Breakout alternative R&B artist Khalid was still in high school when he was discovered by listeners around the country.
Khalid was always musical, but didn’t begin to take his music seriously until he realized it mattered to others. The singer/songwriter often credits his biggest musical inspiration to be his mother, Linda Wolf, a fan of ’90s R&B artists like Brandy and TLC, and an Army technician who forwent her own musical dreams to support her son. In an interview on the Zach Sang Show, he commented that maybe one day he would do a collaboration with her, “When I get over the fact that she’s going to destroy me on my own song.”
After sharing his first song “Saved” on SoundCloud, Khalid was overwhelmed with the response it received from his friends and classmates. Shortly after, he was discovered by a major producer and began writing the songs to his debut album while still in school—sometimes working on them between classes. Listen to his breakout single “Location” here: