Authentic R&B artist Leven Kali leans into his down-to-earth nature as he talks about his music journey and introspective inspirations
- Autumn Johnstone
- 5 days ago
- 2 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
By: Autumn Johnstone
It’s very rare we stumble upon our true calling in life on purpose. For R&B artist Leven Kali, his experience has been no different.
From playing as a Division 1 golfer to producing records full-time, Kali believes a “light bulb” went off in his head the first time he performed in front of an audience just for fun. When people talk about their purposes in life, he knew it was then that he realized music is his purpose.
The feeling he got when experiencing a buzz of creativity and sharing it with others simply didn’t compare to anything else he had ever felt.
Since his early beginnings, Kali’s deep passion for music has evolved from a basement dream to an elaborate career. Despite being “born on the road” and already crossing many country lines by only two months old, Kali’s sonic landscape has been shaped by his unique life experiences after living in the Netherlands until he was eight years old.
With features on popular tracks like Playboi Carti’s “Flex” and Disclosure and Chris Lake’s song “one2three,” Kali uses self-sampled sounds to blend eclectic musical genres. He focuses on the “soulful impact” of a song instead of honing in on a specific type of music.
“I think one of the coolest things that I’ve been doing lately is finding out who my favorite artists’ favorite artists are,” Kali said.
Kali begins his creative process by experimenting with what makes him happy. What makes him proud to be a musician and the bands he and his family grew up with fuel his recording sessions. It’s not even planned that many of his songs contain multiple genres in a single track as it happens organically, he said. It’s almost as if his creativity seeps into his music subconsciously: the epitome of a true artist.
Paying attention to the world around him allows Kali to look for “airdropped” ideas from the universe that can give him musical inspiration. He searches for these ideas, but also leaves an open hand for receiving them.
“Pursuing [ideas] is a part of being human,” he said.
There’s no need for striving for perfection in music, as no single song is ever going to be able to reach that level, he said. Music without imperfections isn’t music at all; it’s the mistakes that make it interesting, and in the end, more human.
When he begins working with a song’s instruments, he starts with a bass guitar that allows you to “get freaky with arrangements.” When listening to Kali’s music, it’s obvious that the sky’s the limit. Kali is never tied down by strict tempos or simple melodies. Even if he began a song with a basic rhythm, it’s almost a given Kali will have transformed that rhythm into something you have never heard before. Each of his songs end with listeners in different places than they were when they initially pressed play.
Kali’s latest release is his single, “P Funkentelechy,” produced alongside artists Jay Worthy and George Clinton on August 22, 2025. Check out Leven Kali’s music as soon as possible—it is most definitely something you do not want to miss.
Follow Leven Kali: https://www.instagram.com/levenkali/