Shirt a Phobia

Sample Page

For other uses, see KWN (disambiguation).

Khyra Leah Wilson (born 5 April 2000), known professionally as kwn (pronounced kay-wuhn) and formerly k1, is a British singer, songwriter, rapper, and producer.[1] She is best known for her 2024 single “Worst Behaviour“, which entered the UK singles chart, while its remix (featuring Kehlani) entered the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

She was nominated for Best New International Act at the 2025 BET Awards,[2] was named Billboard‘s R&B Rookie of the Month,[3] and was included on the NME 100 list of “essential emerging artists”.[4]

Early life

Kwn was born and grew up in Walthamstow, East London.[5] She has two older sisters.[6] Her father is Nigerian and her mother is Irish.[7]

She started playing piano and drums in her childhood.[6] She realized by the time she was 11 years old that she wanted to become a musician,[5] after which she started making music and releasing it on SoundCloud.[1] She was inspired in part by her father, who was at one time a DJ,[7][1] and who exposed kwn to a wide variety of Western musical genres, including R&B, pop, garage, house, as well as various genres of African music.[6] When she was 16, she began attending the arts college East London Arts & Music,[3][5] which pushed her to work harder at her music.[8] After college, she worked as a chef,[5] and before deciding to pursue music, she was interested in playing football professionally.[9]

Career

Initially known as k1, she changed her stage name to kwn – incorporating the first and last letters of her last name – to avoid being mistaken for a drill rapper.[9][8]

She began releasing music with Black Butter Records in 2022, debuting with the single, “wn way or another”.[1] Her debut EP episode wn was released later in 2022.[3] She was dropped by the label shortly before the release of her single “Worst Behaviour“.[10]

Kwn opened for Kehlani for some of the latter’s Crash European tour dates.[3]

She was nominated for Best New International Act at the 2025 BET Awards.[2] In March 2025, she was named Billboard‘s R&B Rookie of the Month.[3] Billboard called her music “a moody amalgam of trap, soulful vocal stacks and splashes of dark electronic music that both captures and reimagines the post-Bryson Tiller R&B landscape.”[3] When asked about her own genre placement, kwn said, “I don’t really think I could pinpoint a sound; I just do whatever feels good,” though she noted R&B as a consistent influence in her music.[3] She also received a place on NME‘s 2025 list[11] of one hundred “essential emerging artists”.[4]

Her music videos often feature one-shot filming.[9][3]

Personal life

Kwn has described herself as “literally . . . gay since [she] came out of the womb”. Of her sexuality, she has said, “I’m just a girl who likes girls. I don’t like putting labels on things.”[5] She is an introvert.[2] Her favorite tattoo reads “lord i’ve tried” in Spanish (“dios he tratado”), after her song of the same title.[9]

In October 2025, she confirmed that she was in a relationship with Kehlani, after months of speculation.[12][13]

Discography

Extended plays

Title Details
Episode Wn
With All Due Respect

Singles

Year Title Album
2022 “Wn Way or Another” Episode Wn
“Nobody”
2023 “No Cinderella” Non-album singles
“Five More”
“Wn Up”
2024 “Lord I’ve Tried”
“Eyes Wide Open”
“Worst Behaviour”
2025 “Worst Behaviour” remix (featuring Kehlani) With All Due Respect
“Do What I Say”
“Back of the Club”
“All the Girls”
2026 “Hopeless Romantic”[14][15] TBA

Features

Awards and nominations

Organisation Year Work Category Result
BET Awards 2025 Herself Best New International Act Nominated
Ivor Novello Awards 2026 Herself Her song Pending
BRIT Awards Herself Best R&B Act Pending
BBC Radio 1 Kwn[16] Sound of 2026 Nominated
MOBO Awards “Do What I Say”[17][18]
  • Best Newcomer
  • Best Female Act
  • Best R&B/Soul
  • Song of the Year
 Nominated

References

  1. ^ a b c d Dazed (5 July 2022). “kwn, the rising artist writing relatable tracks about toxic exes”. Dazed. Retrieved 13 June 2025.
  2. ^ a b c “KWN Gets Real On: Kehlani Collab, The EP, New Fame + Crushing on KeKe | New York’s Power 105.1 FM”. Angie Martinez. Retrieved 13 June 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Denis, Kyle (13 March 2025). “How a Bedroom Instagram Live Session Yielded KWN’s Breakthrough Hit ‘Worst Behaviour’“. Billboard. Retrieved 13 June 2025.
  4. ^ a b NME (12 February 2025). “THE NME 100: ESSENTIAL EMERGING ARTISTS FOR 2025”. NME. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
  5. ^ a b c d e Dazed (13 June 2025). “Rising R&B star Kwn on her new EP and that viral kiss with Kehlani”. Dazed. Retrieved 13 June 2025.
  6. ^ a b c King, Tyrese (19 September 2024). “Get To Know: KWN”. newwavemagazine. Retrieved 13 June 2025.
  7. ^ a b “Who is Kwn? Age, ethnicity & girlfriend and more”. Capital XTRA. Retrieved 13 June 2025.
  8. ^ a b “Kwn – COEVAL Magazine”. COEVAL. 6 December 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  9. ^ a b c d EDITOR (14 March 2025). “Everything you need to know about rising star Kwn”. diva-magazine.com. Retrieved 13 June 2025.
  10. ^ “KWN Reflects on Losing Her Deal, Kissing Kehlani & More – The Angie Martinez Show”. iHeart. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  11. ^ Williams, Kyann-Sian. “R&B’s sultry new star Kwn just wants to feel good”. WTYE / WTAY. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
  12. ^ EDITOR (30 October 2025). “Kwn responds to backlash after hard-launching relationship with Kehlani”. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
  13. ^ “Kwn addresses backlash after confirming Kehlani relationship”. Capital XTRA. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
  14. ^ “kwn Steps Into Her Lover Girl Era With New Single “Hopeless Romantic”“. trenchtrenchtrench.com. Retrieved 10 March 2026.
  15. ^ Murray, Robin (20 February 2026). “kwn Returns With New Single ‘hopeless romantic’ | News”. Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews. Retrieved 10 March 2026.
  16. ^ “BBC Radio 1 unveils its Sound of 2026 longlist”. BBC. 2 December 2025. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
  17. ^ Akhimien, Nosakhale (15 January 2026). “Olivia Dean, Little Simz, Central Cee Lead 2026 MOBO Nominations”. Channels Television. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
  18. ^ Vinter, Robyn (26 March 2026). “Olivia Dean leads the way with three wins at 2026 Mobo awards”. The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 10 April 2026.