KENNA profile picture

KENNA

i will not be what you expect... ever

About Me


The first rule of understanding Kenna is to really believe him when he says his name means "to get what you want." A couple years after completing his debut record--the interim hallmarked by his own fittingly monumental climb to Mount Kilimanjaro to "find "himself"--Kenna is here again to take back his name.Kenna Zemedkun (ZUH-MED-KIN), was born in Addis Ababa. His family migrated to Virginia Beach, Virginia, where he first fell deep in love with American music, specifically U2's Joshua Tree, an album that would forever shape his sonic aesthetic. For many years he struggled to find himself, working odd jobs and attending college. Until in his late teens he returned to his first love: music. With high school classmate "Chase" Chad Hugo--one half of production powerhouse The Neptunes--engineering and co writing the material, the demo got to Flawless Records where he was signed without so much as a face-to-face meeting. New Sacred Cow came out humbly in 2003 on Columbia Records to substantial critical acclaim, a loyal underground fan base, and millions of online downloads and file sharing. Two videos (of singles "Freetime" and "Hell Bent") enjoyed heavy rotation on MTV2, leading to two MTV video noms for Breakthrough Video. After an opening slot on Depeche Mode frontman Dave Gahan's solo tour, and several tour dates with No Doubt, Kenna found his identity caught somewhere nebulous, halfway between the weird-science underground and the gloss-and-finish mainstream. A few years ago, the entertainment industry, much less ommercial radio, may well not have been ready for Kenna to bust out with an essentially New Wave record, particularly one that was embedded with influences so eclectic it spanned everything from synth pop to punk rock to hip hop to electronica. A point that was made most convincingly by author and marketing guru, Malcolm Gladwell, in his 2005 best-selling book Blink, where he devoted an entire chapter to this subject entitled "Kenna's Dilemma".Ask production impresario Pharrell Williams what his old friend and colleague Kenna evokes for him and you'll get "the world will be singing songs of honesty along with audiences in cellphone-lit stadiumsÉ"Indeed Make Sure They See My Face (FACE) is the long-awaited follow-up experiment, co produced by Hugo and this time featuring select tracks from the other Neptune, Williams. When East Village Radio VJ Mark Ronson played the first single "Out of Control" on his "Authentic Shit" show, the internet underground was set a-buzz; when it served as the soundtrack to the recent Sony PSP commercials his growing mainstream cred enjoyed a serious catapulting. Then there's the album itself--fresher than ever, cultivating a stream of truly future sonics with ample homage to past ripples in rock and soul, the Kenna sound feels grown into, comfortable, true. Less dark than the debut, Hugo explains the sound they came up with this time around as "artful, dynamic, otherworldly and catchy. Something that is needed right now. It's progressive music." FACE veers more on the up-tempo, with several dance tracks that showcase The Neptunes's street sleight-of-hand theatrics alongside Kenna's lothario-dark-rock wailing melodics. The dizzying "Daylight" is jump-started with an almost 70s prog rock pulse and the hypnotic "Phantom Always" even flirts with arena rock atmospherics, while "Better Wise Up" lays bare an intricate art rock heart. Best of all, the ballad "Baptized in Blacklight" is a pining lamentation that breaks down the entire album in its magic hour. Everything is faced, no questions are left unanswered, and nothing is holding him back this time around. The sophomore effort is Kenna's most celebratory confessional, irony-free, homage-less, simply the testament of a man who can't help but possess the essence of a new era and the sound of an irreplaceable place, all with lyrics that convey an almost proverbial timelessness. Ample doses of mystery keep the cult in a paradoxically satisfying crave-state; as Kenna himself only gives away so much when he says, "[FACE] is a story from start to finish. A search for identity. A willingness to go to extremes to find the truth and balance. Stretching. Attempting. Failing. Attempting again. Getting back up and hoping for the best. All the while, finding yourself growing and becoming more aware and comfortable with imperfection. That's [FACE], from 'Daylight' to 'Wide Awake.'"
Worldwide bestselling author Malcom Gladwell features a chapter on Kenna in his most recent New York and national bestseller book BLINK . Read to learn more about Kenna and his journey into the forefront.
"WE START THEM EARLY HERE AT CAMP SUN RED SKY BLUE. THIS KID IS SO F-ING COOL! ~KK"
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My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 1/26/2005
Band Website: kennakenna.com
Influences:
Sounds Like:

