There can’t be too many R&B artists who have a) climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and b) taught a University Of Pennsylvania sociology class alongside zeitgeist-nailing cultural theorist Malcolm Gladwell – but then Ethiopia-born Kenna has never been one to fall into easy categories.
You could argue that’s been his problem. A long-time cohort of “Chase” Chad Hugo of production duo The Neptunes, the man born Kenna Zemedkun was tipped for crossover success, only for his debut album Sacred Cow to bomb in 2003. The problem was, it traversed so many genres – throaty post-punk, gliding electro, jittery R&B – no-one knew quite what to make of it; a conundrum that inspired a chapter, Kenna’s Dilemma, in Gladwell’s best-selling book Blink (hence the pair’s joint sociology class).
The follow-up, Make Sure They See My Face, is no less eclectic, but it’s more likely to find an audience, thanks largely to the big-hitting patronage of the other half of The Neptunes, Pharrell Williams (who has contributed tracks to the album), and Mark Ronson, who has taken Kenna out on his current tour.
The album’s not out until 12 May, but you can download a track from it, the ‘80s-tinged Black Goodbye Ride, exclusively here on Q4music.com.
5:12 PM | 01/04/2008
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