Q&A: #dateyouapopstar: Inside the World of Bronx Pop Star Kenn.
WRITTEN BY MATILIA
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Bronx artist Kenn. has been steadily carving out a lane that feels entirely his own. Blending pop, electronic and alternative influences, his music moves effortlessly between emotional vulnerability and high-energy confidence, while still remaining rooted in the identity he describes as being a "pop star." Rather than chasing trends, Kenn. has built his artistry around originality, approaching every release with a clear vision of who he is and what he wants his listeners to feel.
That vision extends beyond the music itself and into his self-directed visuals and the growing world of #dateyouapopstar. Rather than treating each release as a standalone moment, Kenn. makes it clear that he views every creative decision as part of a larger story. Whether he's experimenting with electronic production, leaning into heartfelt songwriting, or imagining music videos while listening back to a new track, each piece contributes to an artistic identity that's ever-evolving but already distinctly recognizable.
Recently, Kenn. followed up his single "Essex,"—a collaboration with producer Finsthwait that showcased both his melodic instincts and willingness to explore new creative spaces—with his newest release, "Obvious." As he continues building toward future projects, live shows and the next chapter of his artistry, Kenn. remains focused on creating music that lasts. Read our full conversation with Kenn. below.
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LIFE ON JUPITER: Let’s start with who Kenn. is. When someone first comes across you or your music, what’s the first thing you want them to know about you?
KENN.: That I’m a pop star. I live my life on three statements: pain, passion and swag. That’s what I want people to enjoy my music through—knowing there was real effort and emotion put into these things. So, a pop star for sure.
What does being a pop star mean to you, especially as someone from the Bronx?
KENN.: For me, it’s being your truest self, not having to follow a trend or jump on something to push yourself forward. It’s really about setting the standard, carving your own lane and making sure nobody can compare you to anyone else because that’s just you.
How did you get your start in music?
KENN.: Originally, I was a theater kid. When I was younger, I would practice for Broadway auditions and things like that. I never really got them, but it still helped a lot when it came to managing my voice. Around 16, I started making meme songs when TikTok first started. Then I dropped my first song as a junior in high school, and it got around 10,000 streams. I thought, “Wait, maybe I actually could do something with this.”
Who are some of your musical influences?
KENN.: Definitely Frank Ocean and Jon Bellion. I listened to Jon Bellion a lot as a kid, and I think he’s probably one of the best songwriters of the past decade. I also sang a lot of Ne-Yo as a kid—“Beautiful Monster,” “Miss Independent” and songs like that. And A Boogie is so fire. I’ve been listening to him since he first came out, and he’s a big inspiration when it comes to being yourself and really popping out.
Being yourself seems really important to you. Why do you stress that so much through your music?
KENN.: I feel as if nowadays, from what I see, the only reason why a lot of these artists are popping off is that they base their whole artistry on another artist's career. I get it, get your bag. I'm not saying it's wrong because it's been done for so long, but there's no longevity in it. When you're genuinely yourself and you know what you want to make, and you know that it is different from everybody else's—even though no matter what, everybody's going to be inspired by something within music because everything is connected—but if you could truly make that your own, that's what's gonna have it to where in 10 years you're like, "Oh wait, I still remember that song because that's Kenn.," or that's whoever that artist is. So I take big pride in that.
You make a lot of pop and electronic music. Why is that your go-to?
KENN.: Whenever I do electronic music, it's more so when I'm having fun with my boys and my producer friends, because a lot of people have said I have a good voice for electronic music. So I like to have fun. A lot of it is just me trying out different things and being able to sing on electronic melodies and have my voice mixed in a very weird but cool way is very fun to me. I like that portion. But then also, I could switch it up and have it be more sentimental, almost like a ballad. So it really goes both ways.
Is genre really important to you, or is it more about something else?
KENN.: Genre is important, but I like to base it more on feeling. I could have three songs in three different genres, but they would all still sound like Kenn. There’s always that swag I put into a song that makes someone think, “Of course Kenn. had to do that,” or, “Of course he had to mix it this way.”
Genre isn’t as important as the feeling. If I can keep pushing the feeling people get from listening to my music, especially when it’s heartbreak-oriented or just about having fun, that’s my biggest goal.
I love your visuals, and it looks like you put a lot of effort into them. Are world-building and visuals equally important to you?
KENN.: Yes. That was something I lacked before, but now I’m really trying to pinpoint and focus on it so I can give listeners something that makes them think, “Damn, okay, that’s pretty tough.”
I’m still in the middle of figuring out exactly what I want people to see, but it’s been fun working on and trying different things. The second you don’t try is when you fail. So, for me, I try so much. I try to do as many things as I can so that once I know I have something locked in, I can keep pushing even further.
What draws you to the visuals you create?
KENN.: A lot of it comes from how I feel.
KENN.: A lot of it is how I feel. Basically, I make the song and finish it in my room. I don’t really like studio time because, being that it’s all freestyle, I like to really get in the feeling of it. Then I come to my job, play it on the speaker and visualize myself in a music video while singing the song throughout the shop. From there, in my head, I visualize, “Okay, do I want to be behind a wall with some flashing lights? Do I want certain cuts? Do I want to dance in this part?” It’s a whole process. Once I do that, I try to find somebody, either a good friend of mine who knows how to record video and whatnot, and I edit everything on CapCut. From there is when I really cook up.
Why do you go to the shop specifically to play your songs on the speaker?
KENN.: The sad part is I work a lot, especially in the mornings. I also like to work on music in the mornings, but since I work a job in the morning all the time, it’s hard to do both. So I try to mix the two and at least get something productive done. That’s really my main reason.
What keeps you motivated to continue working on music when you get extremely busy?
