Kenna
Encyclopedia
Kenna Zemedkun, known professionally as simply Kenna, is an Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

n-born American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 musician. His track "Say Goodbye To Love" was nominated for Best Urban/Alternative Performance in the 2009 Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

s.

Personal life

Kenna is the eldest son of an Ethiopian family that immigrated to Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...

. He was later raised in Virginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia Beach is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay...

. Kenna began to express an interest in music upon receiving a copy of U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...

's The Joshua Tree
The Joshua Tree
The Joshua Tree is the fifth studio album by rock band U2. It was produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, and was released on 9 March 1987 on Island Records. In contrast to the ambient experimentation of their 1984 release The Unforgettable Fire, U2 aimed for a harder-hitting sound on The Joshua...

.

New Sacred Cow

With the release of his first single in 2001, "Hell Bent", Kenna gained moderate popularity and an underground following of fans who eagerly awaited the release of his debut album, New Sacred Cow
New Sacred Cow
New Sacred Cow is the debut album by Kenna, released in 2003. Kenna created something of an underground buzz with the release of his first single "Hell Bent" in 2001. The album was leaked to the internet over a year before its final release, as it was delayed by record company politics. "Freetime"...

. After many delays and swapping of record labels, the album was finally released under the Sony imprint Flawless in 2003. A subsequent North American tour was launched in the Summer of 2003 with Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...

 front man Dave Gahan.

The album, which was co-produced by Chad Hugo
Chad Hugo
Charles Edward Hugo is an American musician and record producer. He is best known as one half of the music production and writing duo The Neptunes and as a member of the funk/rock band N.E.R.D. He is a saxophonist, pianist and guitarist...

 of The Neptunes
The Neptunes
The Neptunes are a record production duo consisting of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, who are credited with contributing the sound for many successful hip hop, R&B and pop artists in the late-1990s and 2000s...

, contained elements of electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...

, synth pop, post rock, and house music
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...

. Two singles, "Sunday After You" and "Freetime" followed the release of the album; the music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...

 of the latter, along with "Hell Bent", appeared sporadically on MTV2
MTV2
MTV2 is a cable network that is widely available in the United States on digital cable and satellite television, and is progressively being added to analogue cable lineups across the nation...

. "Freetime" reached #19 on the U.S. Dance charts.

In Malcolm Gladwell
Malcolm Gladwell
Malcolm Gladwell, CM is a Canadian journalist, bestselling author, and speaker. He is currently based in New York City and has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1996...

's book Blink
Blink (book)
Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking is a 2005 book by Malcolm Gladwell. It presents in popular science format research from psychology and behavioral economics on the adaptive unconscious; mental processes that work rapidly and automatically from relatively little information...

, which is about the way people judge and make decisions in their lives, a portion of one chapter focuses on the stops and starts and difficulties that Kenna experienced in getting his music accepted by the general public, despite the tremendous reception and enthusiasm that music executives, other musicians and a small, loyal fan base had when they heard his music.

Make Sure They See My Face

Kenna's second album, entitled Make Sure They See My Face
Make Sure They See My Face
Make Sure They See My Face is the second album by Kenna.When the album was first announced in 2005, it was named Make Sure They See My Face. Then, in 2006, it was shortened to just Face. Since then it has returned to the original, longer title. The album was co-produced by Chad Hugo of The Neptunes...

, also co-produced by Hugo, has faced delays, written over the course of three years, finishing in early 2007. The album was originally set to be released on June 5, 2007, then pushed back to June 19, 2007, finally being released on October 16, 2007. Kenna, in an interview with Vibe magazine, cited the reason for delays as being over the video for the album's debut single. The inspiration for the album came from Kenna's attempt to climb Mount Kilimanjaro
Mount Kilimanjaro
Kilimanjaro, with its three volcanic cones, Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira, is a dormant volcano in Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania and the highest mountain in Africa at above sea level .-Geology:...

, the title, inspired from phone calls by Pharrell asking Kenna; "are you going to make sure they see your face?". Kenna's climb took him to 18,200 feet before he fell ill from taking a sulfur-based altitude medicine, to which he had an unknown allergy. On October 23, 2007, the album debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 20 Heatseekers Chart.

