In-Depth Conversation with Khalid: Journey, Sexuality, New Music, and Fashion.

Photos / Abi Polinsky

Styling / Phil Gomez

Grooming / Francis Rodriguez

MUA Assistant / Wil Sassy 

Motion / Bellamy Brewster 

Photo Assist / AJ Kyser

PA / BAN 

Few artists can say their voice was literally the pulse of a generation wrapped in social media and significant changes throughout culture. With over 34,000,000,000 streams and only in his mid-twenties, it’s safe to say Khalid is one of the most influential artists doing his thing. I wanted to get to know him more deeply, so when I was asked to interview him while vacationing in the South of France for my birthday, I made sure I stayed up to make it happen.

Khalid. A name that means Eternal or Immortal feels suitable for an artist whose music transcends time. Omnipresent hits like “Young Dumb & Broke,” “Talk,” “Better,” “Location,” and “OTW” lead us to his more sensual side with “Sincere.” I found myself tapping into my active listening abilities to allow this brilliant mind to fully express himself. It was refreshing to hear him be a bit vulnerable with me and explore various facets of his perspective in his own words, and not just on his incredible albums. He is liberated, and his new sound is sexier than ever.

It was a wonderful conversation with such brilliant talent. Here is how our full conversation unfolded.

JL: Well, I wanna jump in and get some juice from you and hear more about your journey and this new chapter, and just, you know, talk your shit so we can make sure we have it written in beautiful words. First of all, I’m also an army kid.

K: Yes? Oh, shit.

JL: So when I heard that, I knew I could tap in with you.

Tell me a little bit about your early life and how it was as a kid and growing up in the unique perspective of being in that world?

K: I think growing up as an army brat, it’s difficult. The stress, not only did I grow up as an army brat, but my mom was a single mother for the majority of my childhood.

Having a mother enlisted and having to go from home to home and living with relatives, or even just moving to a new place and kind of changing your environment every three to four years and starting over, it was really difficult.

JL: I can relate…

K: I was a very shy kid, actually, until I realized that maybe being the quiet kid wasn’t gonna, I guess, it wasn’t gonna be the fun route..And I felt like the best way to get to know people was to be myself, and eventually, when I started aging through my youth and I started going into middle and high school, I became extremely extroverted because I felt like I had to just jump into the wild and put my best foot forward immediately so people could get to know who I was. And that helped me a lot when it came down to standing behind myself as an individual. My confidence, even when it comes down to the experience that I have with my fans, feels so familiar because I’ve kind of grown these relationships with strangers my entire life.

JL: Right! Oh my gosh, I love that!

K: It’s nice to meet strangers that actually know me. So now I just get to be myself.

JL: As you enter this next chapter, what are some of the things you want people to know about who you’ve become, since we’ve watched you from “American Teen” to now?

K: Right?

JL: Who are you now?

K: I think that when I debuted with “American Teen,” I actually started off being extremely authentic to myself. But through exposure and becoming a celebrity, I became this introverted, quiet, kind of—I wouldn’t even go as far as saying…unfriendly, but more isolated than you don’t see.

JL: Elaborate.

K: When I first debuted into the industry, I was everywhere. I was having fun. I was exploring life and expressing myself, and then created fear with exposure. I got so big, I never expected to be as big as I was as young as I was. And so I feel like when I look at myself, who am I now?

I’m continuing the journey that I set for myself nearly a decade ago of that freedom, carefree, friendly, inviting, social, extroverted ball full of light energy that I feel like that’s who my friends get to experience. I feel like my friends are always like, “Oh my god, Khalid. I wish the world could experience you the way that we do.” And and and I always tell them, I’m like, you know what? Like, that’s a gift to be—that’s a gift to be shared with, you know, trust and time. Now I feel like I have so much trust within myself.

I trust myself with my newfound maturity, my vulnerability, my openness.

I feel like I’m ready to share a little bit more of that side that the people closest to me see. At the end of the day, the people who are the closest to me in this industry are my supporters. And I think that they would be more than happy to be able to meet me in my authenticity.

JL: I heard you mentioned the word “lonely.” We know that’s a whole epidemic right now.

K: Yes?

JL: And this is, like, a whole other thing… So what is your remedy to fight that loneliness, if you will?

K: I think the remedy that I—

JL: I’m sorry. I know it’s like….what?!

K: I like, let’s go there.

