December 23, 2024 • 11 mins
On the debut episode of iHeartRadio Live, the Grammy-nominated “Talk” hitmaker opens up about the long road that led to his latest record, Sincere. Khalid shares how he overcame his anxiety and writer's block to craft a deeply personal album, and how he straddles the line between making his lyrics intimate and accessible to his fans.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
iHeartRadio Live is a production of iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Welcome to Khalid in Iheartland. Can't we just toss?
Speaker 1 (00:12):
Here's your host, Gabby ds. Hey everyone, We're here in
Iheartland at State Farm Park in Fortnite, where music and
gaming collide and who will be joining me for this
exclusive interview. He's been nominated for Grammys, won Billboard Music Awards,
America Music Awards, and two iHeartRadio Music Awards, among others.
His latest album is Sincere. Let's welcome Khalid.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
What's up everybody?
Speaker 1 (00:49):
How are you?
Speaker 2 (00:50):
I'm good, I'm good.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
How's life nice? Okay? So tell us about the making
of Sincere. You've said a lot about your life experiences
went into the making of this album, so how did
they help?
Speaker 2 (01:03):
It was really personal for me. That's why it took
me so long to finish it. It took me five
years to finish that album. I just wanted to make
sure that the album was exactly that. Even before I
conceptualized the name Sincere, I just knew that I had
to put my heart into it and it had to
be intentional for sure, because I love making music, but
I also love when music makes you feel things. So
(01:26):
when it comes down to anything that I do, you know,
I always want to make sure that the listeners feel me,
they empathize with me, and they connect with me. And
so for me to be able to do that, I
had to live my own stories right and make my
own experiences. I like that.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
What part did your fans play in the making of Sincere?
Speaker 2 (01:45):
Oh my God? I mean just the conversations that I
have with my fans about how much my music actually
means to them blows me away every time that I
hear it. I think the journey that it took everybody
to even be here this moment is the reason why
I do what I do. The fact that, you know,
everybody gets up and comes to see me, and they
(02:05):
come to listen to me, and they come to connect
with me. And I have these conversations with my fans
and my listeners and they tell me what they want
to hear from me, and they told me to express
myself and they show me gratitude for it. So I definitely,
when it comes down to any song I do, I'll
always give it up to the fans first and foremost.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
For shit, I love it. So you said that it
was kind of difficult coming up with the album name Sincere.
So how did a name for it? How did you
land on Sincere?
Speaker 2 (02:37):
It took me until I want to say the last
It was like three months before the album came out
where I was like, Okay, I got it, figured it out.
I was just going through my own internal battles of
what I wanted to name this project. The first name
was please Don't fall in Love with Me, but then
I was like, wait, no, that's not true.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
You know You're like, no, fall in love with me?
Speaker 2 (02:58):
Come on, don't know about that title? Right? And to me,
Sincere is just everything that I want to be. It's
everything that I aspire to be. And it was a
song that I really connected with when I wrote it,
And I can remember going on a trip and I
was walking outside the wind hits me. I'm like boom,
like I know exactly what this has to be.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
Oh man, why do you think twenty twenty four was
the perfect year for Sincere?
Speaker 2 (03:24):
Twenty twenty four was the perfect year for Sincere because
I feel like the anxiety that I was going through
creating the project, the moment that it was finished, it's
like it left my body and it inspired me to
be even more creative. It's like I wrote Sincere, and
then when I stopped writing Sincere, I couldn't stop writing.
(03:47):
So there's so many more. There's so much more music.
There's yeah, there's so much more to come. It's like
it's like a water foster right now won't turn off.