An unrelated song from his second album, "Face the Gun", was released to appease his waiting fans, and initially was not to appear on Make Sure They See My Face, missing from early promos of the album. Ultimately, it was included in the final track listing. Kenna released a track from the album, entitled "Better Wise Up", in time for the Super Bowl; this track can be found on his MySpace page, as well. A remix of "Better Wise Up" featuring Audio Imagery
Audio Imagery
----Audio Imagery, also known as A.I., is an unsigned hip-hop group from Pennsylvania. The group consists of three emcees: Digress, George "Cos" Webster, and EP. Each brings his own regional influence to the group: Philadelphia, Virginia, and Jamaica, respectively.In early 2003 the group of three...

 has been circulating the internet since August 2007. There has been no official word from Kenna or from his label about this remix.

Summit on the Summit, Land 2 Air Chronicles, and Songs for Flight

Kenna has stated on his official Twitter that he will start recording songs for his third studio album, entitled Songs for Flight. Kenna has also stated that much of the lyrical content of the album will be inspired by the experience & importance of the Summit on the Summit project, when he and friends climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in January 2010, to bring attention to the global clean water crisis.

A new song called "Turn" was made available as a free download on his official MySpace for a limited time. It has since been released on the iTunes Store on January 26, 2010. Proceeds from the sales of the track are donated to the Summit on the Summit project.

Kenna and his celebrity friends and "Summit on the Summit" colleagues were featured on the cover of the March/April 2010 issue of the fine beverage publication, Mutineer Magazine, where he was also interviewed about the climb to Africa’s highest peak, Kilimanjaro, to bring clean water awareness to the masses.

On February 13, 2011, Kenna announced plans over Facebook and Twitter to release a series of 3 EPs with 3 songs each, titled the Land 2 Air Chronicles. The series will be followed by his 3rd studio album Songs for Flight. The first EP, titled Chaos and the Darkness, was set to be released on March 8, preceded by the first single "Chains". The song was streamed on Kenna's official website on February 22.

However, on March 4, it was announced that there had been an unfortunate technical failure with the hard drive that stored the majority of the files that made up the songs for not only the EP, but also the Songs for Flight album, wiping out the majority of the material recorded. Despite how upsetting it is for Kenna, he and his production crew are currently in the process of rerecording and reproducing all the songs, stating that he only considers this to be "more Chains". Despite the challenges, the first Land 2 Air Chronicles EP was eventually released on April 26, and "Chains" was made available as a single on iTunes & Amazon on March 8.

Other works

Kenna has also contributed to many other tracks by bands associated with Chad Hugo or The Neptunes, including but not limited to "Spiral" from William Orbit
William Orbit
William Orbit is an English musician, composer and record producer, perhaps best known to most for his work on Madonna's album Ray of Light. He has also co-produced several unreleased Madonna songs originally recorded for other albums...

's album Hello Waveforms
Hello Waveforms
Hello Waveforms is the ninth album by British electronic musician and record producer, William Orbit. It was released in the UK on February 20, 2006...

 and "Red to Black" and "The Hard Way" off of The Rising Tied
The Rising Tied
The Rising Tied is the debut studio album of hip hop ensemble Fort Minor, the side project by Linkin Park rapper Mike Shinoda. The album was released on November 22, 2005 to critical acclaim and achieved moderate success...

, the first album from Fort Minor
Fort Minor
Fort Minor is a hip hop side-project of Mike Shinoda, who is better known as being a member of the American rock band Linkin Park. Shinoda's debut solo album as Fort Minor, The Rising Tied was released November 22, 2005.-History:...

, the side project of Linkin Park
Linkin Park
Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. Formed in 1996, the band rose to international fame with their debut album, Hybrid Theory, which was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2005 and multi-platinum in several other countries...

's Mike Shinoda
Mike Shinoda
Michael "Mike" Kenji Shinoda is an American musician, record producer, and artist. He is best known as the rapper, principal songwriter, keyboardist, vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Linkin Park, along with his co-frontman and lead singer Chester Bennington, and as a solo rapper in...

. "The Hard Way" is only available as a bonus track on the limited edition version of the album. Kenna also appears on Mark Ronson
Mark Ronson
Mark Daniel Ronson is an English DJ, guitarist, music producer, artist and co-founder of Allido Records. He currently works with his band under the music alias of Mark Ronson & The Business Intl....

's album "Version" with a cover of the Ryan Adams
Ryan Adams
David Ryan Adams is an American alt-country/rock singer-songwriter, from Jacksonville, North Carolina. Initially part of the group Whiskeytown, Adams left the band and released his first solo album Heartbreaker in 2000...

 song "AMY".

