Songfacts®:

• This bouncy, dance-inspired song is a departure from Kehlani's usual sound. Lyrically, it's all about getting down to business. The Californian singer gets straight to the point, letting her love interest know it's time to ditch the pleasantries and make things happen, you know, "after hours."
• The track samples the drums from Nina Sky's 2004 hit "Move Ya Body," which itself recycles Jamaican producer Cordel Burrell's "Coolie Dance Riddim."
• A day of surfing in San Diego sparked the creation of "After Hours." Kehlani reminisced about "Move Ya Body" and how perfectly its energy fit the vibe she was going for. She wanted to create music that would make people move, a sonic antidote to the negativity bombarding us all.
  
  "Those drums, when they drop, it's so recognizable and everybody just loses it. It's one of those things where it drops and everybody goes, 'Woo,' and bends their knees and puts their hands on their knees," Kehlani explained to Apple Music's Zane Lowe.
  
  "Coming out of this pandemic to global tragedy to global tragedy to global tragedy, I was like I'm not really in a space to make something that feels super jarring or super sad," she added. "I'm very outspoken about these things, but I want my art to provide some kind of life and fun. I wanna hear this outside and I wanna feel good."
• Kehlani wrote "After Hours" with Khristopher Riddick-Tynes, Alex Goldblatt, Daniel Upchurch and Diovanna Frazier. Riddick-Tynes and Alex Goldblatt also produced the track.
  
  Khristopher Riddick-Tynes is one half of the production duo The Rascals along with Leon Thomas III. His other co-writes include Ariana Grande's "Safety Net" and SZA's "Snooze."
  
  Indiana producer Alex Goldblatt's other credits include 6lack's "Decatur" and Leigh-Anne's "My Love."
• The music video was filmed at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas and includes a special appearance by Cordel Burrell. Amber Park, who has worked with artists like Solange and SZA, directed the visual.