Khalid
Khalid Robinson was born in 1998 into a military family and spent a nomadic childhood following his mother's Army postings before settling in El Paso, Texas, where he wrote and recorded while still in high school. He broke through in 2016 with the hazy, homesick single 'Location' and the 2017 debut album 'American Teen,' pairing a relaxed, slightly weary baritone with diaristic lyrics about teenage longing, distance, and social-media-era romance. His unhurried, atmospheric take on pop-soul made him one of the defining young R&B voices of the late 2010s.
Khalid has named Frank Ocean among his influences, and the debt shows in his diaristic, conversational approach to R&B: songs built less on runs and belting than on a soft, unhurried delivery riding warm, minimal production, with lyrics that read like unsent texts.
listen forThrow on Ocean's 'Thinkin Bout You,' then Khalid's 'Better' — listen for the same trick of a low, half-spoken verse floating over sparse keys before the voice drifts up into a light, airy falsetto on the hook instead of powering through it.
Khalid has cited James Blake as an influence, and it surfaces in his taste for negative space — tracks that leave wide gaps around the voice, letting a single vocal line and a few electronic textures carry the whole mood rather than filling every bar.
listen forPlay Blake's 'Retrograde,' then Khalid's 'Saved' — notice how both hang a bare, close-miked vocal in near-silence, letting long pauses and a slow, ghostly synth swell do the emotional work between phrases.
Khalid has named Lorde as an influence, and the kinship is in perspective as much as sound: minimalist, moody pop sung from a teenager's point of view, turning ordinary suburban restlessness and the fear of growing up into widescreen feeling over spare, echoing beats.
listen forCue Lorde's 'Ribs,' then Khalid's 'American Teen' — both ride a stark, pulsing minimalism and stack breathy layered harmonies, and both ache over the same subject: the bittersweet in-between of being young and sensing it slipping away.