Where to Brows… with Kenny Blume (fka Kenny Beats)

Kenneth Blume has been prioritizing the art. After more than a decade in music, the five-time Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum record producer, musician, and songwriter—better known as Kenny Beats—had a realization: he needed to slow the fuck down. “All the richest people of this era have given us apps so that we ourselves can be Picasso, and show our art to the world,” Blume says. “I always thought that if I wasn’t up on Twitter, on YouTube, on Twitch with my music, that no one would hear it. That turned into a fever.” Blume’s name is synonymous not just with his own music and his beloved YouTube series The Cave, but also with acclaimed collaborations alongside Vince Staples, Toro y Moi, Rico Nasty, and others. But in an era that glorifies hustle and constant output, the digital treadmill was leaving him depleted. “Inevitably, your career will be hot and cold in any creative field. Cold years feel debilitating.”