Star Trak's Kenna is probably not an artist you know very much about. Since his first album, 2003's acclaimed New Sacred Cow, he's developed a sort of anony-stardom. Featured in Malcolm Gladwell's Blink, the best-selling book about instinctual decision-making and social trends, Kenna has gained loads of notoriety for his uncategorizable sound, but sold few albums, despite an affiliation with high school classmates The Neptunes and a major label deal. Today he releases Make Sure They See My Face, a more ostentatious presentation for such a humble soul. The album is livelier than his previous, New Wave-inspired work. It's also one of the year's most satisfying albums. We spoke to Kenna about climbing mountains and conquering fear earlier this month.
VIBE: This may seem like an odd place to start, but do you really feel a major label is the best place for you?
Kenna: Well. Hmmm. I'll say I'm more excited being apart of my family, finally being Star Trak with Pharrell and Chad [Hugo] as a unit, I tried for a very long doing it on my own. When you come from the same town you don’t want to ride shirt tails, so at the end of the day I felt I needed a shot at making my own place. But now I have two creative, future-minded people working with me. I don’t really think about being signed with a major label as opposed to signing with an indie label.
I ask because you've encountered some roadblocks in the system and your fanbase seems pretty rabid about new material.
To be honest, Interscope and Star Trak have been trying so hard to put this record out, the problem is the one specific thing we wanted in this video we couldn’t get. I'm a visual artist and without the visual it kind of hampers the launch, so the one piece we were focusing on came out like shit, and it took us a while to find out that it was shit. We fought for it to be great and it still turned out like crap. So we had to rethink the whole process. Everybody on my team wants this record to be great so we're just being careful that when it comes out, it won't just disappear.
What song did you shoot a video for?
The original video was shot for " Out Of Control" and we just shot a video for "Say Goodbye To Love."
What is your working relationship with Chad and Pharrell? Is it separate or collective?
It's never separate. In general, I write and play my own stuff and then Chad arranges it, and organizes it. So a lot of the stuff I do with Chad might seem like its separate but that's just the nature of what I do. As far as the stuff I did with Pharrell, it was always Pharrell and Chad. The Neptunes are a unit and I can vouch for that.
What is your songwriting process like?
It depends on the situation, a lot of times I might come with a line and verse or a melody even, and Chad will work around it, Then we'll write together and we'll finish it. That's generally how it goes, it's never been a time where they present me with a whole track and I go for it, because that takes away from the spirituality that's in the music and how passionate it is, which only happens when we write together.
What were some things between albums that informed this record?
Two things major things happened. One, I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro - that kind of kicked off the album because it's a metaphor for my life. I reached 18,200 feet, got sick and had to come back down. When I went home I told my dad, he asked me why I went. I told him because I want to reach the top of a mountain. He asked why didn't I take altitude medicine, I told him I did. He asked what was it composed of I told him it was sulfur-based. He laughed and says "Oh, you're allergic to sulfur." So the reality of it is I went to this mountain, took this medicine I shouldn't have taken and my dad said to me, "So maybe in your life you've taken medicine you shouldn't have taken and that's why you haven't gotten to the top of your mountain." It's a direct correlation to my life. It was very enlightening and I found out that I was born at 9,000 feet above sea level - so my body is fit and ready. I'm built to climb to the top of a mountain.
The second thing would be that for a week after I climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, Pharrell called me everyday like [in a whispering Pharrell voice] "Yo, man, are you going make sure they see your face?" This time when you're recording your record are you going to make sure they see your face?" And I'm like "I don't know dude what does it matter?" He called me everyday saying the same thing, then hung up - for a full week. So finally Friday he called me and I'm like, listen, I'm going name the album Make Sure They See My Face, then hung up. And since then it's been the name of the album. After that it clicked: So what face am I going to show the world? I was never a clique kid, I never fit into one crew in elementary high school, I was never down in college, I pretty much rolled with whoever I felt comfortable with in my life. I'm a foreign kid, an inner city kid, a suburban kid - I've done and been in all those worlds, so now who am I to you? Who am I to the world when I represent so many aspects of it? That became the album's dilemma, that's what triggered every song and the thought behind it. For example, "Say Goodbye to Love" came from a time when I divorced myself from making this album. I was like "fuck it" and I went to L.A. I experienced self-loathing in Los Angeles, going out every night, and inevitably I figured out that it's really not about the difference between one world and trying to be a part of it. I literally have to embrace the fact that I'm a part of all of it and I'm a little bit of everything and it might take me forever to be seen and heard.
Are you content with the way you went about doing things on the first album?
I'm actually happy that it happened because at a time when people didn't have a view of who I was, I didn't want to introduce myself without everyone who was around me understanding who they were introducing.
You hear that a lot when it comes to famous people cultivating an image.
Yeah and I'm OCD. I'm a control freak. It's different when people are presenting you somewhat in the realm of who you are. But they weren't even close and it really would've pigeonholed me. I'm happy I went the free time route for the videos and not being that available because those that listened to the videos and that music to this day have no idea of what I look like and who I am - but they just love me for the music, and those fans are going to come back into the fold on this album and be strong about it even if they don't know what I look like and it may change their lives when they see that it's me and that's cool with me.
Is that going to play a role in making your next album?
No I think I'm just going to be myself. I've already written my next album, well the majority of it. The next album in not anonymous
How long ago was Make Sure They See My Face written?
I've been writing it for the past three years, we've finished it the beginning of this year and we started promoting it and touring for a while. We went to Europe with the Timberlake tour, Nelly Furtado wants to go on tour now.
Are you concerned with not having a platinum album?
No I'm not concerned about that, it's really not my gig; my gig is to make the best music I possibly can. Being famous is obviously not a big stress for me considering I avoided all of if in the first place. My goal is to have a stage where I can speak my words on musically and bring light to things that need to change the world. My focus is doing clean water projects with my dad and developing foundations to do well for the world. So the music part is a stepping-stone to that. It's not about being famous - but I would love a platinum album.
What were your hopes when you were younger? Did you think you were going to be famous? It's a strange thing, the forced anonymity.
Obviously when you're younger you want to be loved, be famous, and be heard. I have a great support system. I'm good where I'm at as a person. With the music I want to reach the masses and have them be appreciative of my struggle. Simultaneously as I'm pursuing the music I'm pursuing how I can give back.
What were some of the things you were listening to while you were recording?
Talking Heads' True Stories, Early Michael Jackson, U2, The Beatles' White Album.
Has Pharrell influenced some of your hooks here - the choruses feel crisper?
Pharrell knows how to make people move. Going to Pharrell helped me because he knows me. I wouldn't be able to put the songs on the record if it didn't allow me to show who I am as a person.
Can you talk about what happened after Malcom Gladwell's Blink?
Anytime somebody sits down with you to take time to discuss who you are as a person and then put it in writing, it's never bad. Even if its negative at the end of the day, its all about growth. I really feel like the Malcolm thing was a blessing - he chronicled what really happened and what's really happening now, something my father could be proud of. My father told me, "In your life, always be a man that they can write about."
Sorry to be the asshole who asks the Gladwell question - I know you'll be getting it for the next 10 years.
[Laughs] I try to keep an open book, I'm an artist pursuing greatness, anything else I can discuss. I'm an individual who will fall and get back up until I die, anyone who wants to go on that journey with me will be blessed because I'm blessed.
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