Kali: June R&B/Hip-Hop Rookie of the Month

Kyle Denis
·13 min read
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“Kali…” From the second she introduces herself on the Tate Kobang and YG! Beats-produced “Area Codes,” Kali’s sultry laidback delivery solidifies her as an undeniable force.

The runaway success of “Area Codes” has been a long time coming for Kali the Atlanta-bred rapper, who’s been grinding since she was just 12 years old, but didn’t release her first body of work until 2021. “This Why They Mad Now is my baby,” she gushes. “That’s when I was like, ‘Okay, we’re gonna give this a try and we gon’ see how far we can take this.”

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Since the release of her first mixtape, Kali has been steadily laying the foundation for this moment. She got her first minor hit in 2021 with a This Why They Mad Now track titled “Do A B—h,” and the ATL Jacob-produced “MMM MMM” became her first TikTok hit later that year. A remix of “MMM MMM” featuring Billboard 200 chart-topper Moneybagg Yo and fellow Atlanta MC Latto appears on Toxic Chocolate, Kali’s major label debut. For Toxic Chocolate, which also featured collaborations with fellow early 2020s breakout stars Yung Bleu, Muni Long and BIA, “I was in my toxic bag,” Kali notes.

Blending her around-the-way affability with slick wordplay and delivery that can be as flirtatious as it is biting, Kali’s style is already singular — and she’s just getting started. Since its March release, “Area Codes” has amassed over four billion views on TikTok, and the song is pulling over 11 million streams per week in the U.S. alone. Buoyed by a bevy of remixes featuring everyone from Kenzo B to Luh Tyler, “Area Codes” is also Kali’s fastest-growing music video, as well as her first entry on the Billboard Hot 100, where it currently sits at its No. 33 peak.

As Kali readies her next steps to continue the momentum of “Area Codes,” we linked up with our June R&B/Hip-Hop Rookie of the Month to speak about her forthcoming new mixtape, her song on the Barbie soundtrack, Ludacris’ “Area Codes,” and whether she really likes “pasta and lobster.”

You’re Panamanian and from Atlanta. How do those two cultures impact your artistry?

I haven’t really tapped into the Panamanian. I wanna wait to solidify myself in the rap game and then tap into that. That way people know like, “Oh, Kali, she’s a really cool rapper, but she also taps into her Spanish side.” So, it’s something that I wanna work on in the future.

I feel like Atlanta is so big. Everybody comes from Atlanta. I just wanna make my own stamp. I just wanna be legendary in Atlanta, like, “Oh, Kali brought her own swag to Atlanta and she just been killing it for the females.” I’m younger and I love rap music like [Young] Thug, Future, Gucci Mane, them is like… that’s Atlanta to me. When somebody thinks of Atlanta — like who represents Atlanta and what Atlanta sounds like — I want it to be me.

You’ve been rapping since you were 12 years old. When you first started putting out music, it kept getting taken down. Now that you’re at this point in your career, what would you say to 12-year-old Kali and the Kali of This Why They Mad Now?

Everything happens for a reason. You can’t control what God has planned for you. I look back like, “Maybe those songs weren’t ready to come out and I wasn’t ready to be this huge artist.” Everything literally happens for a reason.

“Area Codes” is taking over the world right now. When you finished recording the song, did you have a special feeling about this one?

Yes! When I finished recording “Area Codes,” that same night, I called my team, and I was like, “We got one. This is the one, I’m telling y’all, it’s a hit!” And I was right!

Where were you the first time you heard “Area Codes” in public?

A lot of times, I would go to clubs and give my music to the DJs to play in the club. I don’t quite remember where I was, but I love hookah, so I was probably at a hookah lounge somewhere. I was like, “Play my song!”

TikTok has been pretty instrumental in helping “Area Codes” blow. Was there a specific TikTok, or a specific moment, that confirmed the song’s virality for you?

I always say it was when the sports teams started using it on TikTok. I feel like once guys get a hold of a female song, you’re winning. Because even if they aren’t relating to it, they’re having fun with it, so I love seeing the sports teams do it. I’ve seen a hockey team do it. I don’t know the names of the teams, but a lot of baseball teams were doing it. I even seen a rugby team doing it!

