Kehlani and Monaleo on Motherhood and Music at Billboard House

Grammy-winning R&B artist Kehlani and Houston rapper Monaleo sat down at Billboard House during Billboard's 2026 R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players celebration to talk about something the music industry rarely gives space to: what it actually feels like to be a working mother in this business. The panel, called "Like Minded" and presented by BetterHelp, was moderated by licensed perinatal mental health counselor Sonni Williams and Billboard Editor at Large Gail Mitchell. It closed out a full day of programming on September 9.

Both artists are mothers. Both are at different points in their careers. And both had a lot to say.

What Kehlani and Monaleo Actually Said About Motherhood

The conversation started with a direct question: what truth about motherhood do women need permission to admit without being questioned about their love for their kids?

Kehlani kept it real. She talked about the specific kind of hard that comes with being a young mom who also needs her own identity. The want to go out, be herself, exist outside of parenting, and not spiral into guilt about it afterward. As a single mom and head of her household, she also admitted that her daughter is now the main reason she keeps going. "Sometimes my only thought is I've got to keep going," she said, describing how many times she wanted to quit the industry entirely before becoming a parent.

Monaleo went straight at the "perfect mother" myth. She was honest about dropping the ball, making mistakes, and feeling stretched thin trying to live up to an impossible standard. "There's a lot of pressure put on moms to be superwomen," she said, "and I find myself really stretched." The grace she's giving herself is the grace she wants other mothers to feel like they can take.

How Having Kids Changed Their Approach to Making Music

This is where both artists got specific in ways that matter for anyone paying attention to their catalogs.

Monaleo said motherhood made her more intentional as a writer. She described wanting to "sneak the medicine into the candy," hiding lessons about Black history or real life inside tracks that still hit as bops. She was direct about it: she's made music she wouldn't want her son influenced by, and that awareness is actively shaping what she makes next. That kind of creative accountability is rare to hear spoken out loud.

Kehlani framed it differently but just as clearly. Before her daughter, outside forces were enough to make her want to walk away completely. Now, watching her kid get excited about trying new things and chasing her own interests gives Kehlani a reason to keep finding joy in her work. She's not just sustaining a career for herself. She's modeling something for her daughter about not letting outside pressure kill what you love.

Moderator Sonni Williams closed the panel with a line worth repeating: "Becoming a mother puts a battery in your back like nothing else."

Why This Conversation Matters Beyond the Panel

Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players event is designed to spotlight who's actually moving the culture and the business forward. Putting Kehlani and Monaleo on the closing panel wasn't an afterthought. It was a deliberate choice to center a conversation the industry usually keeps quiet.

For independent artists and creators watching from the outside, this kind of visibility matters. The pressures Monaleo and Kehlani described, balancing creative ambition with caregiving, fighting guilt about wanting your own life, feeling like you have to be a superwoman to justify your seat at the table, those are not just celebrity problems. They show up at every level of this industry.

Monaleo is still building her platform with room to grow. Kehlani has a Grammy and a catalog that spans nearly a decade. The fact that they're describing the same internal battles is worth sitting with.

If you're an artist navigating your own version of this, [connect with our community at /submit](/submit) or check out [upcoming events on our events page](/events) where these conversations keep happening closer to home.

Keep an eye on both Kehlani and Monaleo's next moves. Monaleo's stated intention to make her music more purposeful and Kehlani's reinvigorated reason to stay in the game both suggest new material is coming with more weight behind it.