Kehlani and Monaleo are speaking candidly about balancing motherhood with careers in the spotlight.
During Billboard’s Like Minded conversation, the artists were asked what they wished mothers could say honestly without having their love for their children called into question.
For Kehlani, who is the mother of 7-year-old daughter Adeya, the answer was straightforward: motherhood can be difficult.
“Being able to admit that it’s hard … a nuanced hard in having to find the time and space to have your own identity, especially when you’re a young mom and like go out with your homegirls and wild out sometimes — and not make you question if you’re the kind of mom you should be,” the singer said.
“Obviously, we’re working moms so we already deal with that battle internally. We want to spend more time; want things to be ideal, but they just aren’t,” she added.
Monaleo said she understood that struggle. The rapper, who shares son Stoney with Stunna 4 Vegas, has learned to accept that she will not always get everything right.
“Everybody wants to feel like they’re the perfect mother,” she said. “But it’s okay to admit that you’re going to drop the ball sometimes.”
“There’s a lot of pressure put on moms to be superwomen. I try to live up to that as much as I can, and I find myself really stretched.”
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The conversation also explored how becoming mothers has influenced their work.
Before Adeya’s birth, Kehlani said there were times when she seriously considered leaving music behind.
“Before I had a kid, there were so many times I wanted to quit. Like I can just leave this b–ch right now and go get a farm.”
Now, her daughter is one of the reasons she continues moving forward.
“Sometimes my only thought is I’ve got to keep going and find new inspiration: not just in taking care of her but so she can see that no outside forces should be able to stop her dreams.”
Motherhood has also made Monaleo more deliberate about the messages behind her music.
“I try to sneak the medicine into the candy sometimes,” she explained. “Yes, it’s a bop, but from time to time you’re going to get a little education about Black history or whatever it is that I put in my music.”
She now views some of her earlier songs through a different lens.
“I don’t want [my son] to be influenced by bulls–t,” she admitted. “There’s a lot of bulls–t going on, and I’ve made some bulls–t songs. So I’m already like we’ve got to clean this up not only for my baby, but for the other babies here in the world.”