How did you come up with the idea to do different remixes for different area codes? What was the process of selecting and securing those artists for each of the remixes?

I just wanted to expand “Area Codes” and get everybody tapped into the song. It’s called “Area Codes,” so I gotta go to different area codes and see which artists are popping off and can really bring something new to the track! I did Luh Tyler, Sexyy Red, Mello Buckzz, Lil Kayla and Kenzo B, and they’re all super-popping right now. They killed their verses. They definitely added to “Area Codes” and brought their audiences in too just like I brought my audience to theirs.

We’re just piggybacking off of each other, you know? Just creating a vibe, so when I go to those cities, we lit, and I can go hang with them and see what their area code is like. I can see what their vibe is like when it comes to music and who they are as artists.

At Summer Jam earlier this month, Ice Spice brought out you and Kenzo B to perform “Area Codes (718 Remix).” Talk to me about working with Kenzo and conquering such an iconic stage.

Kenzo was super cool. She’s just taking over. She showed me around New York because I never had a chopped cheese before. She’s really cool. I just wanted to tap into New York. I feel like New York is a hard place to get people to latch onto your music, so Kenzo was perfect, because everybody is super-supportive of her, and I love to see that. They’re like, “Oh, Kenzo’s winning!” She’s like my little sister. I love her. And Ice Spice is my girl. We always be interacting on the internet, and she loves “Area Codes.” She told me, “I’ve been paying attention to your music before you even blew up.”

The energy when I came out for Summer Jam was so different. That’s all I can say. I was really nervous at first. I’m like, “Do they know ‘Area Codes?’” And then I was like, “Girl, you on Billboard! What are you talking about?” When Ice Spice said my name and the crowd went crazy, I was like, “Oh my God, this is such a great feeling!” It was my biggest crowd yet. I’m sure it’ll get bigger, but it was great. It was such a great feeling, it put me on a high, like, “I gotta do this again! I could do this. I need a longer set. I need to get there.” New York always turns up for me, top two and not two!

“Area Codes” is obviously lifting your career to new heights. You’re top 40 on the Hot 100, at over four billion views on TikTok, you’re pulling 11 million streams a week with this song — do you feel any pressure to keep up this momentum?

I definitely feel the pressure, but it’s a good feeling to have. I gotta go bigger, you know? It’s always good to compete with yourself and make yourself work harder. I definitely feel the pressure, because I’m trying to get that top 10 spot, I wanna go number one! That’s a dream of mine, and that’s the goal that I’ve been having for myself, so I’m definitely putting a healthy amount of pressure on myself.

How do you balance healthy pressure and unhealthy pressure? Where is that line for you?

I have a really good team that just helps me be like, “You got this, just breathe. We gonna get there.” Everything happens for a reason and at its own timing, just pray and manifest. That’s how I keep healthy. I celebrate myself too. Once you celebrate yourself and the accomplishments that you do have, it’s easier to be like, “Okay, how can I go bigger? ‘Cause I did this.”

What was the big celebration when “Area Codes” hit the Top 40?

I’m a dinner type of girl. And a lounge and hookah. That’s how we celebrate. Let’s go get a strawberry lemon drop and toast. I like a lowkey vibe. My team is like my friends too, so we just like lowkey stuff.

So, do you like pasta and lobster for real?

I do like pasta and lobster for real, okay! [Laughs.] I be making some good pasta and lobster! I don’t know what the noodles is called, but they like the long crinkly noodles. They went viral on TikTok one time. I make a white cream sauce that’s so good, put some white wine in it and some sweet tomatoes and Italian parsley. Chop that lobster up, you put it in there and you got you some good good food.

How are you handling the massive boost in your profile with the success of “Area Codes?”

I’m still the same me! It’s crazy cause I say this all the time, but it hasn’t hit me. I’m still the girl that walks around with my team and no security. I’m just chilling. I literally just be chilling. It hasn’t hit me like, “Girl, you gotta stop doing these things. You can’t keep doing this.” I go to the grocery store and people notice me, but I got this fat bonnet on thinking nobody gonna know who I am, just looking crazy, you know? So, I’m still just chilling. Until it gets really like super crazy.

