# Kwn
**Kwn** (pronounced K-One) is the stage name of **Khyra Leah Wilson**, a British R&B singer, songwriter, rapper and producer from [Walthamstow](https://www.edgepedia.org/walthamstow) in [East London](https://www.edgepedia.org/east-london). She broke through in 2024 with the single "Worst Behaviour", which she first sold directly to fans before signing to [RCA Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/rca-records), and followed it with the EP *With All Due Respect* (2025) and *And All Pride Aside* (2026).[1](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg74d834lzpo) • [2](https://www.roskilde-festival.dk/program/musik/kwn) • [3](https://www.sonymusic.ca/press_release/rb-breakout-star-kwn-releases-anticipated-new-ep-and-all-pride-aside)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Real name | Khyra Leah Wilson; stage name kwn, pronounced K-One, formed from the first and last letters of her names[1](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg74d834lzpo) • [2](https://www.roskilde-festival.dk/program/musik/kwn) • [4](https://crackmagazine.net/article/profiles/kwn-cover-story-interview/) |
| Born | Walthamstow, East London; Deezer gives 2000, while profile interviews give only the birth year (she was 25 in 2025)[5](https://www.deezer.com/en/artist/14601135) • [6](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2025-10-20/kwn-viral-kiss-kehlani-worst-behavior-la-show-the-echo) |
| Breakthrough | "Worst Behaviour" demo sold direct to fans at £1.99, 5,500 copies in two weeks; RCA signing just before Christmas 2024[1](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg74d834lzpo) |
| Streaming | Over 16 million official on-demand US streams of "Worst Behaviour" through 6 March 2025 (Luminate); video passed 21 million YouTube views by mid-October 2025[7](https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/kwn-worst-behaviour-march-rb-rookie-of-the-month-1235921111/) • [6](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2025-10-20/kwn-viral-kiss-kehlani-worst-behavior-la-show-the-echo) |
| Charts | Kehlani remix of "Worst Behaviour" reached No. 75 on the UK singles chart; *And All Pride Aside* reached No. 93 in the UK[5](https://www.deezer.com/en/artist/14601135) |
| Labels | Black Butter Records (2022, dropped mid-2024); RCA Records from late 2024[6](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2025-10-20/kwn-viral-kiss-kehlani-worst-behavior-la-show-the-echo) • [1](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg74d834lzpo) |
| Recognition | Billboard R&B Rookie of the Month (March 2025); 2026 nominations at the BET, NAACP Image, iHeartRadio, BRIT and MOBO Awards plus an Ivor Novello Rising Star nod[7](https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/kwn-worst-behaviour-march-rb-rookie-of-the-month-1235921111/) • [3](https://www.sonymusic.ca/press_release/rb-breakout-star-kwn-releases-anticipated-new-ep-and-all-pride-aside) |
## Early life and background
Kwn grew up in Walthamstow, East London, in a musical household with her mother, two older sisters and a former-DJ father; Deezer describes her parents as an Irish chef and a Nigerian DJ.[7](https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/kwn-worst-behaviour-march-rb-rookie-of-the-month-1235921111/) • [5](https://www.deezer.com/en/artist/14601135) Around age 13 she chose music over football, and she began making music in her preteens, starting with drums.[7](https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/kwn-worst-behaviour-march-rb-rookie-of-the-month-1235921111/) • [6](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2025-10-20/kwn-viral-kiss-kehlani-worst-behavior-la-show-the-echo)
Her connection to the East London Arts & Music school is reported two ways: Billboard says she enrolled there at 16, while Deezer says she left the London art school at sixteen to devote herself to music.[7](https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/kwn-worst-behaviour-march-rb-rookie-of-the-month-1235921111/) • [5](https://www.deezer.com/en/artist/14601135) She developed her production skills there.[8](https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/kwn-interview-2025) Two years before her 2025 BBC profile she was delivering Amazon parcels after being dropped by her first record label.[1](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg74d834lzpo)
