Kehlani was named R&B Artist of the Year at Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players event, held on September 9 in New York City. She accepted the award from Billboard’s Executive Director of R&B/Hip-Hop Gail Mitchell. 

Kehlani dedicated the win to her manager, David Ali, with whom she has worked with for more than a decade and was separately honored as the event’s Executive of the Year. In her speech, she reflected on their history together, saying, “What I didn’t know at the time is I’d gain the closest thing I’ve ever had to a father.”

Ali, CEO of Above Ground Entertainment, also manages R&B singer Destin Conrad and rapper Larry June. Conrad was named 2026 R&B Rising Star at the same event, alongside Hip-Hop Rising Star Samara Cyn and inaugural Caribbean Rising Star Skippa. Questlove and Black Thought also accepted the Hip-Hop Hall of Fame Award. 

Kehlani, Ali, Mitchell, and other honorees appear in Billboard’s 2026 R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players issue, which was published in August and features Kehlani on the cover.