KENN.: More so, the support that I have, people believing in me and also knowing that each song I’ve made or worked on is something I enjoy. I unironically bump my music on a regular day. Sometimes I go on the subway and listen to my EP. I also try to learn from my songs and see what I could do better because, at the end of the day, I want to be, if not the best, one of the best—and that’s a big thing to want to do, so I hold myself to a higher standard on that. The second I quit is the second I fail, so I’m not trying to fail.
Would you say that is your motto?
KENN.: Yeah. I honestly couldn't care less about the money. I’ll be the first to tell you I’m not in a good position right now, money-wise, but if somebody were to give me a shitty deal, I would not accept it, even if I needed the money. I want my music to be the best it could be so that when somebody listens to it, they can feel something.
Money doesn’t really motivate me. I’ve been met with opportunities where I could take a nice little check and be like, “Okay, let me do whatever,” but I’m really big on doing what I need to do as an artist to push what I want and, like I said, longevity. I want to make sure people know Kenn. has always stayed true to himself. He’s never had to do something else just to get a little something. Everything has come from him doing what he wanted to do and following his vision as an artist. That’s my main thing.
If your career goes exactly the way you want it to, where do you see yourself in five or 10 years?
KENN.: In five years, I want to be able to sell out almost any show I do with a max of maybe 4,000 people. That’s fine with me. I don’t care for the big and famous kind of things either. If I had 500K monthly listeners, I’d be good because, at the end of the day, I know I have a true fan base. I know I have a loyal fan base and people who are actively listening to me.
But once you start climbing that ladder, either you go all the way up or you have to go down a little bit. In 10 years, I want a Pulitzer Prize. I want music awards. I want to create foundations, invest back into the community, back into the Bronx and back into music programs, and create third spaces for people. I want to make an impact in the world, both with music and the arts in general. Music is such a beautiful thing, and you can feel so much from music. To spread that is amazing to me. That’s my main thing.
How did your single “Essex” come together?
KENN.: “Essex” was produced by my boy Finsthwait, an amazing producer. He came up to me with the song and was like, “Hey, bro, I have these nice melodies. I have some lyrics and the beat, but I need your voice. Your voice would be perfect for this song.” I was like, “Okay, bet. Let me try something out.”
I wrote some lyrics in the beginning, we went back and forth and I went to his house. I think it was a four- or five-hour session, and we just locked in. I was singing my ass off. I made sure he knew I was taking it seriously. I had so much fun making the song when it came to the content, singing and finding different ad-libs to make it feel fuller when recording.
It was something I couldn’t pass up. Even if it didn’t fit the realm of what I was doing at the time, I enjoyed the song so much. I just loved the song and wanted to do it. I haven’t stopped listening to it since. So many people still hit me up to this day and say, “Yo, I really love ‘Essex,’” and I’m like, “Thank you.”
What are you working on next?
KENN.: My next plans right now are that I really want to do something oriented around #dateyouapopstar. That’s a big thing I’ve been working on and the world I’m trying to really push. It’s a whole pop star image, going off that 2000s vibe of an Entourage kind of thing, but instead of acting, it’s for music.
I have a couple of shows lined up for the next few months. I just announced one for Sept. 5, which will be my first LA show, so that’s going to be really fun. I have another show Aug. 15 at an art exhibit, which is going to be pretty cool, and I think I have another two shows lined up.
Music-wise, I definitely have a couple of collaborations being worked on with a few artists I really enjoy. They have fewer than 1,000 monthly listeners, maybe even fewer than 500, but I think they’re probably better than all the artists being pushed out right now. They’re that good, and I stand 10 toes on that.
As a project, I want to drop an album next year, probably in the middle of the year, but I really have to lock down a certain sound and story I want to tell within that. I feel as if maybe an EP before that to get it going may be my best option, so I think I’m working on an EP right now to drop before the end of the year.
What feels different about the artist you are now compared to when you first started?
KENN.: I’m more confident. It took me a while to get that confidence because, at first, I really wasn’t in it 100%. I was very self-conscious. I was surrounded by a lot of people at the time, and … it was a very internal thing I had to get by.
Now my confidence is at 100% to, where I know when I go into something, it’s going to be something I enjoy, love, and that it’s going to come out great. That’s not to say I don’t know when to be humble and be like, “Whoa, okay,” but I also know when to learn. I enjoy learning from my friends who have been in the industry longer, played instruments longer, produced longer or sung longer. I always ask for advice. I always ask, “What do you think I should do?” and try to learn from that.
At the end of the day, it’s good to have a team, but as an independent artist, you have to learn and know a lot of things early on or else you’re going to get screwed later on. So, I really try to learn and know not to always jump into things too quickly. Don’t always jump the gun. That’s helped me a lot in situations where, prior, I got screwed over badly.
Which of your songs do you feel represents you best?
KENN.: I’d have to say three songs because each is a different vibe, but the same thing. One song, “On Fire,” is on SoundCloud. It’s probably my most experimental song. It’s very Frank Ocean-esque, but it’s one of those where, even when I made it, I was surprised at myself. I was like, “Damn.” It made me realize that if I really put my mind to something, I can make crazy shit.
“No Compromise” is when I really realized, “Damn, this is that swag.” This is what I want people to dance to. This is what I want people to breakdance to and pop out to in the club. That one was really fun as well. It’s very good club music.
The third song is another unreleased one that’s going to be dropping after this next song. It’s called “Let It Slide.” The drums and kicks on it are going to make you want to pop and lock all the time, I swear to God. It also talks about me coming up as an artist, what I had to go through and certain things I had to deal with throughout that time. It really shows a coming-up type of story, and I really enjoyed that one. So I’d say those three.