I just kept writing.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
That's a sure, But that's I feel like when you
know the juices are flowing right, like what, it's just
you can't stop.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
I can't. I mean, it's what I do and it's
my passion. And right now I'm just in such an
inspirational place. And I feel like it's because I worked
so hard on the album so to see a positive reception, right, Okay,
now it's just time to have fun. For sure. People
love it.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
Tell us about how you were touched by an angel and.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
How that health is here. It's crazy. I went to
South Africa and it had an amazing time. It was
a beautiful show, and while I was leaving the airport,
this random man came up to me. He grabs my hand,
he shakes me, and he's just like, Yeah, twenty twenty
four is going to be one of the biggest years
of your life. It's going to be Wow, it was
(04:44):
so random, Like I'm.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
Just what energy did you feel like kind of going
through your body?
Speaker 2 (04:49):
Because I feel like he shook my hand. It was
like just like looking at one really but he wasn't lying.
You know this this year has been so incredible for
me because it's like I'm returning with so much love,
so much love, and and I give everybody so much gratitude.
(05:11):
It's just it's what I love to do. And taking
some time away and coming back and still being met
with love and reception for my basis, it's incredible.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
No, for sure, did you take things back to basics
a bit with this album? Like as far as your writing.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Goes, Yeah, I definitely did. I feel like with this
album it's like I fell in love with music all
over again. Before I made this album, I didn't write
music for a whole year. Wow, I didn't have anything
to write about. Did you just not feel it's not
the coolest thing to talk about, like being on travel
(05:49):
buses and hopping on playing it's just.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
Like being on the move and stuff.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
There's only so much that you can empathize with about
that when other people having shared those experiences as well.
So when it comes down to my music. I love
to talk about my emotions because it's universal, right. You
don't have to get on a plane to feel, you
know what I mean. You don't have to get on
a bus to feel. You don't have to write a
car to feel. So I think that's the first and
foremost when it comes down to vulnerability and relatability. I
(06:19):
just try to keep that at the forefront of everything
that I do, and that comes with revealing myself and
sharing my truth.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
And when you got back to writing after that year,
you like being in a dark room? Is that the
vibe that you.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
Go off of. I love recording in dimly lit rooms
because I'm just so dramatic and just like and the
like I feel this song, y'all, just wait one second,
it'll come to me. So I just love being at peace,
and the studio is like my own little cocoons. So sometimes,
(06:57):
you know, sitting in the dark, to me, it doesn't
mean me afraid.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
It's your safe space.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
Yeah, it comforts me.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
What would you say, said Sincere? Aside from your earlier.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
Work, Sincere is a much more mature version of me
Comparably to my earlier work. My earlier work was more innocent.
I had my whole entire life to write my first album,
so all of those experiences are raw, real, genuine, authentic,
(07:28):
And my other other albums are are real, too, But
this one's like I took so much time off that
I grew through the process of creating the album so
much that half of the album came in three Wow.
So it's like half the album wasn't even conceptualized before,
(07:50):
like one year before the album came out.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
So wow, your process, man, I like it. You have
an Alicia Key sample on the album. How's your her
relationship with her? And how's that so special to you?
Speaker 2 (08:03):
So Alicia and I worked on a project called a
Scenic Drive, and she is amazing. I look to her
as a friend and a mentor because she's the one
who told me this amazing thing. She's like, when you create,
you pull from the ether. She's like, every song exists,
it's just for you to find it. And the moment
(08:23):
that she told me that, it completely changed the way
that I write music. I'm so much more impulsive as
a creator now. Wow. I just don't second guess myself.
I just try to be confident.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
That's some good advice.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
Yeah, it really is.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
She's a great Hey. We're hanging out with Khalid and
Iheartland at State Farm Park in Fortnite. His latest album
is Sincere. I'm your host, Gaby Diaz. Use the hashtag
I Heart Khalid. Okay, so you're a very passionate person.
I know this. How do you channel that passion into
your music? And where would you say that comes from?
Speaker 2 (08:54):
It's natural when I say I've been singing all of
my life. I've been singing all of my life. Music
is my way to heal, it's my way to cope.
