AllMusic gave the album 4.5 stars out of 5, commenting that "The lows and highs, grief and pleasure, and insecurity and pride are all put on vivid display, and Kehlani pours herself into all of it without overselling a thought."[21]

Katherine St. Asaph of Pitchfork gave the album a 7.0 out of 10 and stated that "Refreshingly, SweetSexySavage is at its best when it's most exuberant, giddy in the face of haters and common sense alike."[29] Barry Walters of Entertainment Weekly gave the album a grade of B, saying, "haunting highlights like 'Piece of Mind' and 'Everything Is Yours' prove that beneath SSS's padding, there's a succinct, sassy, and sincere album waiting to be slimmed down to Kehlani's own soul-searching essence."[23]

Accolades

Publication	Accolade	Rank	Ref.
Pitchfork	The 50 Best Albums of 2017	47	[32]
Rolling Stone	20 Best R&B Albums of 2017	9	[33]

Commercial performance

SweetSexySavage debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200, moving 58,000 album-equivalent units with traditional album sales of 32,000 copies in its first week.[5] This became Kehlani's first US top-ten debut on the chart.[5] On June 29, 2018, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales and album-equivalent units of over 500,000 units in the United States.[34]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Intro"	Reyna Biddy[35]		0:59
2.	"Keep On"	Kehlani Parrish Jahaan Sweet August Rigo Ricky Tillo	Jahaan Sweet Rigo	3:38
3.	"Distraction"	Parrish Andrew "Pop" Wansel Warren "Oak" Felder Daniel Klein Matthew Campfield	Pop & Oak Some Randoms	3:55
4.	"Piece of Mind"	Parrish Autoro Whitfield Wansel Felder	Pop & Oak Toro Some Randoms	4:18
5.	"Undercover"	Parrish Aliaune Thiam Jake Troth Anthony Beale Anthony Lawson Bob Marley[36] Ernest Brown	Charlie Heat	3:03
6.	"Crzy"	Parrish Denisia "Blu June" Andrews Brittany "Chi" Coney	Novawav	3:11
7.	"Personal"	Parrish Sweet Johntá Austin Bryan-Michael Cox Kevin Hicks Phalon Alexander	Jahaan Sweet	3:47
8.	"Not Used to It"	Parrish Felder Wansel Campfield Klein Lotus Hartley Rhian Sheehan	Pop & Oak Some Randoms	3:55
9.	"Everything Is Yours"	Parrish Wansel Felder Trevor Brown Zaire Koalo	Pop & Oak Koalo Brown	3:31
10.	"Advice"	Parrish Wansel Felder Campfield Klein	Pop & Oak Some Randoms	3:22
11.	"Do U Dirty"	Parrish Christopher Featherstone Justin Featherstone Matthew Featherstone William Featherstone	The Featherstones	3:26
12.	"Escape"	Parrish Whitfield Wansel Felder Brown Koalo	Pop & Oak Koalo Brown Toro	3:21
13.	"Too Much"	Parrish Maxime Picard Clement Picard Stephen Garrett Timothy Mosley	Picard Brothers	3:49
14.	"Get Like"	Parrish Matthew Jehu Samuels Rupert Thomas Masamune Kudo Nick Seeley	Sevn Thomas Rex Kudo	2:54
15.	"In My Feelings"	Parrish Wansel Felder Koalo James Harris Terry Lewis	Pop & Oak Koalo	3:46
16.	"Hold Me by the Heart"	Parrish Whitfield Wansel Felder	Pop & Oak Toro	3:45
17.	"Thank You"	Parrish Whitfield Wansel Felder Klein Campfield	Pop & Oak Some Randoms Toro	3:49
Total length:				58:28

Deluxe edition[37]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
18.	"I Wanna Be"	Parrish Anthony Kelly Brittany Hazzard Bryan Nelson Ester Dean Karen Chin Paulo Rodriguez	Composer P-Lo Swagg R'Celious^[c]	3:31
19.	"Gangsta"	Parrish Skylar Grey Andrew Swanson Jeremy Coleman Jason Evigan Jacob Luttrell	JMIKE Djemba Djemba	2:57
Total length:				64:56

Japanese edition[38]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
20.	"Did I"	Parrish Whitfield Wansel Felder Leslie Feist	Pop & Oak Toro	3:36
21.	"Crzy" (featuring A Boogie wit da Hoodie) (Remix)	Parrish Andrews Coney Artist J. Dubose	Novawav	3:13
Total length:				71:45

Notes

• "Piece of Mind" features vocals from Little Simz.
• ^{^[a]} signifies an additional producer
• ^{^[b]} signifies a co-producer
• ^{^[c]} signifies a vocal producer

Sample credits

• "Undercover" contains an interpolation of "Don't Matter", as performed by Akon.[39]
• "Personal" contains a vocal sample from "Come Over", as performed by Aaliyah and Tank.
• "Not Used to It" contains an interpolation of "Waiting" by Rhian Sheehan featuring Lotus Harley.
• "Too Much" contains an interpolation of "More Than a Woman", as performed by Aaliyah.[40]
• "In My Feelings" contains a sample of "If It Isn't Love", as performed by New Edition

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2017) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[41] 32 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[42] 61 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[43] 165 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[44] 3 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[45] 28 French Albums (SNEP)[46] 127 Irish Albums (IRMA)[47] 45 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[48] 18 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[49] 40 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[50] 63 UK Albums (OCC)[51] 26 UK R&B Albums (OCC)[52] 5 US Billboard 200[53] 3 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[54] 2

Year-end charts Chart (2017) Position US Billboard 200[55] 144 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[56] 56

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[57]	Gold	500,000
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label
Various	January 27, 2017	CD LP Streaming digital download	Atlantic

References

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2. "SweetSexySavage by Kehlani on Apple Music". Retrieved December 4, 2016.
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5. Caulfield, Keith. "Migos earn first No. 1 Album on the Billboard 200 Chart with 'Culture'". Billboard. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
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26. Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (January 26, 2017). "Kehlani: SweetSexySavage review – music to do your tax return to". The Guardian. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
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28. Empire, Kitty (January 29, 2017). "Kehlani: SweetSexySavage review – tunes and attitude". The Observer. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
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31. Hussain, Shahzaib (January 31, 2017). "Kehlani – SweetSexySavage". Clash. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
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40. Tanzer, Myles (January 31, 2017). "Kehlani's SweetSexySavage Knows Its Roots". The Fader. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
41. "Australiancharts.com – Kehlani – SweetSexySavage". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 4, 2017.
42. "Ultratop.be – Kehlani – SweetSexySavage" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 4, 2017.
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54. "Kehlani Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
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56. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
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External links

• SweetSexySavage at Discogs (list of releases)