‘KiKi’ is the debut album of Los Angeles based songstress, Kiana Lede’. The album was released on April 3rd, 2020 and consists of 17 tracks including the pre-released record “Mad At Me”. The album also featured appearances from several artists such as Money Bagg Yo, BIA, Lucky Daye, 6lack, and Ari Lennox. Upon its release the album peaked at number 30 on the U.S. Billboard 200 charts.
‘KiKi’ begins with the track “Cancelled.” Throughout the song, Kiana encourages all of her female listeners to know their worth. “Tell him jig’s up and his mind’s mixed up/ If he ain’t changing up for you, yeah/F–k everything he said, babygirl, he did you bad. But you the baddest in the room….Tell the boy you got no f—s. Grab his baggage, pack it up ‘Cause he ain’t man enough for you.” Lede’ is telling ladies, don’t put up with a man who clearly doesn’t care about you or your well-being. Kick him to the curb. Don’t settle for someone who does not meet your standards.
“Second Chances” is the sixth track and features Atlanta based R&B singer 6lack. Throughout this record, Lede’ is a woman that is tired of her man’s crap. “No more second chances, chances/Always tryna take advantage/I can’t give him no more chances, chances/ So I’d rather walk away,” the 23-year-old sings in the chorus. She is tired of her boyfriend making mistakes within their relationship. She’s tired of forgiving him time after time for his wrongdoings and she’s fed up. In the last verse of the track, 6lack acts as a lover trying to convince his woman to stay with him by telling his girlfriend that walking out on him would not be such a good idea. “Walking out on me is just a hard-to-swallow pill.” The lyrics suggest that leaving 6lack would bring nothing but complications to Lede’ life because they have been through so much together.
“Plenty More” is the eighth song on ‘KiKi’. Throughout the track, Kiana is a scorned lover and not one to be reckoned with. “When you’re out having sweet dreams, I’ll be your beautiful nightmare.” The Arizona native sings in the opening lines, “Smell her scent on the bed sheets. And I ain’t never had no blonde hair. Can’t deny the things I’ve seen. Ain’t smart enough to hide your screen. Thought you knew me but you didn’t. Thought you would get away with murder. Didn’t think I’d have the nerve. Now I keep smiling. Let it burn.” Lede’s lover thinks that he is being stealthy, running around town doing whatever he wants to do, however, what her lover fails to realize is that Kiana knows everything that he’s been up to and he has a rude awakening coming. She closes the song out with a warning, “You don’t want this, you don’t want none. There’s plenty more where that came from.”
On “Labels”, the tenth song on the album, Kiana links up with Memphis rapper MoneyBagg Yo and Boston emcee Bia. On this Mtume sampled track, Kiana is done with spending her precious time with people who don’t deserve it. Fed up, she decides that she’s done with love. “I ain’t wastin’ no more time with these labels. I done gave your a– my heart, and you played with it.” Lede’, at this point in her life, is completely done with love and being taken for granted in her relationships.
“Honest” is the eleventh song on ‘KiKi’. On this track, Kiana is a woman lacking attention from her lover. “Laid up at night. Tryna get you in the mood. But you stay airtight.” She isn’t getting the affection she feels that she deserves from her boyfriend. She’s giving 100% in the relationship, while he’s giving, what seems like, 0%. Further on in the track, she sings, “Slow down, seems like you’re in a rush. You on, the ‘Gram, hold on, scroll up.” Lede’s emphatically sings that lover would rather put all of his focus on other things such as social media instead of her.
I give ‘KiKi’ seven stars out of ten stars. The album was really impressive, especially with it being Lede’s debut album. The only setback of ‘KiKi’ was the similar subject matters of the tracks. Nonetheless, Ledé still did a decent job introducing the world to her talent.
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