“Where do you fit in when you fit in everywhere?” An Interview with Kenna
Kenna, one of the most under-appreciated musicians alive, has launched KKTV, which he describes as “a small look into the places I’ve been, the things I am doing, and the dreams I have for tomorrow.” With the launch of these videos, I decided to clean the dust off an AMAZING interview I conducted with the Ethiopian/American musician only a few days after the release of his latest album last fall.
In all the interviews I have conducted, I have never walked away wanting to adhere to someone’s mindset as much as I wanted to adhere to his. Read his words below and judge for yourself:
ABOVE THE FOLD: This is the second time you’ve struggled to get an album out. What happened this time and how is it different from your New Sacred Cow album?
KENNA: New Sacred Cow had a lack of support. It wasn’t given a chance. It didn’t have a champion other than myself. The new album had a lot of champions and people wanting it to do well. It wasn’t that there wasn’t anyone looking after it. It was that we were looking after it and we realized we had made some mistakes in the beginning so we wanted to take our time.
ATF: It seems like the title of your new record, Make Sure They See My Face, may be a testiment to the struggles you had with your old album…would you say thats true?
Kenna: I didn’t feel like I had trouble with my last record about being seen or being public. I feel like what will be will be. Who’s to say that this wasn’t my master plan in the first place. I am very slow to move and I try to be very methodical. I feel like I owe it to my fans to think things through. I don’t always get it right, but I do make attempts.
ATF: What does this album mean to you?
Kenna: Its an album that represents the search for indentiy. We live in a world that is cultured by so many different sides. But we’re in a position where we can see and feel and touch a lot more than we have ever done before. With that comes a lot of identity crisis because where do you belong if you are in touch with so many different worlds. At the end of that search it comes down to I don’t need to be defined. I don’t want to be limited or be restrained from being someone new. I’d love to be able to reinvent myself and be apart of a lot of dfferent worlds. Making sure they see my face…do I need to make a choice of what face that is? I don’t think so.
ATF: Where does the diversity in your music come from?
Kenna: A lot of sonic diversity comes from Chad (Hugo of the Neptunes). He’s a beast with his keyboard. Sometimes I’ll say “I hear this sound” and he’ll play the weirder version of it. In the song Static, I oversimplify the complication. I can’t make a simple statement with lyrics and have complex chords over it. You know what dude? I think way too much….
ATF: You used to describe your music as freebase…what would you call it now?
Kenna: My music is still freebase. Something that lives on its own and has no barrier is freebase.
ATF: With all of the struggles you have faced, what gives you the inspiration to continue?
Kenna: My authority complex. I can’t stand people telling me what I can and can’t do before they give me a chance. What leads me and keeps me going is my spirit. I feel like I know that I’m doing something important. I know I’ll be in the postion to do something great. I’m still learning, I’m still new, I’m still attempting and I’m risking a great deal. Although I have a lot to lose I have less to lose than most. I’m learning to be a better artist and a better person everyday. My spirit leads me to do that.
ATF: Since your music has a hard time being marketed would you change your music to find a niche?
Kenna: I can’t I tried.
ATF: What did it sound like when you tried?
Kenna: Shit.
ATF: What issues get you riled up?
Kenna: The simplest thing is the neglect of uh, oh uh…What ever is logical is always logical, whatever is truth is always truth. The thing that bothers me most are the obvious things. Most people have their chip on their shoulder and things like that. I choose to not be too political about things. Instead of that I choose to focus on solutions. To me its water, everyone should have clean water, and there are ways to do it. The opportunity to have at risk kids know there’s a world outside of where they live. I feel like no one is paying attention to the simplest things in the world. Solvable, simple things.
ATF: Do you think issues come through in music?
Kenna: I touch on it. I honestly just want people to go on their own journeys when they’re listening to my music. I’m like Switzerland, I’m pretty laissez faire.
ATF: I read that you were in New York during the 9/11 attacks. What was that like?
Kenna: I was 6/7 blocks from it at the time. It was like Die Hard 14 The Movie 3D trailer. I thought ‘Some movie company had to make this, this cant be real.’ I didn’t realize I had PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) until like 3 months later. Whenever I saw an American flag I would just get tense and angry, but not at the flag as much as it was that somebody would hurt so many innocent people. That’s not an act of war so that bothered me a great deal.
ATF: Are there any other endeavors that you would like to embark on other than music?
My reason for making music is to do something for the world, in a giving sense. I just started a foundation. The end game for me is, the destination is yet to be written. I just want to be able to help others. Do camps in America for at risk kids, I’ve done that for 10 years now and I’ll do it for another 20. Its called Youth Entertainment Studios and I helped create the music curriculum for that camp.
ATF: You toured with Nelly Furtado awhile back right?
I’ve toured with everyone man. Where do you fit when you fit everywhere? Some people love that you went out with Nelly Fertado and some hate it. As long as you’re good at what you do and you’re respectful of your fans then I’ll tour with you. My fans are music lovers on all levels and they will respect me for my decisions. I live my life broadly and if you can’t then go hide in your niche. Hahaha, I’m gonna say that from now on.
ATF: What are 3 things people might not know about Kenna?
Kenna: I’m a perfectionist
I’m not a skater I’m a cruiser – a person that just coasts on his board
I’m a diehard wannabe snowboarder
ATF: Tell me the first thing that pops in your head when I say these words:
Ethiopia – home, where I believe everything good about me comes from
Chad Hugo – a nefarious, sonic invader…that came out of nowhere
Market Research – opinions are like assholes, everyone’s got one
Kenna – good but wanting to be great…hoping to be great actually
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Kenna released the first episode of KKTV and that can be viewed below:
Kenna also released a dope recorded version of his song Say Goodbye to Love that features Lupe Fiasco (seen above):
