Kenna Make Sure They See

[Asia Jordan]

Make Sure They See My Face is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Kenna. It was released on October 16, 2007 via Interscope and Star Trak labels. The record includes two singles.

The inspiration for the album came from Kenna's attempt to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, the title, inspired from a phone calls by Neptunes' Pharrell Williams asking Kenna; "are you going make sure they see your face?". Kenna's Kilimanjaro climb took him to 18,200 feet before he fell ill from taking a sulfur-based altitude medicine, one he was unaware he was allergic to.[9]

Upon the album's British release in May 2008, Kenna told noted UK R&B writer Pete Lewis of the award-winning Blues & Soul: "I actually went in to make an album that unifies all walks. As a person I've always been between worlds. I've always had to be someone who adapts, someone who's a chameleon of sorts. So vocally, musically spiritually, and in my life I've constantly tended to approach things with the idea of just bringing things together and not limiting myself whatsoever. So musically that's what this record is to me - a fusion of all worlds and a unifier."[10]

My first trip to Japan was in 1987 and I was hooked immediately. There are characteristics of the Japanese landscape that resemble and remind me of my homeland of England. Japan is a country of islands, surrounded by water. It is a place that has been lived in and worked on for centuries. It is geographically small and spaces are quite intimate in scale. I feel there is a powerful sense of atmosphere that resides in the Japanese soil, and as I like to photograph memories, traces and stories, I feel strangely at home wandering around this country. If one spends time in Japan, I think it is impossible not to be influenced and seduced by the Japanese sense of esthetics, kanji characters, minimalism of artwork, and reverence of certain traditions.

Another major work-space is my traditional darkroom in our home. The location makes it very convenient as I can be with family and then disappear into my cave quickly and easily. Sometimes, I spend twelve straight hours working in there, listening to music or audible books as I print. I have always loved printing and prefer darkroom printing to digital computer printing.

SOL: DO YOU HAVE A PARTICULAR DAILY ROUTINE THAT HELPS YOU WORK?
MK: My daily work routine varies and depends whether I am away photographing, at home printing or in the studio occupied with other aspects. When away photographing, I try to make the most of every minute. I photograph when I can, often before dawn and well after dusk. I sometimes leave cameras exposing throughout the night. I work on the basis that I might never return to the same place ever again. If I do return it will have changed. I try to make the most of the time I am given in any one place. My routine is not usually fixed and so it is not necessary to repeat any particular schedule.

At home it is different as there are children with fixed schedules and necessary routines. There are family activities, and as many dates with my wife as possible. Still, each day may have a basic routine, but no day is the same as another. My work has so many aspects to it that I have to go with the flow each day as to what needs to be prioritised.

SOL: WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY WORKING ON?
MK: I have just completed a project on the Buddha, which was published as a book by Prestel in May. The images in the book were made on my various wanderings over the past thirty years in Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. There are also Buddha studies from countries I have not yet visited such as Afghanistan, Nepal, Pakistan and Tibet. These images were made in Paris at the Muse National des Arts Asiatiques-Guimet. Hopefully, the prints will eventually be exhibited when galleries reopen. Unfortunately but understandably, Covid has effectively necessitated the postponement or cancellation of all the scheduled exhibitions and book signings for the time being.

SOL: WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU NEED TO RESET YOUR MIND?
MK: I love long distance running. For many years this was a perfect way to reset. Alas, my knee has now revolted so I have replaced that activity with walking, rowing and biking. None are quite as effective but I think solitariness while engaged in a physical activity is the basic equation. I also like to play the guitar and sing a few songs, perhaps draw, read a book, drink some wine, or wander around photographing.

SOL: WHO WAS YOUR MOST IMPORTANT MENTOR OR INSPIRATION?
MK: Born and brought up in Northern England, I come out of a European tradition and my early photographic masters included Eugne Atget, Bill Brandt, Mario Giacomelli and Josef Sudek, amongst others. These photographic giants, along with their American counterparts: Ansel Adams, Ruth Bernhard, Minor White, Alfred Steiglitz, and others, have influenced me greatly. I suppose they are all romantics at heart, particularly the Europeans, all concerned with photographing a feeling as much as documenting external reality.

