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Kwn’s latest album, With All Due Respect, arrives in the thick of Pride Month, and it couldn’t feel more right. It’s a body of work that sings from the chest of a queer Black person not coded, not metaphorical, but in full clarity. The project moves like only a queer person loving women can move: intentional, tender, self-assured, and at times, beautifully unbothered.
Rooted in her Nigerian-Irish heritage and East London upbringing, Kwn’s sound is difficult to pin down and that’s the point. She builds a world that blends R&B, jazz-soul, UK garage, and the warmer pulse of Afrobeats. Nostalgia lives here, but so does the future. Tracks like “Do What I Say” and the “Worst Behavior” remix with Kehlani prove that Kwn is chiseling her own lane.
Much of her musical DNA is shaped by her father, a DJ who introduced her to a wide spectrum of sounds. That diverse listening experience bleeds into her storytelling, drawing from romantic and platonic relationships to create something both deeply personal and universally felt.
In a recent conversation with Nyla Symone, Kwn said “I don’t ever force it. I feel like if it comes, it comes. If it don’t? Imma just shut the laptop because I don’t like forcing my brain to do stuff and putting pressure on myself.” That intuitive approach is felt throughout With All Due Respect. It’s effortless but refined. Tracks like “Clothes Off” and “Too Many Women” hold the sultry cadence of R&B classics, yet shimmer with experimental flourishes that keep the album fresh and full of replay value.
The Kehlani remix undoubtedly opened new doors, but Kwn’s real strength lies in her ability to hold her own. Her voice carries the weight of someone who knows herself and we’re just catching up.
Her sound is a statement piece. We’d love to see her build more in this sonic world: more features with artists like FLO, more production that honors the jazz-R&B-future-fusion that only she seems able to command right now.
Her debut EP “episode wn” introduced her as an introspective talent with smoky vocals and sharp penmanship. But this new chapter is a record that holds your gaze without raising its voice.
