It’s difficult to contemplate just how young Leven Kali is. The Santa Monica dreamboat with the voice of an angel and the penmanship of a romantic comedy scripter is still yet to release a debut album but is quite possibly one of the most important names in the new class of R&B futurists. Defined by bouncy production, lovably comfortable lyricism, and first and foremost, a soulful vocal range reminiscent of Motown era greats, his newest project, I Get High When I Think About Us, is his most collected release to date and the closest thing we have to a proper project. It’s his debut EP, and it’s magical, smooth, and soft in all the right places. 

 

It’s a brisk three tracks at just a touch over ten minutes in length, but I Get High When I Think About Us is the broad and wide-ranging kind of project necessary to capture just how dynamic an artist Leven Kali has proven to be over his young career. A funky, fun-loving opener titled Mine sets the tone for utter joy and profound positivity enveloped in R&B mastery. A slowly paced ballad, Thursday is a blueprint for the new wave love anthem. And the hard-hitting albeit still smooth-as-hell Too High brings into the picture appearances from Buddy and Na’kel Smith for a closing track fitting of Kali breadth and transcendentalism.

 

Such a strong, smooth, and uniquely positivist debut project a young artist with such a deep pool of talent and promise.