Kenna(I)

Kenna Zemedkun, known professionally as simply Kenna, is a Grammy Award nominated American musician, philanthropist and curator. With the release of his first single "Hell Bent," Kenna gained popularity and an underground following of fans who eagerly awaited the release of his debut album New Sacred Cow. The album, which was co-produced by Chad Hugo of The Neptunes, contained elements of electronica, synth pop, post rock, and house music. Two singles, "Sunday After You" and "Freetime" followed the release of the album; the music video of the latter, along with "Hell Bent", appeared in heavy rotation on MTV and MTV2. "Freetime" reached #19 on the U.S. Dance charts, and garnered Kenna two MTV VMA nominations. Kenna's second album, entitled Make Sure They See My Face, was also co-produced by Hugo. When Kenna learned about the global water crisis affecting even his home village in Ethiopia, he decided to create the Summit on the Summit project, when he and friends Lupe Fiasco, Jessical Biel, Emile Hirsch and others climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in January 2010 to bring attention to the water crisis. The team was featured on everything from People magazine, Outside, E!, MTV, and Larry King. A new song called "Turn" was made available as a free download on his official MySpace page for a limited time, followed by an iTunes release. Proceeds from the sales of the track are donated to the Summit on the Summit project. The documentary of the climb aired on MTV on March 14, 2010, and was hosted by Justin Timberlake.