Can I (Kehlani song)

During a Twitter listening session, Kehlani said "Can I" is one of her favorite songs on the album, with her favorite line being "sniper gang no bradley cooper" a reference to Bradley Cooper's 2014 film American Sniper.[2] Prior to its release, Lanez called it the "nastiest song on the project".[3]

Following Lanez's arrest for having a concealed firearm outside a party, where rapper Megan Thee Stallion was shot in her feet, fans questioned Kehlani on the inclusion of Lanez's verse going forward. Kehlani explained on July 29, 2020, in a since-deleted tweet, that since the album came out months ago, she can not remove the original, but "can only move forward",[4] stating his verse would be removed and replaced[5] on the album's deluxe edition and that he would not appear in the song's video either.[6] The shooter was not revealed at the time, however Kehlani clarified: "I stand with women, believe women, & i love my friends. If that's something that turns you off from me or makes you no longer support, bless you forreal you have no reason to have ever supported me in the first place.. i'm not your cup of tea".[7] Kehlani and Megan previously collaborated on "Hit My Phone" from Megan's EP Suga.[8] Megan also performed a skit on It Was Good Until It Wasn't.[9]

Described as a seductive",[2] "luxuriant sex jam",[10] "Can I" is a neo soul,[9] R&B[11] ballad,[2] detailing the "typical push-pull that exists between couples".[12] It contains "spurts" of echoing guitar strings[13] and "bubbly creaking", while, as noted by HotNewHipHop's Rose Lilah, "Kehlani gets her flow off, singing her lyrics stacked on top of one another, quickly ushering in the next line as she wraps up the first. Tory Lanez mimics the flow for his verse, too".[11] The song interpolates the chorus of Aaliyah's 2002 song "Come Over". Kehlani previously interpolated "Come Over" on her 2017 track, "Personal".[14]

Various critics named the track a standout from its parent album.[15][5][16] Hannah Mylrea of NME called it "a glowering cut", and said it is reminiscent of "early Drake, if only Drizzy had a penchant for neo-soul".[9] musicOMH's Ben Devlin called the song an "effective collaboration", noting its "earworm verse that's hookier than the hook".[17] Exclaim!'s Veracia Ankrah was less favorable, opining that it "lacks the clever subtlety of innuendos".[18]

The song's official video was released on July 30, 2020, directed by Sebastian Sdaigui and Kehlani (under her creative alias Hyphy Williams).[19] It is Kehlani's sixth "quarantine style" video, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[4] Kehlani described the visual as an "ode to sex work, honoring sex workers, uplifting their movement". The video is similar to her previous single "Toxic", except the roles are reversed: Kehlani watches various sex workers, including some of her transgender friends,[7] performing for her via live webcam.[20] The video concludes with monologue from Kehlani's friend, writer and activist[4] Da'Shaun Harrison talking about the difficulties faced by Black sex work.[6]
Tory Lanez does not appear in the video, although his verse does.[20]