You’ve recently caught some flak about supposedly not knowing Ludacris’ “Area Codes.” Let’s set the record straight: Did you really not hear his song before making yours? Have you listened to it since, and could a mashup or a remix with Luda be on the way?

I really didn’t know Ludacris’ “Area Codes!” A lot of people got it misconstrued and thought that I said that I didn’t know who Ludacris was. I never said that. I just never heard that particular Ludacris song.

I heard it once — I was getting ready to shoot my video when we were doing treatments at. My team was like, “Hey, do you want to try to do like a little concept like this?” And I was like, “Wait, what?” That’s when I listened to the song, and I watched the video at the same time, and I was like, “Oh, my God! Great minds think alike!” I just hope nobody thinks I’m copying, but it’s a great song and I didn’t mean any disrespect to Ludacris or anything. We haven’t had a conversation, but maybe in the future, we could have a conversation about mashup or a remix or something like that.

Toxic Chocolate, your major label debut, featured a bunch of collaborations with artists who are on a career trajectory similar to yours. What do you get out of the collaboration process, and how does it impact the way you approach your solo records?

I love collaborating, because different artists bring different vibes, and you never know what’s gonna go up. The fact that “Area Codes” went up with me solo is super great. It makes me feel like I’m doing something good. It does feel good that Muni Long was going up crazy, [Yung] Bleu too. I like to work with people I know, so it’s organic.

Let’s talk about your next mixtape. Two of your biggest songs, “MMM MMM” and “Area Codes,” use pretty minimalist beats — will we hear more production like that on the next project? Who have you worked with so far, and when can we expect it?

I feel like the next tape is everything. We have the simple beats, but I worked with some pretty big producers, and they be putting their foot in them beats! We gonna get a little bit of everything. I worked with London on da Track, YG Beats, Honorable C.N.O.T.E., $K, and B Ham. The tape should be out around the end of July/top of August.

Conceptually, musically, and lyrically, what kind of headspace were you in while making this tape?

Toxic Girls Need Love Too is a play on Toxic Chocolate. Toxic Chocolate… I was in my toxic bag. I just wanted to talk my s–t. I was in my feelings. But Toxic Girls Need Love Too is like, I was in the toxic state, kinda fell in love, and then got to the, “I wanna focus on me,” healing side of it. So, it’s a little bit of everything. Fun summer stuff, getting in my feelings, and being more vulnerable. This is me finding who I am as an artist, and as Kali.

Sometimes it’s hard, because I’m not a vulnerable person. I have to really know people to want to be like that. So, I worked really hard on being vulnerable on this tape. Super hard. I’m just trying to relate and show people that I can relate to them and that it’s not all green over here. It gets hard sometimes, and I get in my feelings too. I’ve been that girl in a position where I’m crying and I’m hurt about certain things and it’s hard finding yourself again.

You have a song on the upcoming Barbie soundtrack. Were you a big Barbie kid growing up?

Yes! I feel like everybody had to love Barbie! All the baddies had to love Barbies.

So, Barbies over Bratz?

Listen, I’m both! I’m team both, because I love me a good Bratz, and I love me a cute lil Barbie. They’re both baddies!

What can you share about the song? Did you get to see any footage from the film before writing and recording your parts?

It’s definitely different from things that I’ve done in the past, especially working with Fifty Fifty. I’m excited to get into the whole pop lane, and switch it up for the girls. I feel like the collab was unexpected. I know everybody was like, “It’s definitely Kali and Ice Spice!” Soon! Whenever Ice Spice is ready. But me and Fifty Fifty both going up, so we had to come together.

I only heard that it’s a live rendition of Barbie. I heard my girl Issa Rae was in there, and I was like, “Oh, this is perfect!” I love her, she’s so funny. That’s really all I heard about it. They gave me the vibes and I just got on it.

What would be the story of the Kali Barbie doll? What would her occupation be?

She’s definitely a rock star. She’s giving… cutesy, rock star, baddie.

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