## Career and breakthrough
**Early releases.** She began releasing songs in 2020 as k1, then changed the spelling, keeping the pronunciation, to the first and last letters of her names to avoid being mistaken for a drill rapper.[4](https://crackmagazine.net/article/profiles/kwn-cover-story-interview/) Her single "Wn Way or Another" arrived in 2022, introducing the EP *Episode Wn*, released on the Black Butter label that November with six tracks co-produced with Tendai, Jay Boogz, Clon3z and Scribz Riley, including the slow jam "Sweetie" with Scribz Riley.[7](https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/kwn-worst-behaviour-march-rb-rookie-of-the-month-1235921111/) • [5](https://www.deezer.com/en/artist/14601135) • [9](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kwn-mn0004478968) "No Cinderella" followed in spring 2023.[5](https://www.deezer.com/en/artist/14601135)
**The 2024 turning point.** She was let go from UK-based Black Butter Records in mid-2024.[6](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2025-10-20/kwn-viral-kiss-kehlani-worst-behavior-la-show-the-echo) At the end of 2024 she uploaded a demo of "Worst Behaviour" to social media; lacking funds to release it, she sold it directly to fans at £1.99 and moved 5,500 copies in two weeks. Labels that had previously passed then pursued her, and she signed to RCA Records just before Christmas 2024.[1](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg74d834lzpo)
**Kehlani.** In 2024 she guested on "Clothes Off" from Kehlani's *While We Wait 2* mixtape, and in early 2025 she opened the European leg of Kehlani's Crash world tour.[7](https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/kwn-worst-behaviour-march-rb-rookie-of-the-month-1235921111/) A Kehlani remix of "Worst Behaviour" followed on [Valentine's Day](https://www.edgepedia.org/valentines-day) 2025 and reached No. 75 on the UK singles chart.[7](https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/kwn-worst-behaviour-march-rb-rookie-of-the-month-1235921111/) • [5](https://www.deezer.com/en/artist/14601135)
## Musical style and influences
Kwn's style is rooted in traditional 1990s and 2000s American R&B rather than the UK's alternative R&B current, and much of her strongest fanbase is in the United States.[4](https://crackmagazine.net/article/profiles/kwn-cover-story-interview/) Her stated influences include the 1990s R&B vocal groups Jodeci, Dru Hill and 112, and she grew up on Brandy and Beyoncé.[8](https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/kwn-interview-2025) British Vogue characterized *With All Due Respect* as "a sultry, honey-soaked love letter to classic R&B, all soulful vocals and steamy lyrics", and her work has been framed as sapphic bedroom anthems.[8](https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/kwn-interview-2025) She notes that Americans appreciate R&B differently, and at one point considered moving to the US.[8](https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/kwn-interview-2025) • [4](https://crackmagazine.net/article/profiles/kwn-cover-story-interview/)
## Discography
- *Episode Wn* (EP, November 2022, Black Butter)[5](https://www.deezer.com/en/artist/14601135)
- "No Cinderella" (spring 2023)[5](https://www.deezer.com/en/artist/14601135)
- "Eyes Wide Open" (2024, her major-label debut via [Sony Music](https://www.edgepedia.org/sony-music))[9](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kwn-mn0004478968)
- "Worst Behaviour" (November 2024; Kehlani remix February 2025)[7](https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/kwn-worst-behaviour-march-rb-rookie-of-the-month-1235921111/)
- *With All Due Respect* (EP, June 2025, RCA), including "Do What I Say", "Back of the Club" and "Talk You Through It" with the girl group FLO[3](https://www.sonymusic.ca/press_release/rb-breakout-star-kwn-releases-anticipated-new-ep-and-all-pride-aside) • [1](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg74d834lzpo)
- *And All Pride Aside* (26 June 2026, RCA), with features from Destin Conrad and Ty Dolla $ign[3](https://www.sonymusic.ca/press_release/rb-breakout-star-kwn-releases-anticipated-new-ep-and-all-pride-aside) • [9](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kwn-mn0004478968)
Sony Music's press release calls *And All Pride Aside* an eleven-track EP and the B-side to *With All Due Respect*, while Deezer calls it her debut album.[3](https://www.sonymusic.ca/press_release/rb-breakout-star-kwn-releases-anticipated-new-ep-and-all-pride-aside) • [5](https://www.deezer.com/en/artist/14601135) The single "Do What I Say" reached eight-digit streaming figures, and her collaborations include Kehlani, FLO, Jordan Adetunji, Destin Conrad and Ty Dolla $ign.[9](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kwn-mn0004478968) • [10](https://www.nme.com/the-cover/kwn-26-05-2025-3864883)
## By the numbers
- **16 million+** official on-demand US streams of "Worst Behaviour" through 6 March 2025, per Luminate; the November 2024 original was her most-streamed Spotify song until the Kehlani remix surpassed it.[7](https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/kwn-worst-behaviour-march-rb-rookie-of-the-month-1235921111/)
- **19 million** YouTube views for the Kehlani remix by June 2025; the original "Worst Behaviour" video had passed **21 million** views by mid-October 2025.[8](https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/kwn-interview-2025) • [6](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2025-10-20/kwn-viral-kiss-kehlani-worst-behavior-la-show-the-echo)
