Kelela Treadin- Water -raven Outtake That Was... ((exclusive)) Jun 2026

An outtake from the sessions for her 2023 masterpiece, Raven , “Treadin Water” is not a B-side in the pejorative sense. It is not a castaway. It is a revelation. For fans who discovered it via leaked forums or late-night YouTube deep dives, the track feels less like a leftover and more like a lucid dream that was almost forgotten upon waking.

: Consistent with the rest of the Raven era, the lyrics use water as a central metaphor for feeling overwhelmed in a relationship. Lines like "Look how far we swam, no stoppin' now" and "I can't navigate your waters baby" reflect a struggle to maintain emotional balance while "submerged" in a partner's complexity. Kelela Treadin- Water -Raven Outtake That Was...

We may never hear the full track. And perhaps that’s as it should be. Because some truths—the exhaustion of treading water, the loneliness of the bath at 3 a.m., the raven’s cold stare—are more powerful when they are felt but not fully held. When they remain what they always were: a beautiful, half-sunken whisper of a song that was... too real to release. An outtake from the sessions for her 2023