Kiana Ledé Brown is more than just a powerhouse vocalist—she’s also an actress, songwriter, and storyteller. Before making her mark in music, she starred as Zoe Vaughn in MTV's horror series in 2015 and as Veronica Washington in Netflix’s “All About the Washingtons” in 2018. But it’s in music where she found her true voice. After starting her career in 2012, Ledé signed with Republic Records and dropped her 2018 breakout EP, Selfless, which featured the platinum-certified hit “Ex.” Her 2020 debut studio album, Kiki, peaked at No. 30 on the Billboard 200 chart, solidifying her as one of R&B’s rising stars.

As she gears up for her next project, Ledé fully controls her music, career, and narrative. She’s never been one to hold back. She speaks honestly and purposefully through her lyrics, performances, and interviews. For the South Phoenix-born singer, power isn’t just about confidence—it’s about showing up fully, even in her most vulnerable moments.

"I feel my own power when I'm vulnerable with my audience," Ledé says. "It makes me feel like I am making people feel less alone. I always say this, but it's so true. I really mean it every time." That sense of connection is what drives her as an artist. She believes that one of a woman's greatest gifts is their ability to nurture and create spaces where emotions are acknowledged and embraced. "To show people that I care, that I give a f**k about their feelings, and that I get to give them that safe space to feel soft sometimes... but also while singing a song and mentally cussing their ex out," she adds.

Ledé balances softness and strength, pain and empowerment in her career. Last month, she sold out El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles—her first show as an independent artist. More than a packed venue, it marked a new chapter where she controls her vision. "Seeing something come to life that is just me and my team, us independently creating this thing with nobody telling us that we can't do s**t or working against us, just people that are all there to make this vision happen... it felt so positive," she says. "Like, I was cussing people out on stage, and it still felt positive."

Going independent has forced Ledé to trust herself in new ways. "This new chapter of independence has been really challenging, honestly, but amazing," she admits. "I test my strength and trust in myself every day because I'm having to make decisions I didn't have the opportunity to make for so many years." The shift has been both freeing and terrifying. She no longer has the safety net of industry executives making calls on her behalf. Every choice—creative or business-related—is on her. "There were so many times I second-guessed myself in rooms that I shouldn’t have," she says. "I knew I was probably one of the more qualified, more talented, and more experienced people in the room. But I questioned myself a lot. And I was conditioned to think that way."

Many women, especially women of color, face this in male-dominated spaces. Ledé wants that to change. "Not everybody else always has the answers, and you're not always wrong," she says, emphasizing that self-doubt should never be mistaken for a lack of ability. The 27-year-old has spent years learning to listen to her voice, and now, she wants young women coming up after her to do the same.

Ledé is set to release a new album this year, an extension of the latest project, Cut Ties. Although she keeps details under wraps, she says it will lean further into her signature visual and emotional storytelling. "This new chapter is still kind of a secret," she teases. "What I will say is we're gonna be seeing a lot more oxblood. I keep saying it because it's my favorite color, and I just want people to really know that is my favorite color. The color itself really does help tell the story."

Storytelling has always been at the core of Ledé’s artistry, and her love for darker, psychological themes naturally finds its way into her work. Horror has played a role in much of her visual aesthetic, something she traces back to her childhood. "I've always just been drawn to things that are spicy in life and things that might scare you," she says. "I don't know what trauma that is linked to and why my trauma response is to laugh, but people think I'm f**king nuts, which—they’re not wrong." She recalls watching horror movies with her dad and sister every weekend, a tradition that sparked her obsession. "The Grudge was my first horror movie, and I felt so bad doing it because I watched it at my friend's house. And I lied to her mom and told her that I watched scary movies before. So she let me watch The Grudge, and that was kind of like the beginning to the end for me."

While horror influences her visuals, R&B is where she tells her story. With her single “Natural” climbing Billboard’s Top 10 Adult R&B chart, Ledé proves that deeply emotional, vulnerable music still has a place in the industry. She isn’t interested in redefining the genre—she just wants to bring her experience into it. "I don't really shift or shake things up in the genre. I think just by being me, that is different enough," she says. "The influences that I have are different than the influences of artists that came before me because I have those artists to bring inspiration from also. And I really just accentuate the emotional experience of R&B, something that I feel like my generation of R&B is really great at.”

Ledé continues, "I love where R&B is at. We have so many different beautiful artists," mentioning names like Ari Lennox, Coco Jones, and the alt-R&B wave. "We have so many different pieces of R&B to choose from every day, and we have so much access to listen to all different types."

Her time on Jhené Aiko’s “The Magic Hour Tour” only reinforced her appreciation for strong women in the industry. "I learned so much about all the different workings and seeing all of these strong women come together behind the stage and have people’s backs, too," she says. "That was so amazing to watch." Beyond the performances, she studied how artists and their teams moved behind the scenes. "Something that I learned was watching these b**ches keep their cool while having to, like, be the boss, which is really hard sometimes. I feel like I learned from them every day just in that way," she adds.

Looking ahead, Ledé has big goals—including a dream collaboration she’s been manifesting. "I'm gonna be so annoying—I would love to work with Jhené. I say this every single interview. I swear I'm not a stalker. I just love her," she laughs. She’s also eager to step outside of traditional R&B collaborations. "I would love to also do a cross-genre collab—like, Sabrina Carpenter, Tate McRae. Something a little different, you know? Spicing it up a little bit."

Through it all, her mission remains the same. She wants to create music that makes people feel deeply, unapologetically, and without shame. "I feel my own power when I’m giving people that soft space," she says. And in a world that often demands women be tough at all times, that might be the most powerful thing.