Kwn

{{Infobox person

| name = kwn

| birth_name = K. Wilson

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|2000|04|05}}

| birth_place = Walthamstow, East London, UK

| occupation = Musician

| website = www.wnway.xyz/

}}

K. Wilson, known professionally as kwn (pronounced kay-wuhn) and formerly k1, is a British singer, songwriter, rapper, and producer.{{Cite web |last=Dazed |date=2022-07-05 |title=kwn, the rising artist writing relatable tracks about toxic exes |url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/56487/1/kwn-the-rising-artist-writing-relatable-tracks-about-toxic-exes |access-date=2025-06-13 |website=Dazed |language=en}} She is best known for her singles "worst behaviour", whose remix featured Kehlani, and "do what i say".

She was nominated for Best New International Act at the 2025 BET Awards,{{Cite web |title=KWN Gets Real On: Kehlani Collab, The EP, New Fame + Crushing on KeKe {{!}} New York's Power 105.1 FM |url=https://power1051.iheart.com/featured/angie-martinez/content/2025-05-20-kwn-gets-real-on-kehlani-kiss-new-ep-new-fame-crushing-on-keke/ |access-date=2025-06-13 |website=Angie Martinez |language=en}} 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.{{Cite web |last=Dazed |date=2025-06-13 |title=Rising R&B star Kwn on her new EP and that viral kiss with Kehlani |url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/67009/1/rising-rb-star-kwn-on-her-new-ep-and-that-viral-kiss-with-kehlani |access-date=2025-06-13 |website=Dazed |language=en}} She has two older sisters.{{Cite web |last=King |first=Tyrese |date=2024-09-19 |title=Get To Know: KWN |url=https://www.newwavemagazine.com/single-post/get-to-know-kwn |access-date=2025-06-13 |website=newwavemagazine |language=en}} Her father is Nigerian and her mother is Irish.{{Cite web |title=Who is Kwn? Age, ethnicity & girlfriend and more |url=https://www.capitalxtra.com/news/who-is-kwn-age-ethnicity-girlfriend/ |access-date=2025-06-13 |website=Capital XTRA |language=en}}

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,{{Cite web |last=Denis |first=Kyle |date=2025-03-13 |title=How a Bedroom Instagram Live Session Yielded KWN’s Breakthrough Hit ‘Worst Behaviour’ |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/kwn-worst-behaviour-march-rb-rookie-of-the-month-1235921111/ |access-date=2025-06-13 |website=Billboard |language=en-US}} which pushed her to work harder at her music.{{Cite web |date=2023-12-06 |title=Kwn - COEVAL Magazine |url=https://www.coeval-magazine.com/coeval/kwn |access-date=2025-06-14 |website=COEVAL |language=en-GB}}

After college, she worked as a chef.

Before deciding to pursue music, she was interested in playing football professionally.{{Cite web |last=EDITOR |date=2025-03-14 |title=Everything you need to know about rising star Kwn |url=https://diva-magazine.com/2025/03/14/everything-you-need-to-know-about-rising-star-kwn/ |access-date=2025-06-13 |website=diva-magazine.com |language=en-GB}}

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.{{Cite web |date=2023-12-06 |title=Kwn - COEVAL Magazine |url=https://www.coeval-magazine.com/coeval/kwn |access-date=2025-06-14 |website=COEVAL |language=en-GB}}

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.{{Cite web |last=Denis |first=Kyle |date=2025-03-13 |title=How a Bedroom Instagram Live Session Yielded KWN’s Breakthrough Hit ‘Worst Behaviour’ |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/kwn-worst-behaviour-march-rb-rookie-of-the-month-1235921111/ |access-date=2025-06-13 |website=Billboard |language=en-US}} She was dropped by the label shortly before the release of her single "worst behaviour".{{Cite web |title=KWN Reflects on Losing Her Deal, Kissing Kehlani & More - The Angie Martinez Show |url=https://www.iheart.com/podcast/472-the-angie-martinez-show-26980930/episode/kwn-reflects-on-losing-her-deal-277823379/ |access-date=2025-06-14 |website=iHeart |language=en}}

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{{Cite web |last=Williams |first=Kyann-Sian |title=R&B’s sultry new star Kwn just wants to feel good |url=https://www.wtyefm.com/2025/05/26/rs-sultry-new-star-kwn-just-wants-to-feel-good/ |access-date=2025-06-16 |website=WTYE / WTAY |language=en}} of one hundred "essential emerging artists".{{Cite web |last=NME |date=2025-02-12 |title=THE NME 100: ESSENTIAL EMERGING ARTISTS FOR 2025 |url=https://www.nme.com/lists/nme-100/the-nme-100-essential-emerging-artists-for-2025-3834328 |access-date=2025-06-16 |website=NME |language=en}}

Her music videos often feature one-shot filming.

Personal life

Kwn has described herself as "literally . . . gay since [she] 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.{{Cite web |title=KWN Gets Real On: Kehlani Collab, The EP, New Fame + Crushing on KeKe {{!}} New York's Power 105.1 FM |url=https://power1051.iheart.com/featured/angie-martinez/content/2025-05-20-kwn-gets-real-on-kehlani-kiss-new-ep-new-fame-crushing-on-keke/ |access-date=2025-06-13 |website=Angie Martinez |language=en}}

Her favorite tattoo reads "lord i've tried" in Spanish ("dios he tratado"), after her song of the same title.