Kelly Moonstone Is Waxing (And Loving It)

Going Up is a profile series featuring artists we love who are on the verge of breaking through.

Walking through Williamsburg on a late summer afternoon, I see a two-finger peace sign pop up from the corner of Kent and Metropolitan Ave and think “That must be Kelly Moonstone.” A week and a half removed from the release of her debut album New Moon, she’s in rollout mode and a bit exhausted, but bubbly and eager to kick it at an old haunt. We’re at 2nd Street, a vintage clothing store with locations all around the city, but the Williamsburg storefront we pull up to is particularly expansive and chic. Racks of clothing, shoes, bags, and accessories line the aisles and brick walls, from dingy graphic tees and starter jackets to designer brands like Gucci and Commes De Garcon. We laugh at a handful of cringe-inducing Naruto and Chrome Hearts t-shirts, and spend time breaking down the practical applications—and the drip—of more than one leather bag. “This one just needs a little love,” Kelly says, examining the stains on a light brown leather backpack with many pockets, “But nah, not today.”   

Kelly doesn’t thrift often, but 2nd Street is one of her favorite stores and a place she’s picked up more than a few grails, including some Bape tees—she’s been a Bathing Ape fan for years and grabs whatever she can to soothe the inner child who couldn’t afford them before—and a pair of Salehe Bembury Crocs. Even though she left empty-handed today, perusing through threads seemed to energize her, the thrill of stumbling on gold being enough to urge her back in to try again.

As an artist, she’s already been through this cycle before. Her career began in the early 2010s under the name The Afr0dite, releasing covers of Jill Scott, SZA, and Snoh Aalegra songs before putting her own creations out into the world. For a time, she was even being scouted by A&Rs at indie labels like Cinematic Music Group, home of then up-and-comers Joey Bada$$ and Mick Jenkins. After releasing one full-length album, the soulful rap&b-laced Afr0diaries, in 2018, and guesting on Pink Siifu’s breakout album Ensley, she retired The Afr0dite in 2021 before settling on a new name: a combination of her real first name and the birthstone for the month of June, when she was born. As Kelly Moonstone, she leaned even further into the Who Is Jill Scott by way of new-school hip-hop nature of her music, releasing a debut mixtape, the lovesick I Digress…, in 2023, and guesting on rapper-producer Navy Blue’s “Window to the Soul” before joining him on tour later that year. Digress… made quite the splash within the alt-rap scene, a project as soulful, passionate, and funny as your favorite romcom protag, unlucky in love but always trying. 

“That project dropped, and I immediately went on tour, like, two days after that,” Kelly remembers over Shake Shack burgers later in the day. She had also suffered a pulmonary embolism shortly before Digress... came out, so jetsetting to Europe for the first time was scary and challenging for multiple reasons. “I was on the right meds, but I was very paranoid. Like ‘Damn, I’m really doing this shit.’” Fans in Europe and across America would come up to her and tell her they’d been tapped in since the Afr0dite days, and that devotion put a battery in Kelly’s back. The energy would have to be stored, though, since after the tour ended, life kept her busy: she started a new relationship, and moved out on her own for the first time, from New York to New Jersey. She made music here and there, but it wasn’t her main focus. As she moved back to New York and that relationship ended, another began but quickly fizzled, and Kelly felt the “creative juices” flowing back into her, which kickstarted the project that would eventually become New Moon.