KENNY DENNIS (SERENGETI) is maybe my favorite rapper right now. And as far as I’m concerned his work with producers JEL and ODD NOSTROM (one of the founders of ANTICON) is pretty much as good as weird rap gets these days. Last fall KENNY DENNIS III came out on JOYFUL NOISE RECORDINGS, and while we’ve never talked about it on this site, we should have, as it is pretty incredible: heavy on the soul, the weird flow, the big mustaches, and the Chicago-soaked fake accents. I hadn’t until recently seen any videos for the album, but I now know that there is a full-on treasure trove of them and all should be sought out. I am throwing a couple of them out here, together, because, well, once you check them out you will agree, they are of a pair. A pair of what, though, I do not know. Haha. Woof.
“No Beginner” is straight off of Kenny Dennis III, the first track on the record even. A big-time soul loop is the line that Kenny Dennis lays his laundry out on. And those clothes smell like hot dogs. “Havin’ A Time” is more confusing, an alternate version of the song “Need Clarity” from Kenny Dennis III, or perhaps the original version of that song? Who can know? “Havin’ A Time” itself appears on the KENNY DENNIS FLEXI also out on Joyful Noise. “Havin’ A Time” is a hazy half-remembered pill party over at grandma’s house. Someone is twerking and there are also minds being cleared. It is really strange and the beats are locked in, and I can’t listen to either of these songs enough. Havin’ a time. Holy shit so great. Both vids sell that fake VHS vibe, straight out of ’88. Appropriate sibling vids directed by Jeremy Liesen.