Khalid is feeling more liberated than ever on his fourth album, After the Sun Goes Down, released Oct. 10 via Right Hand Music Group/RCA Records.
Executive produced by ILYA, the album features contributions from Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, Ryan Tedder, Elvira Anderfjärd, Luka Kloser and more.
After the Sun Goes Down, preceded by the singles “In Plain Sight” and “Out of Body,” arrives nearly a year after the El Paso native was publicly outed on social media by an ex-partner. Instead of denying it, Khalid took to X (formerly Twitter) to confirm that he is gay.
On After the Sun, Khalid fully embraces who he is as a Black queer R&B-pop artist — and all the nuances that come with it. While the album is brighter than his introspective Sincere (2024), he still bares his heart with raw authenticity.
“This is what freedom sounds like. It’s me completely vulnerable, honest, healing and unafraid,” explains Khalid. “I’m proud of who I am, and the love I have to give, and I think there’s power in that. My hope is that my music will help uplift others & be a soundtrack for their journeys.”
Across the album’s 17 tracks, Khalid moves through the lustful, thrilling, promising, painful, and often confusing shades of love. Opening with “Medicine,” produced by ILYA, Khalid finds himself becoming addicted to someone’s presence — and he’s not afraid of shooting his shot: “Lovesick from breathing your toxins / Want me? Then baby, you got it / And I’ll be yours.”
On the boundary-setting “Nah,” Khalid protects his peace by calling it quits with a toxic partner. “You and I are different, not one in the same / So let me take a step back, you’re playing stupid games,” he croons.
Songs like “Tank Top” and “Rendezvous” explore the possibility of a new love fueled by the heat of passion. “You could be my everything / That’s on everything / Turn around, I’m tryna see behind that,” he winks in the latter track.
“True” is replete with strong passions of desire (“it’s true that I want you”), while “Momentary Lovers” holds a mirror to the sobering reality of a fleeting romance.
On the penultimate “Hurt People,” Khalid takes a break from love to contemplate grief and how it shapes the way we navigate our everyday lives. “I think that ‘Hurt People,’ to me, it actually was inspired more by the passing of my father and also just true empathy,” he told NPR. “I understand that if I let the terrible things that happened to my life consume me, that I would be a very hurtful person.”
As noted above, After the Sun Goes Down follows 2024’s Sincere, which Khalid described as “a combination of my life experiences.” In December of that year, Khalid released Sincere (Deluxe), featuring collaborations with Ayra Starr, Chlöe and Normani.
Stream Khalid’s new album After the Sun Goes Down below.
