Born Kenneth La’Ron Beasley, 20-year-old KennyHoopla is fresh off the release of his debut EP Beneath The Willow Tree. The project is a testament to Kenny’s authenticity and rawness as an artist.
Filled with dark, haunting beats, Beneath The Willow Tree focuses on depression and suicidal thoughts. Growing up in Cleveland and Oshkosh, Wis,, Kenny was surrounded by depression and death in his younger years. He said that while the EP was a personal project that told his own story of growing up, a large portion of it was done to tell his friends’ stories about dealing with mental illness. The result of his and his friends’ experiences is an extremely mature album.
Though it is his recording debut, Beneath The Willow Tree is not the start of Kenny’s journey in the art scene. When he was younger he was an active break dancer, and as he got older, he became heavily invested in photography. His pursuit of photography led to him touring with Wisconsin performers. Eventually, he picked up DJing as well.
A man with ambition, Kenny said that he saw DJing as a way to get noticed. He wanted to build a name for himself.
Growing up around death made Kenny hyper-aware of the fact that death is imminent. Knowing that The Reaper could appear at any moment, he realized that it was time to pursue recording.
“You only have one life. It keeps ringing,” Kenny said. “The fact that you could die at any moment. That’s what it is.”
After roughly five months of recording in Oshkosh, Beneath The Willow Tree became a reality. The project is extremely unique and that’s exactly what Kenny wanted. According to him, he wanted to make it a reflection of himself. Before the release, he said that he didn’t feel like people were taking him seriously, so he put all of his effort into making the tape sound as raw and honest as he possibly could.
“I put myself out there,” Kenny said. “I wanted it to be strictly me. What do I sound like? What’s my story?”
Everything Kenny has done up to this point has been part of his plan to leave behind a legacy when his time comes. In a truly genius and simple approach, he said he wants to not only impact the world, but to help it by “conquering every art medium [he] can.”
“I want to make something where when I die, it’ll keep going,” Kenny said.
Now that he has had experience in dancing, photography, DJing and MCing, his next focus is cinematography. He and his friends are working on a short film. Though not their first venture into filming, Kenny said that he thinks their vision is finally mature enough to make something that is worth releasing.
In addition to the short film, Kenny is working on even more music to release in the future. Collaborating with local Madison producers, there’s no telling what his next project could consist of.
“I’m just creating. I don’t know what’s going to happen. That’s the fun part,” Kenny said.
His ambition has carried him a long way so far, and he said he has a lot more to come. His goal isn’t just to improve himself as an artist—Kenny wants others to feel the impact of his work.
Madison’s music scene provides a perfect opportunity to cultivate a new culture, with Kenny as a catalyst. He has huge potential as an artist, and according to him, he’s just getting started.
“I just want to make people live. Live recklessly, but in the most safe way,” Kenny said.