I've sang through my tears, even even all the recording process.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
No, oh, okay, I was gonna say.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
I was like, dang, I gotta keep a professional.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
Okay, I'm glad.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
But you know when you're alone in your room and
you're just singing, and you're just like, you know. I
have many moments where I'll sit with my music, and
sometimes I'll even look back years later and I'm like, wow,
I was feeling that. It's crazy, right, especially when I
think of one song, Silence. Silence is actually a really
(09:37):
sad song. I didn't even know that it was as
sad as it was until I look back at it
years later and I was reading the lyrics and I'm
just like, this is this is me, this is deep.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
Y'all. Does that kind of trip you out?
Speaker 2 (09:52):
Like dang?
Speaker 1 (09:52):
I was in that space at one point.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Like, Yo, it's crazy. I mean it's also crazy because
a lot of the time I'll put out a song
and I'll never listen to it again. Wow, I just
never listened to it again. The message is said.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
I said what I said.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
That's it exactly. I don't want to dwell on it
too much.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
Okay, So I want to know. Tell us about the
first time you heard your song on the radio.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
It was location and we all.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
Know the words to location in here I think it.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
It was location and it was unbelievable. Picture hearing your
voice randomly play in your car and you're just like,
what is going on? And I was with a friends,
so I wasn't alone, so it was an incredible feeling.
It was awesome. I was in Texas too, which is
(10:45):
like a full circle moment for me. It was anytime
I hear myself on the radio, I'm like, it's amazing.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
Well the album isn't there available wherever you get your music?
Speaker 2 (10:57):
Khalid?
Speaker 1 (10:58):
Thank you and all the best. I'm Gaviy Diaz. This
is kaleid in Iheartland at State Farm Park in Fortnite.
Once again, give it up for Khalid.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
Thank y'all, Thank y'all. iHeartRadio Live is a production of iHeartRadio.
Was produced, edited, and mixed by Jordan Runtalk. If you
liked what you heard, please subscribe and leave us a review.
For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, listen to the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your favorite shows.
iHeartRadio Live is a production of iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Welcome to Khalid in Iheartland. Can't we just toss?
Speaker 1 (00:12):
Here's your host, Gabby ds. Hey everyone, We're here in
Iheartland at State Farm Park in Fortnite, where music and
gaming collide and who will be joining me for this
exclusive interview. He's been nominated for Grammys, won Billboard Music Awards,
America Music Awards, and two iHeartRadio Music Awards, among others.
His latest album is Sincere. Let's welcome Khalid.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
What's up everybody?
Speaker 1 (00:49):
How are you?
Speaker 2 (00:50):
I'm good, I'm good.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
How's life nice? Okay? So tell us about the making
of Sincere. You've said a lot about your life experiences
went into the making of this album, so how did
they help?
Speaker 2 (01:03):
It was really personal for me. That's why it took
me so long to finish it. It took me five
years to finish that album. I just wanted to make
sure that the album was exactly that. Even before I
conceptualized the name Sincere, I just knew that I had
to put my heart into it and it had to
be intentional for sure, because I love making music, but
I also love when music makes you feel things. So
(01:26):
when it comes down to anything that I do, you know,
I always want to make sure that the listeners feel me,
they empathize with me, and they connect with me. And
so for me to be able to do that, I
had to live my own stories right and make my
own experiences. I like that.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
What part did your fans play in the making of Sincere?
Speaker 2 (01:45):
Oh my God? I mean just the conversations that I
have with my fans about how much my music actually
means to them blows me away every time that I
hear it. I think the journey that it took everybody
to even be here this moment is the reason why
I do what I do. The fact that, you know,
everybody gets up and comes to see me, and they
(02:05):
come to listen to me, and they come to connect
with me. And I have these conversations with my fans
and my listeners and they tell me what they want
to hear from me, and they told me to express
myself and they show me gratitude for it. So I definitely,
when it comes down to any song I do, I'll
always give it up to the fans first and foremost.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
For shit, I love it. So you said that it
was kind of difficult coming up with the album name Sincere.
So how did a name for it? How did you
land on Sincere?