On October 6, 2006, the world premier of "Out of Control (State of Emotion)", from Kenna's EP entitled Black Goodbye Ride, was played on East Village Radio on Authentic Shit with Mark Ronson; it became available on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....

 on December 19, 2006.

On July 7, 2007 Kenna opened the New Jersey portion
Live Earth concert, New York City
The Live Earth concert for North America was held at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA on July 7, 2007.-Running order:In order of appearance:*Kenna - "Out Of Control", "Face The Gun", "Sun Red Sky Blue"...

 of the Live Earth
Live Earth
-Background:Founded by Emmy-winning producer Kevin Wall, in partnership with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, Live Earth was built upon the belief that entertainment has the power to transcend social and cultural barriers to move the world community to action...

 concert. He also toured with Nelly Furtado
Nelly Furtado
Nelly Kim Furtado is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Furtado grew up in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.Furtado first gained fame with her debut album, Whoa, Nelly!, and its single "I'm Like a Bird", which won a 2001 Juno Award for Single of the Year and a 2002 Grammy...

 throughout various stops on her "Loose" tour.

Kenna was featured on Mae
Mae
Mae was an American alternative/indie band that formed in Norfolk, Virginia in 2001. The band's name is an acronym for "Multi-sensory Aesthetic Experience," based on a course taken by drummer Jacob Marshall while a student at Old Dominion University....

's third full length album Singularity on the tracks "Last Transmission II" and "Novocaine". Both tracks being bonus tracks on the iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...

.

Kenna produced a number of tracks for Ashlee Simpson
Ashlee Simpson
Ashlee Nicole Simpson is an American singer and actress. In 2004, she rose to prominence with the success of her number-one debut album Autobiography and the reality series, The Ashlee Simpson Show. In October 2005, following a North American concert tour and a film appearance, Simpson released...

's third album "Bittersweet World
Bittersweet World
Bittersweet World is the third studio album by American recording artist Ashlee Simpson. It was released in the United States on April 22, 2008. Simpson worked on the album with producers Timbaland, Chad Hugo, and Kenna. It has been described by Simpson as a "fun party album" with a "silly and...

", released in 2008.

Kenna has also worked with Lupe Fiasco
Lupe Fiasco
Wasalu Muhammad Jaco , better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco , is an American rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur, Lupe is the CEO of 1st and 15th Entertainment. He rose to fame in 2006 following the success of his critically acclaimed debut album, Lupe Fiasco's Food...

 on the remix of "Say Goodbye to Love" and the The Cool Kids
The Cool Kids
The Cool Kids is an American hip hop group. Consisting of rappers Antoine "Sir Michael Rocks" Reed and Evan "Chuck Inglish" Ingersoll , the group is based in Chicago, Illinois and Detroit, Michigan...

 on the remix of "Loose Wires."

Kenna teamed up with UK Grime artist Wiley
Wiley (rapper)
Richard Kylea Cowie , better known by his stage name Wiley is a prolific British music producer, MC and recording artist, and rapper with roots from Trinidad...

 for his 2008 album "See Clear Now", appearing on the track "Summertime
Summertime (Wiley song)
"Summertime" is the second single of Wiley's album See Cleer Now, it was released on October 13, 2008. It samples Daft Punk's song, "Aerodynamic".-Music video:...

". The song was released as the album's second single in the UK, hitting #45 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

. Kenna does not appear in the video.

"Out of Control" appears in the soundtrack for the video games: MLB 08 The Show and FIFA 08.

Kenna is currently working with pop singer JoJo and will be producing tracks for her new album "All I Want Is Everything
All I Want Is Everything (album)
Jumping Trains is the forthcoming third studio album by American recording artist JoJo schelduled to be released through Blackground Records, Interscope Records and Streamline Records in early 2012. The album was announced in 2007, for a 2008 release, but has since been in limbo for years due to...

".

He also made a remix of the Kings of Leon
Kings of Leon
Kings of Leon is an American rock band that originated in Albion, Oklahoma but formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 1999. The band is composed of brothers Anthony Caleb Followill , Ivan Nathan Followill and Michael Jared Followill Kings of Leon is an American rock band that originated in Albion,...

 song 'My Party' which was on the Charmer single as a B-side.

On RJD2
RJD2
RJD2 is an American music producer, singer and musician. RJD2 was born in Eugene, Oregon, and raised in Columbus, Ohio. He currently resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was signed to the Definitive Jux label where he released two largely instrumental hip hop albums and has produced tracks...