JL: We’re gonna get sincere, baby.

K: We can go there. If I had the common remedy of loneliness, you know, it would be something that I would be able to share with others. But I’ll say my own, you know, coping mechanisms with a sense of loneliness. I love to place myself into other people’s shoes. I think that choosing to empathize with others, my surroundings, and the world; I think it makes me feel okay with being alone, knowing that the experiences that we go through aren’t necessarily singular.

As unique as we are on this earth, we all struggle.

We all go through pain.

We go through hurt.

We go through love.

We go through life.

To live is to experience….I’ve acknowledged that sometimes you’re gonna have to walk on that road by yourself. It’s just you walking for what you thought was gonna be a couple of minutes that turned into miles. But for me, it’s about what’s at the end of that street that, in a way, drives me, keeps me going. I looked at the loneliness of the pandemic, and I couldn’t help but think about the end of it…

JL: Can you explain a bit more?

K: All I could think about was what I could do now that could prepare me for that moment.

When it came down to making “Sincere,” I think “Sincere” was the preparation it took for me to get to this moment that I’m in right now, where it’s like, speak these stories, talk about hurt, talk about sadness, talk about loneliness on a scale that your fans can feel impacted by so when you get this out of your system, the community can embrace you. That’s more than just the world, you know. Being recently open about coming out, to be able to be like, hey. My first step is being out and reclaiming and owning my identity.

JL: Wow. 

K: That shows, okay, you don’t actually have to be alone anymore. You have a team of people who support you and who are backing you and who are behind you. When I go through loneliness, I just always remind myself, perseverance is key. I get driven in that loneliness to meet my community.

JL: Shivers….Let’s keep going. Your music reaches and connects with so many youth groups. Understanding your own sexuality and your transformation of self throughout, being in the industry for the amount of time you have… Looking back… What do you wish you can say to your younger self about the first album?

K: I wish I told myself, Khalid, it’s not that deep. I think being out is so much different than being private. You start to look back at those challenges that you might have faced, and you realize you were your own challenge. You start to look at those anxieties that you faced, and you were like, you are your own anxiety. Don’t get me wrong… nobody’s said being out is easy, but I think it’s about embracing and cherishing and owning my sexuality that has opened a new spiritual ground of life, love, expression.

JL: Nicely put…Anything else?

K: I wish I would have told myself it’s not that deep, because in a way, I feel like it’s taking me nearly ten years to be the artist that I’ve always wanted to be all along, but might not have had the confidence to be because of my fears. To be afraid is valid because of this society….

JL: Lots of low IQs and lower vibrations…

K: And it’ll break you, and it’ll break you down. It’s interesting to go from seeing comments like, “Gay? Is he gay?” and being like, “Oh my God,” to being like, “Yes. I am gay. And what about it? I’m free.” There are like-minded people who are also open and accepting and will create and harvest that safe environment for you. You’ll be okay! I wish I could have told myself that because of the fears and the anxieties that I was going through up until a year ago, even just because you get told this trope, like, we know how hard it is to be not only queer, but to be Black at that, in an industry that seems like it was built against us. I felt like it only excites me because I’m ready to put my best foot forward. I get to really put my all into this music sh*t! Don’t hold back. Like, now I get to be like, “I can sing a song.” I can say ‘boy’ in a song and not feel the pressure. Like, it’s kinda just like, yeah. I said ‘boy.’ What about it?

JL: You did a post the other day….Is that a new sound? Is this called what’s it called? Because that’s a sexy moment, perfect for the summer!

K: Thank you. It is a sexy moment. I guess I was feeling so overwhelmingly excited about all the music. I was like, “I gotta share something.” And, you know, I wanted to share something that I felt like, you know, “This is a banger.” Like, people have to get introduced to this in some way, but that’s not even, like, the tip of the…that’s just the tip of the iceberg, I feel like. Like, that’s just the taste of what the sound is, and I…I would say…I…this town is liberated and free and fun and flirty and, tongue-in-cheek and spicy. It’s exciting. I’ll say it’s me performing at a BPM that I’ve never sung at consistently. If you listen to American Teen and Free Spirit, anything, it’s like just multiplying that times, like, the speed of, like, two or three.

JL: I love it. I’m excited to hear more. It just felt really “Summer”—period. It was like, “Oh, he’s going in.” I can’t wait to hear more.

