Kwn


Khyra Leah Wilson, known professionally as kwn and formerly k1, is a British singer, songwriter, rapper, and producer. She is best known for her 2024 single "Worst Behaviour", which entered the UK singles chart, while its remix entered the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
She was nominated for Best New International Act at the 2025 BET Awards, was named Billboard's R&B Rookie of the Month, and was included on the NME 100 list of "essential emerging artists".

Early life

Kwn was born and grew up in Walthamstow, East London. She has two older sisters. Her father is Nigerian and her mother is Irish.
She started playing piano and drums in her childhood. She realized by the time she was 11 years old that she wanted to become a musician, after which she started making music and releasing it on SoundCloud. She was inspired in part by her father, who was at one time a DJ, 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. When she was 16, she began attending the arts college East London Arts & Music, which pushed her to work harder at her music. After college, she worked as a chef, and before deciding to pursue music, she was interested in playing football professionally.

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.
She began releasing music with Black Butter Records in 2022, debuting with the single, “wn way or another". Her debut EP episode wn was released later in 2022. She was dropped by the label shortly before the release of her single "Worst Behaviour".
Kwn opened for Kehlani for some of the latter's Crash European tour dates.
She was nominated for Best New International Act at the 2025 BET Awards. In March 2025, she was named Billboard's R&B Rookie of the Month. 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." 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. She also received a place on NME's 2025 list of one hundred "essential emerging artists".
Her music videos often feature one-shot filming.

Personal life

Kwn has described herself as "literally... gay since 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." She is an introvert. Her favorite tattoo reads "lord i've tried" in Spanish, after her song of the same title.
In October 2025, she confirmed that she was in a relationship with Kehlani, after months of speculation.

Discography

Extended plays

Singles

Features

  • "Clothes Off"
  • "Too Many Women"

    Awards and nominations