MySpace Presents: The Fit featuring Kenna

'SAY GOODBYE TO LOVE' BEHIND THE SCENES

KENNA 'SAY GOODBYE TO LOVE' ELLEN SHOW

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LOOSE WIRES LIVE @ THE ROXY

PSP COMMERCIAL

FREETIME

HELL BENT


Record Label: Interscope Records
Type of Label: Major

My Blog

N*E*R*D* - SEEING SOUNDS - NEXT WEEK!!!!!!

  I AM NOT ONE TO PROMOTE, AND THIS ALBUM MAY NOT BE EVERYONE'S VIBE, BUT... N*E*R*D* THEY ARE AMAZING PEOPLE THEY ARE AMAZING MUSICIANS THEY ARE PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES THEY ARE FORCING PERSPEC...
Posted by KENNA on Fri, 06 Jun 2008 03:26:00 PST

UM, NO, IM NOT DONE

KK...
Posted by KENNA on Fri, 09 May 2008 08:36:00 PST

Kenna on TV in the UK tomorrow

WEDNESDAY APRIL 30thChannel 4 Freshly Squeezed07:00am UKKENNA will perform "OUT OF CONTROL"
Posted by KENNA on Tue, 29 Apr 2008 07:37:00 PST

KENNA will be playing Coachella this weekend during Mark Ronson’s set!

Attention Kenna Fans. Kenna will be playing at Coachella this weekend during Mark Ronson's set. Don't Miss It! Saturday 4/26, 8:30 - 9:25 PM
Posted by KENNA on Tue, 22 Apr 2008 12:55:00 PST

New Hot Updates From Kenna In The UK!

There's a whole lot of great coverage going on in the UK right now, and we wanted you all to see it firsthand. First off, the "Out Of Control (State of Emotion)" single comes out in the UK...
Posted by KENNA on Thu, 17 Apr 2008 06:16:00 PST

!!! MYSPACE FIT WITH >III<

CHECK ITMySpace Presents: The Fit featuring Kenna Add to My Profile | More VideosONLY ONE COMMENT FROM ME... I MAY HAVE OVER STEPPED MY BOUNDRY AND MENTIONED "MORNING BREATH" AS A PART OF ...
Posted by KENNA on Sun, 02 Mar 2008 07:15:00 PST

INEVITABLE: POWER RISES TO THE TOP

IM IN LONDONJUST FLEW IN FROM BERLINITS AMAZING THE ENERGY THAT PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD HAVE FOR MUSICIT WAS MY FIRST TIME IN GERMANYI HAVE GONE TO A GREAT DEAL OF PLACES AROUND THE WORLDI HAVE SEEN M...
Posted by KENNA on Wed, 20 Feb 2008 07:00:00 PST

08

YOU GOTTA LOVE THAT!!!! HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE.MY BEST TO YOU ALL THIS YEAR.I HAVE A FEELING THAT THIS YEAR WILL BE A GREAT ONE. 07 SEEMED LIKE A "FILTER" YEAR... WHERE THE GOOD BEGAN A...
Posted by KENNA on Sat, 12 Jan 2008 02:00:00 PST

ONE MILLION PLAYS AND A THOUSAND NEW TO FACE

TODAYI ADDED 1000+ PEOPLE TO THIS PAGETODAYWE CROSSED THE ONE MILLION PLAYSTODAY I SAW THE CROSS-SECTION OF EVERY COLOR, CREED, SIZE, SHAPE, PERSONALITY, AND STYLE AS I ADDED PEOPLE TO THIS SITE.TAKE ...
Posted by KENNA on Wed, 28 Nov 2007 09:52:00 PST

TO YOU : HAPPY THANKSGIVING

JOIN THE KENNA FORUM @ WWW.KENNAKENNA.COMHAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOUI AM THANKFUL FOR THE NEW PEOPLE WHO ARE LISTENING HEREBUT I AM PARTICULARLY THANKFUL TO THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE BEEN WITH ME FOR A WHIL...
Posted by KENNA on Thu, 22 Nov 2007 02:06:00 PST