DESCRIPTION:
Born in Montego Bay, Jamaica, in the late 1970's, and raised on a diet of roots reggae, soul & funk Kenny Dust began his rapturous love affair with music-making by recording Reggae riddims on cassettes from the local radio by the likes of Josey Wales, Charlie Chaplin, Admiral Bailey and Pinchers and then reciting lyrics for elders in his neighbourhood. Growing up in the Caribbean listening to home-grown heroes like Eek-A-Mouse, Yellow Man, Gregory Issacs and Dennis Brown provided young Kenny with a passion for song writing. He arrived in London at a time when the city was still reeling from the impact of Soul II Soul's Afro-diasporic cultural production and black artists and audiences in the UK had become more and more interested in and able to express experiences of displacement, movement and migration through music.

Adopting the pseudonym Phenom P as a teenager, Kenny Dust instinctively recognised Hip Hop as the child of the Reggae music he would record from the radio back home in Jamaica and began performing and recording with the Mandelbrot Set, who were championed by DJ Vadim and his Jazz Fudge label. His performances at London's Jazz Café, Scala, Ocean and across the UK were well reviewed and he released a 12inch record with Cappa Black in 1997 exclusively for the Japanese and US markets. Working with UK hip hop collective M.a.d Danger, Kenny Dust has performed internationally as far and wide as South Africa, Valencia and Madrid and has worked with organisations such as The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Alive Kids, a South African theatre troupe.

Kenny Dust writes lyrics that heal and affirm and composes music which infuses a rich brew of Afro-diasporic styles including Reggae, Dub Poetry, Dancehall, Psychedelic funk, Hip Hop, Chant, Broken Beat and free improvisation. Having produced for artists such as shortMAN, Gemma Weekes and written with a variety of up and coming talent, Kenny Dust has acquired a reputation on London's Hip Hop and Spoken Word scenes for his artistic integrity, passion and raw talent as well as his exceptional ability to convey hope, defiance and nostalgia through words and sounds.



Kenny Dust is currently working on his debut EP due for release in June 2013. His mixtape collaboration with DJ Psykhomantus is available for free download from the 3rdStream website.


http://www.thethirdstream.com