It’s tough to remember much at 6 years old, but NBC’s four-hour 1998 miniseries The Temptations, based on the career of the legendary Motown group, remains a fixed, vivid part of Keith Kenyadda Austin’s memory.
“I probably know that front to back,” he says. “That was the movie that really did it for me.”
Growing up in Chicago, the budding rapper, who now goes by Kenyadda, studied every move and melody of the Motown quintet so he could present them at school events and choir. “That’s what drove me to music,” he says, “watching The Temptations, practicing the lyrics and performing. … It was household music. It was everything. They still are everything to me.”
Over time, hip-hop courted Kenyadda’s interest. Now 28, he remembers listening to hip-hop with his father and reveling in its freedom. “At a point, I felt like rappers could say whatever they liked,” he explains, “So I was like, I want to say whatever I want to say.”
Kenyadda started perfecting his flow under the name Kenn J, cherry-picking admirable qualities from his favorite emcees. “With Biggie and Pac, the passion,” he says. “[With] Jay-Z, the wittiness of the wordplay.”
Next came Kanye West’s bold expression, then Nelly and the unique space he occupied in the hip-hop canon.
“We still have to stay modern, but I want you to feel the essence of what I grew up on,” Kenyadda says.
On his latest LP, Stakes Is High, Kenyadda achieves that ambition. “The title means so much,” he says. “This has to show my growth as an artist from album to album, and if you listen, you can hear the difference,” he says.
Stakes Is High feels like a direct response to Kenyadda’s 2020 EP, What Have You Done Lately. Around the time of that EP release, the rapper was uprooting his life in Chicago to move to Las Vegas. On Stakes, he reflects on those growing pains.
“It’s not ‘bout where you at/But how far you done came/I can’t make a U-turn/I’m too heavy in the game/Throw some dollars down/Sippin’ heavy for the pain/Had a few droughts/I’m just waiting for the rain,” he raps on hard-hitting cut “Deep in the Game,” featuring a verse by local rapper Iris C in the vein of Lil’ Kim.
Kenyadda assumes a fresh and effortless flow on Stakes. Local producer QuixkMadeIt worked on six of the eight tracks, and that collaboration birthed a more contemporary sound, Kenyadda says.
In contrast, the emcee says deep cut “Coffee” still hints at the old ’Yadda. “If I delve into other sounds, I at least have to give [fans] something like that,” he says.
Kenyadda brings his struggles to Stakes, but also his motivation. “Lion’s Share,” one of the rapper’s favorite songs, reflects on feeling low, but reminds listeners they’re still in the game. “We’re right there, so don’t give up,” he says. “People give up at that fourth and inches, but the next play can put them in the position. … I wanted people to feel that, for anybody who’s chasing a dream.”
Kenyadda’s no stranger to discouragement, either. “They told me pick different careers/Peers try to steer me in their direction of fears,” he raps on “Crazy 4 U.” Still, he remains resilient against the odds.
“I’ve seen a lot of people break, because you get to that point where you’re going through a lot at once. And the only thing I wanted to do when I was going through a lot was write and be around music,” he says. “That helped me through my lowest times. I can never give up on this passion.”
Kenyadda ampl.ink/Eqe5R, youtube.com/c/kenyadda
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