
Kehlani Gives “Folded” A Soulful, A Cappella Reimagining With “(Un)Folded”
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Christopher Polk / Contributor via Getty Images
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Kehlani at the 2025 AMA Awards
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Key Takeaways:
“(un)Folded” offers a raw, a cappella reinterpretation of Kehlani’s earlier single “Folded.”
The video’s laundromat setting and appearance by Kehlani’s daughter add layers of intimacy and symbolism.
Isaia Huron’s harmonies bring a new emotional dimension to the stripped-down track.
Just a few weeks after releasing “Folded,” Kehlani has returned with the a cappella rendition of their first solo single of 2025.
On Wednesday (July 30), “(un)Folded” arrived with the Oakland singer’s vocals isolated with every breath and break intact. The stripped-down version peeled back the original production and introduced new harmonies from Isaia Huron, who made a welcome appearance on the chorus.
Fittingly, the accompanying black-and-white video is set at a laundromat — echoing the original’s setting at “Nini’s Fluff & Fold” dry cleaners — and features Kehlani alongside their daughter, Adeya Nomi. “I know it’s getting cold out, but tell me that it’s not frozen / So come pick up your clothes,” the artist croons. Check out the City James-directed visual below.
After “(un)Folded” dropped, Kehlani took a moment to give Huron his flowers. “[You] really sprinkled in and made this special. I love you, your gift, your sight, [and] your infinite brain,” they wrote via their Instagram Stories. “I can’t wait to tell the world, ‘I told you so.’”
So far, Kehlani hasn’t confirmed whether “Folded” is part of a larger body of work, though they’re notably coming off of a busy 2024 that included two projects and a world tour. The singer released CRASH that June, followed by While We Wait 2 in August. The latter introduced a couple of remixes of songs from their fourth studio album and new fan favorites like “Clothes Off” and “When He’s Not There.”
Kehlani has been doing a lot of features lately. On Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14), the artist joined forces with kwn for their remix of “worst behavior.” Since then, they’ve also popped up on Fridayy’s “Saving My Love,” DESTIN CONRAD’s “BAD B**CHES!” Leon Thomas’ “DIRT ON MY SHOES,” and, more recently, Mariah Carey’s “Sugar Sweet.”