- **No. 75** UK singles chart peak for the Kehlani remix; **No. 93** UK peak for *And All Pride Aside*, whose tracks "Touch Myself", "Risk It All" and "Hopeless Romantic" reached No. 3, No. 9 and No. 13 on South Korea's Melon Overseas Top 500.[5](https://www.deezer.com/en/artist/14601135)
- **5,500** direct-to-fan copies of the "Worst Behaviour" demo sold at £1.99 in two weeks.[1](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg74d834lzpo)
- **2,500+** attendance at her [Sydney Opera House](https://www.edgepedia.org/sydney-opera-house) show.[1](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg74d834lzpo)
## Touring and live performance
Beyond opening Kehlani's European dates in early 2025, her 2025 North American and European headline run sold out, with a second leg in March 2026 stopping in Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, and Toronto.[7](https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/kwn-worst-behaviour-march-rb-rookie-of-the-month-1235921111/) • [3](https://www.sonymusic.ca/press_release/rb-breakout-star-kwn-releases-anticipated-new-ep-and-all-pride-aside) Her 2026 festival slots include [Lollapalooza](https://www.edgepedia.org/lollapalooza), Roskilde, the [Montreux Jazz Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/montreux-jazz-festival) and All Points East.[3](https://www.sonymusic.ca/press_release/rb-breakout-star-kwn-releases-anticipated-new-ep-and-all-pride-aside) • [2](https://www.roskilde-festival.dk/program/musik/kwn) The Sydney Opera House show drew more than 2,500 people.[1](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg74d834lzpo)
## Reception
Kwn was named Billboard's March 2025 R&B Rookie of the Month and placed on the NME 100 for 2025.[7](https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/kwn-worst-behaviour-march-rb-rookie-of-the-month-1235921111/) • [10](https://www.nme.com/the-cover/kwn-26-05-2025-3864883) The *With All Due Respect* cycle garnered hundreds of millions of views and streams and brought Brit, MOBO and BET Award nominations.[4](https://crackmagazine.net/article/profiles/kwn-cover-story-interview/) [Roskilde Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/roskilde-festival) notes she was nominated for best R&B act at the BRIT Awards 2026.[2](https://www.roskilde-festival.dk/program/musik/kwn) In 2026 she accumulated nominations at the [BET Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/bet-awards), NAACP Image Awards, iHeartRadio Music Awards, BRIT Awards and [MOBO Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/mobo-awards), plus a Rising Star nod at the Ivor Novello Awards, and performed at the BET Awards in Los Angeles as a best new artist nominee.[3](https://www.sonymusic.ca/press_release/rb-breakout-star-kwn-releases-anticipated-new-ep-and-all-pride-aside) • [1](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg74d834lzpo)
Her trajectory runs from a 2022 independent-label debut through being dropped in mid-2024 to a direct-to-fan viral hit, an RCA signing, and international touring and award recognition within roughly two years.[6](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2025-10-20/kwn-viral-kiss-kehlani-worst-behavior-la-show-the-echo) • [1](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg74d834lzpo)
## References
1. [KWN: From delivering Amazon parcels to becoming one of the UK's hottest new stars, BBC News](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg74d834lzpo)
2. [KWN, Roskilde Festival artist page](https://www.roskilde-festival.dk/program/musik/kwn)
3. [R&B Breakout Star KWN Releases Anticipated New EP And All Pride Aside, Sony Music Canada](https://www.sonymusic.ca/press_release/rb-breakout-star-kwn-releases-anticipated-new-ep-and-all-pride-aside)
4. [kwn: Pure Feeling, Crack Magazine](https://crackmagazine.net/article/profiles/kwn-cover-story-interview/)
5. [kwn: albums, songs, concerts, Deezer](https://www.deezer.com/en/artist/14601135)
6. [A steamy kiss made Kwn viral. Her latest EP proves she's more than a moment, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2025-10-20/kwn-viral-kiss-kehlani-worst-behavior-la-show-the-echo)
7. [KWN: March 2025 R&B Rookie of the Month, Billboard](https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/kwn-worst-behaviour-march-rb-rookie-of-the-month-1235921111/)
8. [East London's KWN On Sapphic Bedroom Anthems, Breaking America And Believing In Higher Powers, British Vogue](https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/kwn-interview-2025)
9. [kwn, AllMusic biography](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kwn-mn0004478968)
10. [R&B's sultry new star Kwn just wants to feel good, NME](https://www.nme.com/the-cover/kwn-26-05-2025-3864883)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Music scenes › Transnational genre scenes › Hip hop scenes worldwide › Artists, groups, and people: Hip hop scenes worldwide › United Kingdom rap (grime, drill, road rap, boom bap)*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license