K: Sexual age.—Thank you.

JL: You know, so I know you collaborate with many celebrities, many amazing creatives. Who are some of your favorites that stood out the most with creating Sincere, first?

K: So I’ll speak to Sincere, the deluxe. Someone who I actually really loved working with? Chloe.

JL: Wow. Tell me more!

K: Loved working with Chloe, because she’s so sweet and nice. She just has this charisma and this energy where you’re like, “Wow. You are really just this nice…Like, you are really just this sweet?” She’s intentional about her craft, and that’s something that I can respect through and through. When I sent her the song, “M.I.A.,” for her to hop on, I wasn’t expecting anything. But the way that she performed above and beyond my expectations showed that she has…we share an understanding for the love of music, and the love of being intentional about our craft. I would love to run it back with Chloe and do something completely new that we conceptualized together, because I think that would be really amazing.

JL: I mean, you have new music. The next album, keep pumping it!!

K: And I love the girls. Like, I love recording with the girls. I love working with the girls. Kiana, Daniela Dei, Normani, Alina Baraz. It’s something about being compassionate, just romantic, it’s something about energy. I just love to be able to help the ladies, you know, tell their stories and to be someone they trust, to be a man that they trust, to execute it on a worldly scale. I love that I’m like the girl’s best friend. I f***ing love that.

JL: They always love a fabulous, like, Black fashion boy. Speaking…let’s speak of fashion. I know I’ve done a crazy deep dive. Well, you know, you’re ready to tap into the fashion side of it. But who are some of the brands you see yourself aligning yourself with?

K: Oh, I really love Loewe. I love…they’re just, like, when they get abstract and, like, weird and…I mean, I love all, like, the weird obscure brands, like, Dublet, love when they get, like, all weird and obscure but I’d also love Marni, the colorfulness. I love every time I’m wearing, like, Marni. I was really obsessed with those, like, furry slippers.

JL: Everyone…it had everyone in a chokehold, for sure.

K: I love cozy vibes, to feel cozy. But if we’re talking about, like, if I’m going for, like, through and through, what do I feel good about head to toe wearing a suit? I love Prada. Love Prada suits, Prada shoes, Prada pants. I just bought a pair of Prada pants maybe two weeks ago, and they’re my favorite. Like, I wear these every day, and I’m like, “You know what? It’s okay because it’s PRADA.”

JL: So we gotta…we’re gonna see you all over fashion week soon. Have you attended any recent shows?

K: I have. I went to Milan Fashion Week, and that was amazing. It was amazing….I went to the Boss show. And I felt that that was really incredible. Love the brand, and they treat me with so much respect every time that I work with them. I feel like when it came down to Milan, it was my playground to dive into for the first time, and it actually had me realizing, I’m like, “Wait. Like, people want me here. Like, people…people are so happy to see me. They’re taking all these pictures with me.” I feel like it’s the perfect way…I feel like fashion is the perfect way to come into being extroverted, to come back into my extroverted energy. I feel like fashion, the freedom of expression, putting on your flyest fit, feeling confident and meeting and exchanging and being like, “Hey. I love your glasses, and I love your shoes, and I love your pants.” There’s something so beautiful about that exchange, and you feel that energy when you’re at a fashion week. You see people who are owning themselves, owning their sense of individuality, owning their sense of style, owning, you know, everything that’s made them who they are, to put that outfit on. There’s so much art in fashion.

JL: Right.

K: From the outside looking in, you don’t really experience that connection until you come into it and you realize this is an exchange. That’s why I’m loving dipping my toes into this pool, and I’m ready to jump in.

JL: Storytelling. So let’s get sincere…Let’s talk about how you want the audience to continue to experience Sincere? How do you want them to experience Sincere now?

K: The thing about Sincere is when you go through some shit, you feel some shit. Sincere is my journey of going through it, to find myself, to find a sense of myself. If I’m gonna take this long to put out a project, then it has to be honest. When I think of the listener as sincere, I want them to come into it without them placing themselves in my shoes.

Full look, HOMME PLISSE ISSEY MIYAKE. Shoes, UGG x REESE COOPER. Eyewear, CRASS.

Coat, LARUICCI. Gloves, Stylist own.

Top and Bottom, LARUICCI. Tee + underwear, BOSS. Shoes, Dr. Martens. Ring, HAIDEN JAMESON INC..

Coat, LARUICCI.