A lot can be said for having patience. Most artists drive themselves crazy constantly waiting for their big break to the point that they burn out before they ever get that break. Maybe these artist needs to take a look at Kenoe.
The N.O. native, may be an unknown beat maker to many, but he’s a household name to many artists in the south. Producing several tracks on Lil Flips “Underground Legend” album, Kenoe has held down the boards for the likes of Mia X, C-Murder, Chamillionaire and more but he didn’t get what we call, his big break until a chance meeting with Kanye West.
“I actually met Kanye when he came to New Orleans for the Essence fest last year,” said Keno when explaining how he found his way onto Jay-Z’s Blue Print 3 album. “We hit it off immediately. We exchanged numbers and he said, ‘we gonna work together’”
Now, usually that’s industry talk for “don’t call us, we’ll call you” But Yeezy was true to his word. So when Ye was in Hawaii working on Blue Print, he put in a call to the N.O. capo.
“He was out in Hawaii and he called me and told me that he was going to try to finish everything that he was going to submit for Jay’s album while he was out there. So he invited me out there”
The rest is hip-hop history. The track that Kenoe would go on to place would be the epic “Star is Born” featuring the first artist of Jay’s Roc Nation label J-Cole. Some artist would be content with landing such a big placement, but for Kenoe, this was just another brick in wall of success that he’s been building over the years.
Starting off early with No Limit, Kenoe broke off from the crew and started his own label and releasing his own music rapping over his own tracks. It was there that he learned about the business end of the music. “One thing you have to learn as a producer is to get your business end straight. Make sure that you always have a selection of beats on you and make sure that you have everything in order so that you get paid for your work”
He’s putting that knowledge to work with now. Off the success of “Star is Born” Kenoe is busy putting together the finishing touches on his album “Autobiography of a Hustler” and bringing out new artists. “I’m working on my album right now and I have a new artist that I’m working with named Lola. She’s an R&B artist out of Dallas and she’s real hot.”
He’s also throwing his newly found influence behind an former Hot Boy. “I got Turk signed to my label too,” said Kenoe “We’re trying to get him out right now. When he left Cash Money, all his albums came out on my label. We’re just waiting on him to come out right now so we can make everything happen.”
And don’t think that Keno has the big head right now because he’s rubbing shoulders with the likes of Kanye and Jay-Z. He still has his ears open for new sounds and new artists. “I still work with un-signed artists. I’m not the type to sign an artists and not put them out. I don’t want to sign a bunch of people and just have them hanging around me. I don’t want them to sell no dreams. If we can’t put something out then we can go our separate ways and its all good. But if its hot then we can go and make something happen.
If you got something that you think is hot and want to get at Keno, check him out at myspace.com/kenoe1 or follow him at twitter.com/kenoe225
I worked with unsigned artists all the time. If they hot we can go in and make something happen.
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