Keke Palmer Debuts Her Girl Group Diva Gurl, Teases New Music

Keke “Keep a Bag” Palmer is gearing up to release new music — with her girl group! On Tuesday, the 30-year-old revealed the first look at her newest musical venture, a girl group named Diva Gurl slated to release their first single later this month.

“Pre-Save our 1st single #SOB today! Prepare to be slayed on June 21st #DivaGurl,” Palmer captioned the Instagram post announcing the group’s reveal. 

Although her fans shared their confusion in the post’s comments, they were also words of excitement to hear new music from the Nope star. 

“😮 Whaaaaat?! Bring on the harmonies!” one user wrote, while another humorously asked if the group formation was “a side quest.”

Another commenter confessed: “Um… I’m sat. I’m confused. But, I’m seated. 😭”

Still, many are eager to see what Palmer and her band members — identified as LaShaè, Sadè and Monèt in the group’s official Instagram page — have in store for their listeners. “I’m so here for this! Serving up throwback Blaque vibes! Iykyk,” a user wrote.

The news of Diva Gurl’s existence comes a month after Palmer and her Big Bosses Entertainment imprint partnered with the SRG-ILS Group, which is distributed by Universal Music’s Virgin Music Group. 

According to Variety, Palmer’s first release under the new partnership is expected to drop in early summer — which puts Diva Gurl’s release of “S.O.B” right on time. 

It’s no surprise that Palmer is introducing a new element into her long-spanning career; the Emmy winner’s empire has been evolving with time since she began her career 20 years ago. Shortly after Palmer’s digital network KeyTV was launched in 2022, the multi-hyphenate welcomed her first child, son Leodis Andrellton Jackson.

In January, Palmer opened up to Teen Vogue about her legacy and where she sees her future in Hollywood as her definition of success evolves along with her changing world.

“I just felt like, ‘I’m successful. What more do I need?'” Palmer recalled musing as she stood on a new threshold of her career. “I was like, ‘I’m good. So now what?'”

Palmer added that she sees every milestone as another step towards empowering the next generation of artists of color and sharing all that she’s learned.

“When you create generational wealth within underserved communities, you create wealth within our entire economy,” Palmer said. “My hope and my desire is to teach people the skills that I have, to teach them how to brand themselves, how to be entrepreneurs, how to work within a system, but also use that system to create something that’s unique to them. In doing that… I’m not behind the eight ball. And now my son,” she adds, “he can start at stage 10 instead of having to start at stage one like I did. I want other people to have that [too].”

While the competition show host acknowledged that she has all she needs to retire when she wants, she said she hasn’t reached the point of disappearing from the public eye for the rest of her life — yet.

“I don’t know. I think the timer has started,” she revealed. “I think it’s because I just haven’t felt it yet. But the timer, I know that it’s around the corner. I don’t know when exactly, but it’s around the corner.”

But before she takes her leave, Palmer wants to ensure that her work lives on with its purpose in opening doors for those coming up behind her.

“The main thing I want those legacies to be is [a call] to use your power for good, to use what you have to create spaces and systems for other people to thrive,” she said. “I just don’t believe in holding everything. I don’t believe in gatekeeping. I’m not a coward. What would that do? I think it’s based in fear. If I’m speaking on it from a compassionate place, I think people that gatekeep are afraid. So I’m not scared.”

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