Kelly Krow, the Montréal-based Haitian artist born Youri Kelly Loiseau, will release a new single, Kenbem, on April 3, leaning into a Konpa, Zouk, and R&B blend and putting family, not romance, at the centre of the song.
Kenbem, Haitian Creole for “hold me,” is framed as a song about support and stability, the kind that comes from relatives and long-standing ties rather than the usual pop cycle of desire and fallout. Kelly Krow positions it as a quieter emotional lane than the club-ready pacing the genres can suggest, with production built for closeness instead of impact, a soft-swinging groove, restrained low end, and a vocal that stays conversational.
The release lands as another step in a project that’s been unfolding in public since Kelly Krow emerged under that name in 2018, after years working in rap’s orbit. His debut EP, Papô, helped establish the template, multilingual writing, Caribbean rhythmic DNA, and R&B phrasing, and it reached the top of iTunes’ World Music chart.
Live shows have been a big part of the climb. Over the past few years, Kelly Krow has shared stages with artists including Joé Dwèt Filé, Corneille, Michaël Brun, J Perry, and Mikaben, threading his sound through Afro-Caribbean and Francophone circuits that overlap in Montréal but don’t always share the same rooms.
Kelly Krow also frames Kenbem as a kind of mirror to his 2017 track Fè de mwen sa ou vle, a shift in subject matter from heat to commitment and from intensity to something steadier.
Kenbem arrives April 3.