's 2010 album The Colossus
The Colossus (album)
The Colossus is the fourth full-length studio album by RJD2. It was released on January 19, 2010 on his own label RJ's Electrical Connections.- Track listing :# "Let There Be Horns" – 4:09# "Games You Can Win" – 5:26...

, Kenna contributes vocals to the song "Games You Can Win."

Kenna is featured in the latest string of Gatorade Commercials. He created, wrote and does the vocals on the Chad Hugo
Chad Hugo
Charles Edward Hugo is an American musician and record producer. He is best known as one half of the music production and writing duo The Neptunes and as a member of the funk/rock band N.E.R.D. He is a saxophonist, pianist and guitarist...

 produced track, "Lock it Up", which plays in the background of the ad.

Kenna the featured celebrity in the HP You on You project advertisement. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5Y4qzc_JTg

Kenna & Pharrell have collaborated with Clipse
Clipse
Clipse is a Virginia Beach, Virginia-based hip hop duo. Formed in 1992 by brothers Malice and Pusha T , the group is heavily affiliated with production team The Neptunes and signed to Star Trak Entertainment.- Exclusive Audio Footage :The Thornton brothers were born in The Bronx, New...

 on their 2009 album Til the Casket Drops
Til the Casket Drops
-Charts:-External links:* at Metacritic...

 on the track "Life Change".

Kenna and Lupe Fiasco recently recorded a song together called "Resurrection". This song was released on the charity album Download to Donate for Haiti in 2010, in which the proceeds go to Music for Relief
Music for Relief
Music For Relief is a charity founded by the band Linkin Park. The goal is to provide relief to victims of natural disasters and to bring awareness to global warming.-About:...

, Linkin Park's charity. Also present on this album is "Never Let Me Down", an unreleased track from the Make Sure They See My Face sessions.

Summit on the Summit

Kenna has organized an expedition to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro called Summit on the Summit to raise awareness of the billion people worldwide who lack access to clean drinking water.

Other celebrities, including Jessica Biel
Jessica Biel
Jessica Claire Biel is an American actress, model, and occasional singer. Biel is known for her television role as Mary Camden in the long-running family-drama series 7th Heaven...

, Santigold, Emile Hirsch
Emile Hirsch
Emile Davenport Hirsch is an American television and film actor. He began performing in the late 1990s, appearing in several television films and series, and became known as a film actor after roles in Lords of Dogtown, The Emperor's Club, The Girl Next Door, Alpha Dog, and Into the Wild. In...

 and Lupe Fiasco
Lupe Fiasco
Wasalu Muhammad Jaco , better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco , is an American rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur, Lupe is the CEO of 1st and 15th Entertainment. He rose to fame in 2006 following the success of his critically acclaimed debut album, Lupe Fiasco's Food...

, committed to the treacherous climb, which started on January 7, 2010 and was completed on January 12.

The documentary on the climb aired on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

 on March 14, 2010.

Discography

Album information
New Sacred Cow
New Sacred Cow
New Sacred Cow is the debut album by Kenna, released in 2003. Kenna created something of an underground buzz with the release of his first single "Hell Bent" in 2001. The album was leaked to the internet over a year before its final release, as it was delayed by record company politics. "Freetime"...

  • Released: June 10, 2003 (U.S.
    United States
    The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

    )
  • Label: Columbia Records
    Columbia Records
    Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...

  • Singles: "Hell Bent", "Sunday After You", "Freetime"
The Black Goodbye EP
  • Released: 2007 (U.S.
    United States
    The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

    )
  • Label: Star Trak
  • Make Sure They See My Face
    Make Sure They See My Face
    Make Sure They See My Face is the second album by Kenna.When the album was first announced in 2005, it was named Make Sure They See My Face. Then, in 2006, it was shortened to just Face. Since then it has returned to the original, longer title. The album was co-produced by Chad Hugo of The Neptunes...

  • Released: October 16, 2007 (U.S.
    United States
    The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

    )
  • Label: Interscope Records
    Interscope Records
    Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that currently operates as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-History:...

  • Singles: "Out of Control (State of Emotion)", "Say Goodbye To Love", "Loose Wires"
  • Charts: U.S. #124
  • Land 2 Air Chronicles I: Chaos and the Darkness
  • Release: April 26, 2011
  • Label: Godel
  • Track listing:
    1. "Chains" - 3:47
    2. "Kharma Is Coming" - 3:19
    3. "What U Want" - 3:24
    Songs for Flight
    • Release: 2012
    • Label: TBA

    External links

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