Khalid: The Voice of Teens

Khalid is a well loved and well known artist among young individuals all over the globe. He is a very popular R&B artist who has not only written and sung many of his own songs but has also been a part of many collaborations with other artists that relate to a lot of societal issues.

After his debut of his ‘American Teen’ album he was seen as the voice for all teens, an article continues on this thought:

“Now that it’s a platinum- seller, the 10th-biggest album of 2017 in the US, he’s become the latest to be saddled with the “voice of a generation” tag.”

After the release of his song ‘Young, Dumb and Broke’ he was seen as an icon for teenagers as he understood the struggles of being a teen in the 21st Century but the problem was .. he is no longer broke and is exiting his teen years. So, now what will he bring to the table?

In a collaboration with Logic and Alessia Cara with the song 1-800-273-8255. This song is probably one of the most powerful songs to have come out, beginning with the title being the American Hotline for Suicide Prevention. This already showing a major societal issue and spreading awareness.

“I love the message of the song. It’s important and it’s not talked about enough within my society and my peer group, as a creative, it’s something I definitely have. I suffer from anxiety, moments of depression. I’m in my head so much and I’m thinking so much, I’m playing a tug-of-war within my mind.”

For an artist who is so highly looked upon among young adults all over the globe to be singing, preaching and understanding mental health issues truly shows just how powerful music can be. It shows how much music affects society and the messages portrayed in such music have a ripple affect.

Khalid, in a more recent interview spoke about is newest Album ‘Free Spirit’ and how his inspiration for that album was Frank Ocean. Ocean is a more hip hop artist and here we can see, cultural appropriation. Having Khalid getting his inspiration from other genres and artists shows his ability to expand his mindset and writing styles which can appeal to a broader audience.

Cultural appropriation is where a member of one culture adopts elements of another. Expanding on this, Khalid has had many articles written about his music but another aspect of his life that they appear to be attracted too is his fashion. Fashion is a major part of our ever-changing society and Khalid has managed to adopt parts of other cultures into his fashion and branding. An article found, talks about his ‘athletic’ clothing style.

“We’re loving this sun-drenched shot of Khalid rocking a simple, slick baseball jersey. Pinstripe and classic breton stripes are big news this year, and the singer is bang on trend with his athletic spin.”

Having this aspect to Khalid shows the cultural appropriation of his brand and name. His clothing is inspired by sporting and his music is inspired by other genres which is where he is localising societies.

Stay True, R.