Speaker 2 (02:37):
It took me until I want to say the last
It was like three months before the album came out
where I was like, Okay, I got it, figured it out.
I was just going through my own internal battles of
what I wanted to name this project. The first name
was please Don't fall in Love with Me, but then
I was like, wait, no, that's not true.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
You know You're like, no, fall in love with me?
Speaker 2 (02:58):
Come on, don't know about that title? Right? And to me,
Sincere is just everything that I want to be. It's
everything that I aspire to be. And it was a
song that I really connected with when I wrote it,
And I can remember going on a trip and I
was walking outside the wind hits me. I'm like boom,
like I know exactly what this has to be.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
Oh man, why do you think twenty twenty four was
the perfect year for Sincere?
Speaker 2 (03:24):
Twenty twenty four was the perfect year for Sincere because
I feel like the anxiety that I was going through
creating the project, the moment that it was finished, it's
like it left my body and it inspired me to
be even more creative. It's like I wrote Sincere, and
then when I stopped writing Sincere, I couldn't stop writing.
(03:47):
So there's so many more. There's so much more music.
There's yeah, there's so much more to come. It's like
it's like a water foster right now won't turn off.
I just kept writing.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
That's a sure, But that's I feel like when you
know the juices are flowing right, like what, it's just
you can't stop.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
I can't. I mean, it's what I do and it's
my passion. And right now I'm just in such an
inspirational place. And I feel like it's because I worked
so hard on the album so to see a positive reception, right, Okay,
now it's just time to have fun. For sure. People
love it.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
Tell us about how you were touched by an angel and.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
How that health is here. It's crazy. I went to
South Africa and it had an amazing time. It was
a beautiful show, and while I was leaving the airport,
this random man came up to me. He grabs my hand,
he shakes me, and he's just like, Yeah, twenty twenty
four is going to be one of the biggest years
of your life. It's going to be Wow, it was
(04:44):
so random, Like I'm.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
Just what energy did you feel like kind of going
through your body?
Speaker 2 (04:49):
Because I feel like he shook my hand. It was
like just like looking at one really but he wasn't lying.
You know this this year has been so incredible for
me because it's like I'm returning with so much love,
so much love, and and I give everybody so much gratitude.
(05:11):
It's just it's what I love to do. And taking
some time away and coming back and still being met
with love and reception for my basis, it's incredible.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
No, for sure, did you take things back to basics
a bit with this album? Like as far as your writing.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Goes, Yeah, I definitely did. I feel like with this
album it's like I fell in love with music all
over again. Before I made this album, I didn't write
music for a whole year. Wow, I didn't have anything
to write about. Did you just not feel it's not
the coolest thing to talk about, like being on travel
(05:49):
buses and hopping on playing it's just.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
Like being on the move and stuff.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
There's only so much that you can empathize with about
that when other people having shared those experiences as well.
So when it comes down to my music. I love
to talk about my emotions because it's universal, right. You
don't have to get on a plane to feel, you
know what I mean. You don't have to get on
a bus to feel. You don't have to write a
car to feel. So I think that's the first and
foremost when it comes down to vulnerability and relatability. I
(06:19):
just try to keep that at the forefront of everything
that I do, and that comes with revealing myself and
sharing my truth.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
And when you got back to writing after that year,
you like being in a dark room? Is that the
vibe that you.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
Go off of. I love recording in dimly lit rooms
because I'm just so dramatic and just like and the
like I feel this song, y'all, just wait one second,
it'll come to me. So I just love being at peace,
and the studio is like my own little cocoons. So sometimes,
(06:57):
you know, sitting in the dark, to me, it doesn't
mean me afraid.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
It's your safe space.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
Yeah, it comforts me.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
What would you say, said Sincere? Aside from your earlier.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
Work, Sincere is a much more mature version of me
Comparably to my earlier work. My earlier work was more innocent.
