Artist Profile: Kelly Moonstone

Written By G.C. Bellchamber
Kelly Moonstone stands in front of a phone booth.

Kelly Moonstone has been etching her ethereal vocals and clever hooks onto the spines of her tracks since the release of Frank Ocean’s Channel Orange. In recent years, she’s been steadily returning to the grindstone, releasing a song with poetic virtuoso Mavi and, in 2023, was featured on Navy Blue’s critically lauded album Ways of Knowing. A tour through her brief discography makes one thing abundantly clear; this artist is in possession of a rare combination of charisma and soul-soothing, dripping euphonism.

At the genesis of her career she worked under the name of The Afr0dite, a powerful and swooning persona whose presence very much transferred across the spatio-temporal gap of the microphone. Her first tape, admittedly made primarily from beats off YouTube, shows flashes of the prowess she would display on later tracks. She remarks, however, that this tape represents illusions she had about her music career: a desire to stay shrouded behind the veil of anonymity.

“I always had this very unreasonable belief in my career that… [my] face could remain hidden somehow. I never really wanted to be famous. It wasn't really about that… I just didn't like prying eyes. I didn't like people looking at me and perceiving me. I still struggle with that sometimes, honestly, but definitely not in the same capacity.”

At the start of the pandemic, Moonstone was still somewhat obscure. She’d had studio sessions and multiple managers, but her tape and singles had not found much traction. However, as a remedy to what she cites as the “existential dread” of pandemic-era national turmoil, she began making covers of popular songs and putting them out on social media. 

Shortly after, she began fully doing her own production, imbibing her tracks with the distorted kicks and catchy melodies which mark her current style. 

This was a step which she previously thought to be out of bounds for her creatively, but, as her career grew, she felt compelled to grow as both an artist and a person. This was especially motivated by her desire to work as self-sufficiently as possible, independent of the give-and-take nature of the music business. 

“Being self-sufficient is one way that I've really grown, because I tended to depend on other people. I noticed, over the course of my career, there’ve been a lot of dudes helping me out with stuff, and I don't want to ask guys to do anything for me if I don't have to. Because some of the time, definitely not all the time, but some of the time it can be conditional, and I don’t respect that.”

During this era in her career, she also met and became connected with a number of established artists, including Joey Badass and Saba, who encouraged her to keep creating on her own path. 

This journey culminated with the release of her album I Digress… in 2023 with an Anniversary Edition being released in 2024. Featuring her singles “Psilocybin”, “Sinner”, and “Digress” as well as new tracks such as “Burn Your House Down”, this project represents the blazing, independent spirit of a remarkable voice and talent.

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