Like all great, underappreciated American artists, Kenna is heading to the UK to find an audience and success. I have been a champion of Kenna's since I first came across his debut album, "New Sacred Cow" in 2003. The album was produced solely by Chad Hugo of the Neptunes (The forgotten, but incredibly talented, other half of the Neptunes) and Kenna wove pop, electronica, rock and new wave sounds into his dense, abstract and introspective project. Of course, since Kenna, as a black man, was not singing R&B or Hip Hop, it was "difficult" to put him and his music into a box. The music industry didn't know what to do with him and the average American found his music to be "weird."
It looked like Kenna had a second shot at cracking the US when he scored a spot in a PSP commercial and was picked to be an MTV Artist of the Week. Again, America didn't bite. His excellent single "Say Goodbye To Love" got no love. So now, our dear friend Kenna is off to the UK where the Brits are far more forgiving of people trying different kinds of music. (Hello, Jamiroquai.) It's a shame, we'd rather listen to crap like "Low" than hear alternative music from great black artists like Kenna, Estelle, Common etc.
The BBC has an interview with Kenna talking about his difficulties in breaking the US market.
