Listen to Kenny Beats’ debut album ‘LOUIE’
Kenny Beats by Evan Tetreault
Listen to Kenny Beats’ debut album ‘LOUIE’
Words: Dylan Murphy
The largely instrumental album features contributions from JPEGMAFIA, slowthai, Mac De Marco, Thundercat and more.
Kenny Beats has built a reputation as one of music’s most in demand collaborators. He’s produced entire records for Rico Nasty and Idles and has showcased his versatility producing for acts ranging from Mac De Marco to SZA. However, today he’s flipped the script and brought a host of artists into his orbit for his debut album LOUIE.
Landing via XL Recordings, LOUIE sits at just over 30 mins and is mostly instrumental, save for some vocal contributions which are largely obscured throughout the record. Listed collaborators include Benny Sings, Dijon, Fousheé, JPEGMAFIA, Mac DeMarco, Pink Siifu, Omar Apollo, Paris Texas, Remi Wolf, slowthai, Thundercat, Vince Staples and more.
Spawning in response to his ailing father, the album was created over the course of December 2021 and shares DNA with the drums and soul-stirring samples of J Dilla’s Donuts.
Speaking on the album Kenny says, “I always said that I wouldn’t do a solo album because I didn’t have anything to say. Finally, I did. Something dark turned into something beautiful. This album encapsulated the feeling of that one month.”
It comes after Kenny had a Boiler Room set at Primavera Sound over the summer and collaborated with Teezo Touchdown on ‘Handyman’ earlier this year.
Listen to LOUIE below:
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