I had my whole entire life to write my first album,
so all of those experiences are raw, real, genuine, authentic,
(07:28):
And my other other albums are are real, too, But
this one's like I took so much time off that
I grew through the process of creating the album so
much that half of the album came in three Wow.
So it's like half the album wasn't even conceptualized before,
(07:50):
like one year before the album came out.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
So wow, your process, man, I like it. You have
an Alicia Key sample on the album. How's your her
relationship with her? And how's that so special to you?
Speaker 2 (08:03):
So Alicia and I worked on a project called a
Scenic Drive, and she is amazing. I look to her
as a friend and a mentor because she's the one
who told me this amazing thing. She's like, when you create,
you pull from the ether. She's like, every song exists,
it's just for you to find it. And the moment
(08:23):
that she told me that, it completely changed the way
that I write music. I'm so much more impulsive as
a creator now. Wow. I just don't second guess myself.
I just try to be confident.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
That's some good advice.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
Yeah, it really is.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
She's a great Hey. We're hanging out with Khalid and
Iheartland at State Farm Park in Fortnite. His latest album
is Sincere. I'm your host, Gaby Diaz. Use the hashtag
I Heart Khalid. Okay, so you're a very passionate person.
I know this. How do you channel that passion into
your music? And where would you say that comes from?
Speaker 2 (08:54):
It's natural when I say I've been singing all of
my life. I've been singing all of my life. Music
is my way to heal, it's my way to cope.
I've sang through my tears, even even all the recording process.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
No, oh, okay, I was gonna say.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
I was like, dang, I gotta keep a professional.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
Okay, I'm glad.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
But you know when you're alone in your room and
you're just singing, and you're just like, you know. I
have many moments where I'll sit with my music, and
sometimes I'll even look back years later and I'm like, wow,
I was feeling that. It's crazy, right, especially when I
think of one song, Silence. Silence is actually a really
(09:37):
sad song. I didn't even know that it was as
sad as it was until I look back at it
years later and I was reading the lyrics and I'm
just like, this is this is me, this is deep.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
Y'all. Does that kind of trip you out?
Speaker 2 (09:52):
Like dang?
Speaker 1 (09:52):
I was in that space at one point.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Like, Yo, it's crazy. I mean it's also crazy because
a lot of the time I'll put out a song
and I'll never listen to it again. Wow, I just
never listened to it again. The message is said.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
I said what I said.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
That's it exactly. I don't want to dwell on it
too much.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
Okay, So I want to know. Tell us about the
first time you heard your song on the radio.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
It was location and we all.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
Know the words to location in here I think it.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
It was location and it was unbelievable. Picture hearing your
voice randomly play in your car and you're just like,
what is going on? And I was with a friends,
so I wasn't alone, so it was an incredible feeling.
It was awesome. I was in Texas too, which is
(10:45):
like a full circle moment for me. It was anytime
I hear myself on the radio, I'm like, it's amazing.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
Well the album isn't there available wherever you get your music?
Speaker 2 (10:57):
Khalid?
Speaker 1 (10:58):
Thank you and all the best. I'm Gaviy Diaz. This
is kaleid in Iheartland at State Farm Park in Fortnite.
Once again, give it up for Khalid.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
Thank y'all, Thank y'all. iHeartRadio Live is a production of iHeartRadio.
Was produced, edited, and mixed by Jordan Runtalk. If you
liked what you heard, please subscribe and leave us a review.
For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, listen to the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your favorite shows.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce
Football’s funniest family duo — Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs — team up to provide next-level access to life in the league as it unfolds. The two brothers and Super Bowl champions drop weekly insights about the weekly slate of games and share their INSIDE perspectives on trending NFL news and sports headlines. They also endlessly rag on each other as brothers do, chat the latest in pop culture and welcome some very popular and well-known friends to chat with them. Check out new episodes every Wednesday. Follow New Heights on the Wondery App, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes early and ad-free, and get exclusive content on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And join our new membership for a unique fan experience by going to the New Heights YouTube channel now!