Make Sure They See My Face

Make Sure They See My Face
Studio album by Kenna
Released October 16, 2007 (2007-10-16)
Recorded Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Los Angeles, Studio City, New York, London
Genre Alternative rock, alternative dance
Label Interscope B0008809-02
Star Trak
Producer The Neptunes, Kenna
Kenna chronology
The Black Goodbye EP
(2007)The Black Goodbye EP2007		 Make Sure They See My Face
(2007)		 Land 2 Air Chronicles I: Chaos and the Darkness
(2011)Land 2 Air Chronicles I: Chaos and the Darkness2011
Singles from Make Sure They See My Face
  1. "Out of Control (State of Emotion)"
    Released: December 19, 2006
  2. "Say Goodbye to Love"
    Released: August 21, 2007[1]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]
Pitchfork Media[3](6.4/10)
Rolling Stone[4]
Slant Magazine[5]

Make Sure They See My Face is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Kenna. It was released on October 16, 2007 via Interscope and Star Trak labels. The record includes two singles.

Recording

Recording for the album took place at: Virginia Beach (Hovercraft Studios, Mixstar Studio), Norfolk (Lopside Studios), Los Angeles (The Record Plant), Studio City (Ringside Studios), New York (Allido Studios), London (Whitfield Street Studios)

Background

The inspiration for the album came from Kenna's attempt to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, the title, inspired from a phone calls by Neptunes Pharrell asking Kenna; "are you going make sure they see your face?". Kenna's Kilimanjaro climb took him to 18,200 feet before he fell ill from taking a sulfur-based altitude medicine, one he was unaware he was allergic to.[6]

Upon the album's British release in May 2008, Kenna told noted UK R&B writer Pete Lewis of the award-winning Blues & Soul: "I actually went in to make an album that unifies all walks. As a person I've always been between worlds. I've always had to be someone who adapts, someone who's a chameleon of sorts. So vocally, musically spiritually, and in my life I've constantly tended to approach things with the idea of just bringing things together and not limiting myself whatsoever. So musically that's what this record is to me - a fusion of all worlds and a unifier."[7]

Singles

"Out of Control (State of Emotion)" was released as the lead single of the album on December 19, 2006.[8] "Say Goodbye to Love" was released on August 21, 2007.[9][10][11]

Accolades

The first single "Say Goodbye to Love" was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Alternative R&B Performance Category.

Track listing

All songs produced by The Neptunes and Kenna.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Daylight"Kenna, Chad Hugo4:26
2."Out of Control (State of Emotion)"Kenna, Hugo4:02
3."Loose Wires / Blink Radio"Kenna, Pharrell Williams4:40
4."Say Goodbye to Love"Kenna, Williams3:12
5."Sun Red Sky Blue"Kenna, Hugo4:05
6."Baptized in Blacklight"Kenna, Hugo4:08
7."Static"Kenna4:50
8."Phantom Always" (featuring Justin Timberlake)Kenna, Hugo, Justin Timberlake4:38
9."Face the Gun / Good Luck"Kenna, Hugo5:34
10."Better Wise Up"Kenna, Hugo3:58
11."Be Still"Kenna4:05
12."Wide Awake"Kenna, Hugo4:17

Release history

Country Date Label
Canada[14] October 16, 2007 Universal Music Group
United States[15] Interscope Records
United Kingdom[16] May 12, 2008 Polydor Group

Credits

Art Direction, Design – Kenna, Morningbreath
Engineer – Danny Betancourt
Engineer [Additional] – Ali, Andrew Coleman (3), Anthony Kilhoffer, John Hanes, Richard Reitz, Scott Thomas, Scott Wilson, Tim Roberts
Guitar [Additional Guitar] – Chester Kamen (tracks: 1 8 9 11)
Mastered By – Chris Gehringer
Mixed By – Serban Ghenea
Photography By – Michael Muller (2)
Producer, Executive-Producer – The Neptunes
Producer, Executive-Producer, Written-By – Kenna
Written-By – Chad Hugo (tracks: 1 2 5 6 8 9 10 12), Pharrell Williams (tracks: 3 4)[17]

References

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