ADRIAN MA, HOST:
As a musician, Leven Kali has spent a whole lot of his profession behind the scenes. He is a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who’s made music for lots of big-name artists…
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “VIRGO’S GROOVE”)
BEYONCE: (Singing) Come over.
MA: …Like “Virgo’s Groove” from Beyonce’s Grammy-winning 2022 album “Renaissance.” And lately, Kali’s additionally produced for the likes of Drake and Skrillex.
LEVEN KALI: Seeing, like, you understand, the way in which that basically nice individuals put collectively a mission and the quantity of intention that goes into it, it actually, you understand, impressed me and gave me a blueprint.
MA: A blueprint for his personal flip within the highlight, a brand new solo album titled “LK99.”
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “BREATHE!”)
KALI: (Singing) Simply breathe. Nothing left to do however go deep. Simply breathe. Nothing…
MA: I do know some musicians hate to be requested to explain their sound. So…
KALI: Yeah.
MA: I provides you with a alternative.
KALI: (Laughter) OK.
MA: Inform me if you wish to describe your sound to anyone who’s by no means heard it, or if you would like, I may take a crack at it.
KALI: OK, I am curious what you suppose, after which I will inform you what I believe.
MA: (Laughter) OK. If I needed to provide you with a label for what I am listening to, it could be dream funk.
KALI: Whoa.
MA: And I used to be getting little whiffs of different artists that I actually love. Like, one sort of jogged my memory of “Earth, Wind, & Fireplace.” I acquired some Sly Stone, some Frank Ocean, possibly. Even a little bit little bit of Daft Punk.
KALI: Yeah.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “GRAB IT”)
KALI: (Singing) If there’s one thing else you need, go forward and seize it.
Yeah, you killed it. I like it. I have not mentioned dream funk earlier than, however I like that time period. Yeah, I imply, I’d say undoubtedly funk is what it’s. It is soul music. It is funk music. Nevertheless it’s now. It is at the moment. It is tomorrow. It isn’t – you understand, I strive my hardest to honor my inspirations however not copy them, you understand? Like, I do not need to ever actually, like, do a full retro factor. You already know, every little thing is like – it is for at the moment and tomorrow. And it is – you understand, there is a sort of, like, a reaching again and a reaching ahead on the identical time.
MA: However although Leven Kali says he is pushing ahead together with his music, I additionally wished to dig a bit into his previous.
(SOUNDBITE OF LEVEN KALI SONG, “SLEEPWALKING”)
MA: Music was not the profession that you just had all the time deliberate to pursue. I learn that you just have been really a Division I golfer in faculty.
KALI: Yeah, that was the plan. I imply, in highschool, that was undoubtedly the trail that I used to be on, and I used to be enjoying in tournaments and getting scouted by colleges. After which I – proper across the time that I dedicated to go to highschool to have fun that accomplishment, I instructed myself that I’d, you understand, take a second to take pleasure in my senior 12 months and, like, you understand, do one thing to get my thoughts off of golf earlier than I went absolutely into it.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “SLEEPWALKING”)
KALI: (Singing) I have been sleepwalking and daydreaming, daydreaming, daydreaming.
I, you understand, began engaged on recording music with my associates, and I had all the time been round music, however I hadn’t actually been across the recording side of it, like, you understand, making beats. And I simply – you understand, at one level, I used to be like, man, what am I doing with my life? That is what I am alleged to be doing.
MA: Leven Kali went on to varsity and performed golf significantly, however he nonetheless could not fairly shake the sensation that music is what he must be doing. And so he switched gears. And, actually, we should not be stunned as a result of he was really born right into a musical household.
Your dad and mom, I perceive, are musicians. And in response to Wikipedia, you have been, quote, “conceived” whereas they have been on tour…
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “PIECES”)
KALI: (Singing) You need to make love. You need to get excessive. You need to make love.
MA: …Which makes it sound such as you have been actually a tour bus child. Is that true?
KALI: I used to be undoubtedly a tour child. I do not know if I used to be a tour bus child.
MA: (Laughter) OK. Simply to set the report straight.
KALI: However – yeah, to set the report straight. However yeah, I believe my dad and mom have been – you understand, they have been in LA after which, through the being pregnant, traveled to Europe, and my dad had some exhibits occurring. My mother would sing with the band generally. And I used to be born in Amsterdam in a city referred to as Blijburg exterior of town.
MA: You have been born there, however you actually grew up in LA.
KALI: Precisely.
MA: Do you are feeling a connection to the Netherlands in any respect?
KALI: I do.
MA: Inform me about that. Like, how does that present up in your life or in your artwork?
KALI: I imply, first off, I’ve traveled there a bunch. So I imply, going again and spending time with my godfamily on the market. However, you understand, I really feel like anyone, if you find yourself a toddler and you are like, abroad, and also you’re simply soaking it up, cultural variations, it simply – it impacts you within the deepest means, I believe. And it is undoubtedly affected the way in which that I see the world.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “RAINING SUN”)
KALI: (Singing) Can you are feeling it, child? Can you are feeling it, child?
I believe that, you understand, within the Netherlands and, like, in a whole lot of Western Europe, there’s, like, an enormous, like, love and respect for funk music and doubtless in a stronger means than in a whole lot of locations within the States.
MA: So the Dutch – funkier than you’ll have thought?
KALI: The Dutch are funky. They’re funky musically. You already know, they are a very, like, curious and mental and artsy individuals, they usually’re additionally actually freaky and, like, wild, they usually’re very enjoyable, they usually’re smiley. And I believe that it is a enjoyable place to be. It is – they usually love funk music.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “RAINING SUN”)
KALI: (Singing) The audio system blown, nowhere to cover. We hit the pink line.
MA: Since you might have finished a lot writing for different musicians, is there a means during which writing for your self now could be loads completely different from writing for different individuals?
KALI: For certain. I believe it is simpler to write down for different individuals. After which whenever you write for your self, you understand, the ego kicks in, the satisfaction kicks in. You need to ensure that it is precisely representing you the way you need to be represented. And, you understand, generally it is a lesson in, like, deliberately letting go and being like, if I did it like this, that is how I did it. I am not going to alter it.
MA: Effectively, give me an instance. Like, is there a track on this album that seems like, solely I may have written this for me? Yeah, I believe “Are U Nonetheless.”
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “ARE U STILL”)
KALI: (Singing) Speak to me. Are you continue to in love like I’m? You continue to, you continue to, child, are you continue to, are you continue to, oh.
The way in which the track strikes sort of like an R&B track that turns right into a funk report, however the transitions between these R&B and funk sections is sort of this rocked out, intense second. And it is simply one thing that, you understand, I can take heed to that and level out so a lot of my inspirations simply in that report. And I can even, like, hear myself and my voice and my groove so clearly. This seems like authentically me.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “ARE U STILL”)
KALI: (Singing) Vibration. They communicate to me. Vibration. I really feel that, vibration.
MA: Leven Kali’s new album is named “LK99.” Thanks for speaking with us.
KALI: Thanks a lot in your time, man.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “ARE U STILL”)
KALI: (Singing) Nonetheless hear your feels like a ghost inside. It is just like the howl of the wolf at night time. Nonetheless hear you sound like a ghost inside. It is just like the howl of the wolf at night time.
Copyright © 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Go to our web site phrases of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for additional info.
Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts might range. Transcript textual content could also be revised to appropriate errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org could also be edited after its authentic broadcast or publication. The authoritative report of NPR’s programming is the audio report.
