Just the other day, I was complaining about the delay on Kenna‘s next EP, Land 2 Air Chronicles II: Imitation is Suicide, little did I know he has something far more important in the works. You’ll remember a few years ago, Kenna spearheaded the Summit on The Summit movement, a climb of Mount Kilimanjaro to help fight the global water crisis. Well he’s back at it again, Summit on the Summit 2 is now underway, this time, he’s bringing alng fellow climbers Mark Foster, Justin Chatwin, and more (get all the details here). He also has a goal of gettin Bono‘s attention, not just on a musical level, but because “his level of activism and effectiveness is what he aspires to achieve in his pursuit to raise awareness about the global clean water crisis and in life.” Hopefully this cover of U2′s “Gloria” will help get his attention.

The post Audio: Kenna “Gloria” appeared first on Okayplayer.

Yup, it’s that time of year again. Election day is just 5 days away, so expect plenty of politically oriented content on OKP (go out and vote, people). OKP favorite Kenna is here with a new song entitled “Politics” produced by OKP O.G. RJD2, but it’s not as overtly politically charged as the title and artwork may suggest. We were teased with the long awaited release of “Long Gone,” no word on if this is the second single off of Kenna’s Land 2 Air Chronicles II: Imitation is Suicide EP – listen, below.

Spotted at HT

The post Audio: Kenna “Politics (prod. RJD2)” appeared first on Okayplayer.

I’ve always been a big Kenna fan, so news of a new album coming this year is well received on this end. While we don’t have new music yet, he did release this trailer, It Begins, which gives us an in-studio sneak peak of Kenna working with Pharrell Williams & Chad Hugo (definitely a good thing), Earl Sweatshirt, and Frank Ocean. The first single, “Long Gone,” is said to be dropping this fall and accompanied by a self-directed “short Hitchcockian stye film.” Song For Flight coming soon?

The post Video: Kenna – It Begins [Trailer] appeared first on Okayplayer.

The problem with Mingus’ album is essentially nothing that he has done, but more so a problem with the current music situation.  This album is realistically a labor of love that Mingus himself wrote and produced all the songs for, but this album has gone so deep under the radar that it’s not even funny.  It seems a lot of times these days artists get glorified for working with this producer, or these artists that the artists who are essentially not as well known who make quality music never get their full shine, and this album is the prime example of that.

The artsy album is a blend of rock, 80’s and soul production, as well as sometimes racy and sensual lyrics.  Aside from the auto-tuneish elements added to his voice and the breathy vocals, listeners can tell that he as a pretty decent voice. The 8-track album is a rather smooth listen with one brief almost interlude song, “It Must Be About To Hang.”  The project has three songs that are definite high points, the first comes from “Just The One 4 Me.” The lyrics on this song are sweet, “You’re just the one for me, you make me see the beauty in all these human beings…” and his vocal performance on this track blends in with the Prince inspired production.

“Designer,” is a very 80’s inspired song, that seems like a song, and the way the vocals sound on the chorus make this song an album highlight.  The song is also very visual, perhaps with the fashion references but you can instantly hear some fashion show using the songs as the background as a runway show or something of the sort. “Switch Positions,” the production on this song is maybe the most hip-hop infused track on the album from a production standpoint, which is fitting with the almost rap like breakdown of the song towards the ending of the song.

“Blue Dress,” is the most rock inspired song on the album complete with a guitar solo and pretty interesting lyrics, “I’m not giving up no drugs, I’m just giving all of my love, it may be magic, damn it’s sweet, trust me baby it’s something you need.” The album is available for free download via Mingus’ Tumblr page. Support quality music and pick it up, as it’s definitely a rather refreshing and high-energy album.

- Erin Duncan

The post Mingus appeared first on Okayplayer.

Kenna plans to launch an aerial assault with three new EPs dropping in succession, Land 2 Air Chronicles. He kicked things off this past Tuesday releasing Land 2 Air Chronicles I: Chaos And The Darkness (co-produced by Kenna & Chad Hugo of The Neptunes). Kenna’s full-length album, Songs For Flight, will be out in 2012. Above, check out the video for the lead single from the first EP, “Chains” featuring Shimmy Hoffa aka Chad Hugo. The song is all about breaking free of the chains that prevent you from taking flight, but this clearly some made for the dance floor music.

The post Video: Kenna “Chains” feat. Shimmy Hoffa appeared first on Okayplayer.

The last I heard from Kenna, he was scaling mountains with Lupe Fiasco. Today, the genre bending artist is back with some new music. Here is his new song “Chains” produced by and featuring Chad Hugo aka Shimmy Hoffa. The song will be part of Kenna’s new 3 EP 3 song series, Land 2 Air Chronicles (L2A). The series will precede his upcoming 10 song LP, Songs For Flight. “Based on Emerson‘s ‘Self-Reliance’ essay, the Land 2 Air series is a check into reality and a decision to not have your aspiration be held back by anyone or anything.  L2A I : Chaos And The Darkness is the first chapter in the series and depicts the struggle to break free of the ‘Chains’ that keep us from our vision coming to life or taking flight.” View the L2A video trailer, above. 

Chains (feat. Shimmy Hoffa) by KennaChannel

The post Audio: Kenna “Chains” feat. Shimmy Hoffa appeared first on Okayplayer.

Right after descending from Mount Kilimanjaro, Lupe Fiasco, Kenna, and Mike Shinoda recorded a song entitled "Resurrection," for the Download to Donate project. The album was put together to help the relief effort in Haiti. The compilation has original music from Alanis Morissette, Dave Mathews Band, Weezer, Peter Gabriel, Slash, and more. Here is the official video for "Resurrection."

The post Video: Lupe Fiasco, Kenna & Mike Shinoda “Resurrection” appeared first on Okayplayer.

In support of Kenna's quest to reach the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro, he released this free track, "Turn," via his myspace. Of the song he says: "Turn' is a song about journeys in life and the need to make decisions to change, even when everything seems like it's going well… Take a risk on doing something great, even if you leave behind something comfortable." You can get more info, as well as make a donation to sponsor a foot of the climb at summitonthesummit.com. Check out days 2 through 4 of the climb after the jump.

Kenna "Turn"





>>>Download

Spotted at Baller Status

The post Audio: Kenna “Turn” + Days 2-4 of The Climb appeared first on Okayplayer.

And so it begins. Yesterday, Kenna, Lupe Fiasco, and Jessica Biel, began their summit on the summit, a climb of Mount Kilimanjaro to fight the global clean water crisis. Watch the video above that documents the climbers as they are about to begin their voyage. Check out MTV's report on day 1 here, and find pictures as well as information on how you can help here and here. Kudos to all involved for actually going through with this.

The post Video: Summit on The Summit – Day 1 of The Climb appeared first on Okayplayer.

RJD2 will be releasing his next album, The Colossus, on January 28th. For his latest leak, "Games You Can Win," he commissions the help of Kenna the mountain climber. This jam has a real smooth laid back vibe to it. I'm looking forward to hearing more off of The Colossus.

RJD2 "Games You Can Win" feat. Kenna





>>>Download

The post Audio: RJD2 “Games You Can Win” feat. Kenna appeared first on Okayplayer.