With the release of American Teen in 2017, R&B artist Khalid made his mark in the R&B world. Since then, Khalid’s voice has been featured in numerous songs in a wide variety of genres.

If you asked me a week ago if I liked Khalid, my answer would probably be something along the lines of- “I don’t listen to his music so no I’m not a fan.” But if you asked me now if I liked Khalid, after listening to Suncity– I would say I want to have babies with his voice.  

When I close my eyes and listen to his album on repeat, the beat to the music reminds me of swimming. It’s fluid like water. I caught myself swaying to the music without meaning to.

Khalid’s voice is so smooth. When he harmonizes in songs like “9.13”, “Vertigo”, and “Motion” it’s so refreshing. His voice has that inviting feel to it that makes you wonder if Khalid a living siren (you know the mythical creature that leads sailors to death with your voice)? The way I’m so drawn to his music makes me say it’s confirmed, he has to be a siren. I love the music in the background, but I would be also very satisfied if he went into acapella because Khalid has a wide range. He proved his wide range incredible vocals in Suncity.

I find that the background sound is unique compared to what I’ve been hearing on the radio for years now. In some of the songs, I get almost a reggae vibe to it, while also hearing some jazz and dubstep; it makes everything more intriguing.

Other R&B artists, like Beyonce, have put non-musical audio in their albums. This is used to help tell a story. Khalid does this in two of his of songs, “9.13” and “Salem’s Interlude”, that pays tribute to his hometown and possibly expresses how important it is to stay positive. The audio makes the album better because it makes the artist seem more like a person. People like someone they can relate to, so when I listened to the tribute to his hometown It warmed my heart. Hearing that audio, staying positive and to keep moving forward, I thought were inspirational, but also showed his struggle to get his career started.

Through all the praise I have, the album is very short and I’m left wanting more. I want more songs, yet I’m trying to remind myself that this was an album made in just a little over a year. All in all, Khalid’s voice is phenomenal, the music has its own distinctive style, and Suncity has a light that’s going to shine.