When I moved to the USA I was extremely fortunate to meet the photographer Ruth Bernhard. At that point, I had thought that I was a good photographic printer. I had printed my own work and that of a number of other photographers along the way. However, Ruth gave me new insights into the process. The work I did with Ruth transformed my own printing style. I was now able to print negatives that I had previously given up on.

SOL: WHO DO YOU SPEAK TO WHEN YOU NEED A SECOND OPINION OR WHO GIVES THE BEST FEEDBACK?
MK: I remember reading an inscription on a piece of Italian porcelain in a San Francisco North Beach shop window: mia moglie ha sempre ragione: my wife is always right! In the case of my wife, Mamta, I have found that to be completely accurate. If I have doubts over an image I can usually show it to her and can tell instantly. Her transparent reaction has become a litmus test for me.

SOL: WHO IS THE OTHER ARTIST WORKING TODAY THAT YOU MOST ADMIRE?
MK: This is THE most difficult question for me as I find that as time passes I have become more and more of a hermit. I rarely attend museum or gallery exhibitions, am not up to date on what is happening in the art world. I think I will punt on this question!

SOL: WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF IN YOUR CAREER?
MK: My feeling is that there are an infinite amount of photographic possibilities in this world. Decisions and choices have to be made as to what is meaningful and personally significant, and my personal interest in memories, time and change often dictate what attracts me to photograph. Sometimes, I think we choose some projects and others choose us. Looking back, I would include the photographs I made in the World War II Nazi concentration camps as being amongst those that I am most proud of. During the late eighties, in Europe, the division between East and West was crumbling. For various logistical reasons, at that time I travelled to Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Latvia and Poland, which were previously very difficult to reach. The concentration camps I found in these countries were potent with atmosphere and remnants of the past. I just knew that I had to photograph all that I could find before they changed. I was not Jewish and had no immediate connection to the camps, so this drive to document was very puzzling to me. I had little time to question and I decided to proceed with humbleness, respect, sadness and a fierce determination to do the best I could. I felt that I was in the right place at the right time with the appropriate training and vision. I knew that I had good and sincere intentions and I learned that sometimes it is best not to question too much. For over ten years I searched out and explored all the camps I could. Eventually, I donated 600 prints and 6,000 negatives, along with their copyright interests to the French Ministry of Culture. A book was published and exhibitions arranged. This project became my personal contribution to the Holocaust memory. There will be another exhibition of this work at Muse de la Rsistance Nationale, Champigny-sur-Marne, France, virus permitting, later this year.

No doubt about it: Kenna got a raw deal. With support from such unlikely bedfellows as Fred Durst and fellow Virginia Beach high school friend Chad Hugo of the Neptunes, the Ethiopian-born former Kenna Zemedkun crafted a catchy and unquestionably commercial debut in 2003's New Sacred Cow, an in-retrospect prescient fusion of rock, new wave, and pop. Yet despite the buzz surrounding the spooky single "Hell Bent" and its creepy video (fashioned from Mark Osborne's animated short "More"), the album got bumped and bumped and bumped until its release was practically an afterthought, a stillborn flop and instant pop culture casualty/artifact. You can read all about it in Malcolm Gladwell's book Blink, which dedicates a chapter to Kenna illustrating how impulse decisions can raze expectations. The second-guessing of one higher up basically kneecapped the singer, pulling the plug on his well-paved ascent just like that.

Four years later, Kenna's on a new major label, but his second album Make Sure They See My Face hasn't fared much better. Originally scheduled for release over the summer, the album was delayed, leaving Kenna hanging when he opened for Nelly Furtado on her tour, supporting an album that, as far as anyone knew, didn't exist. Then, as if to twist the knife, the album got bumped again. And a couple of more times, too.

What's so amazing is that, once again, Kenna's music seems perfectly suited to the current music environment. It's catchy enough to get played on the radio, moody enough to charm brooding wallflowers, and arty enough to click with the cognoscenti. He's got some street cred, thanks to his relationship with the Neptunes, but he's also got nerd appeal. And getting shout-outs in the notes is a notable cross-section of supporters: Mike Shinoda, Bono, Dave Gahan, Justin Timberlake, ?uestlove, Michael Stipe, Nas, and more.

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