BMW Kenny was on tour in Rotterdam, Netherlands, when he lost total confidence.
“I quit because I didn’t have a team,” says BMW Kenny of his time back then. “I bombed one show, the Auto-Tune was off, the mic was low, everything was just going wrong in the show and I lost total confidence. I felt like I’m not about to get on the road anymore, I’m not about to perform anymore until I got a team, until I have something going on behind me.
“I just stepped away from music, but I shouldn’t have stepped away,” continued Kenny. “I should have took it on the chin and said it was a bad show.”
Luckily for him, music listeners—and scores of YouTubers—Kenny stuck with music and ended up delivering a massive, staying-power hit with “Wipe It Down,” which spawned countless videos as part of the #WipeItDown Challenge.
ED Magazine spoke with BMW Kenny, on behalf of Bob Chiappardi and StripJointsMusic.com, about the viral sensation he launched with “Wipe It Down”, his various pursuits, and his new singles “Haha” and “Up”.
ED: What was your intro to writing music for the likes of Rae Sremmurd, Justin Bieber, Jeremih and Trey Songz? What’s it like having your lyrics belted by some of the biggest acts around?
BMW: These guys are great examples of artistry and people who can be professional, so learning a lot from these guys—how to be an artist, how to write songs, the important parts of a song people like to listen to, I learned a lot. I also learned how to song write, pick beats and a lot of little things to pick up.
ED: Do you think that was intentional?
BMW: Nah, Jeremih’s my brother, it wasn’t intentional at all. But there are times where, he’s even been in the situation where he felt like his show was being sabotaged. He got on tour with Party Next Door and the tour was over because he felt like he wasn’t getting the right treatment. My situation was it was family so I stopped performing for the rest of the tour. In fact, I left the tour two, three days early. I just felt like I wasn’t needed or something like that. But sometimes as an artist you play mental tricks on yourself—if I had a team of people around me saying ‘Shut up, you just had a bad show. Chill.’
ED: Your bio says you’re a rapper, songwriter and entrepreneur—which pursuit gives you your biggest thrill and why?
BMW: That’s a hard question. I’ve had success with all of them—being an entrepreneur I have a cannabis company I started, it’s going really well. I like that as well because it’s like I’m good at something else. I love entrepreneurship a lot, but being a rapper/artist, I like that a little bit more because I get to be on the mic and say my peace and have fun. Those songs I make can provide other opportunities for others, so I like being an artist.
ED: When did you know you had a viral sensation with “Wipe It Down”? Of all the celebrities/creators that took part in the #WipeItDown challenge—who did it best?
BMW: When I saw the first video of #WipeItDown, I was like ‘Yeah, this could work.’ Not to say I thought it would blow up as far as the world doing it, but I thought it was a good transitional video. If anything, it was going to get me more looks to the song. That was the main goal, getting looks for the song. But when I saw the challenge looked so good, I was like let’s see if we can put a prize and duplicate this. The final number was like 3-million-plus challenges and a ton more plays of the videos. My favorite celebrity doing it was when Will Smith did it. I wasn’t floored, I was jumpin’. We had a lot of labels at the time reaching out to us, trying to sign the song while it was blowing up. I just stayed independent, I knew the song was doing what it was doing on its own. We’re talking to labels now. But that first song, I wanted to have that baby be mine. I can give that song to my daughter. A lot of artists don’t get that ownership with their music.
ED: How’d you link up with The Future Kingz for the “Up” remix?
BMW: I just reached out to ‘em. I was a fan of their music—there were four artists that sold the most on UnitedMasters last year: me, Future Kingz, Dough Boy (Kendrick) and Toby. Instead of reaching out to other big artists that are signed and popping, let me reach out to the people that are doing good on my company or my independent distribution and see if I can collab with them and get some fans that way. I hit them up, “Love your work, got a song, why don’t you get on.’ They liked it. Then we did the video and it was like that (snaps fingers).
ED: Has there been anyone you’ve met in the music industry that had you frozen, geeking out, awestruck?
BMW: I was telling my friends this the other week. Because I came in the game luckily. My first person I signed to was Usher. Being in Atlanta and seeing Usher, who was the king of Atlanta—he was the king of world, but he lived in Atlanta—I was fortunate to be in the same city as him and meet his A&R and his personal friends. That’s how we connected but seeing him, that was the biggest star in the world to me. Everything else was under that. I like music more than artists—I’m never starstruck over an artist. I may be starstruck over a song, like ‘Man, I love that song.’
When I saw the first video of #WipeItDown, I was like ‘Yeah, this could work.’ Not to say I thought it would blow up as far as the world doing it, but I thought it was a good transitional video. If anything, it was going to get me more looks to the song. That was the main goal, getting looks for the song. But when I saw the challenge looked so good, I was like let’s see if we can put a prize and duplicate this. — BMW Kenny
ED: What do you have planned as far as touring/shows in 2021?
BMW: I would say too soon to tell. But I see everyone out there performing, so it’s one of those I need to start exploring markets I can perform in. And, we got a couple of singles about to drop in the next few months where I have feature artists on the songs so I plan on going on tour with some of these artists that have great followings, great fan bases where they travel. This next record is also done by a DJ who does all the festivals, so I plan on trying to jump in through the side door. If I can just feature on a couple of festival dates, work my way up and do a couple of shows and get my feet wet—that’s the plan. Eventually, if there’s a tour going on and there’s a slot open, and I have to pay my own way, I’ll do it. As long as I can perform and get my name out there.
ED: StripJointsMusic.com provides music for gentlemen’s club DJs nationwide so why would “Haha” and/or “Up” be great songs to play at gentlemen’s clubs?
BMW: “Haha” is just a celebratory song about people getting money. Gentlemen’s clubs, you need to have a bit of money. And the girls, also, they’re laughing their way to the bank because they made money that night. It’s one of those records where a guy could feel like ‘Yo, I made a lot of money this week, I’m celebrating tonight.’ I think the strip club will really like it. It’s not necessarily a strip club song, but the elements in there—girls dance to. As long as girls can shake their ass, and guys got money, we got a good song on our hands.
