Toreros in the real world: keni (really) can fly

A USD senior is taking the music world by storm

Anna Valaik / Arts and Culture Editor / The USD Vista

From performing at Music Box in August to producing and executing unbelievably thought-out and intricate music videos with his band of creatives, USD senior who goes by the artist name “Keni Can Fly” (Keni) cannot be stopped. And he doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon. 

When he’s not on campus working on completing his Visual Arts degree, he’s out and about. He gains inspiration from old films, producing new beats, or meeting with other artists to collaborate. 

It’s a non-stop job, but Keni’s hard work is paying off considering his growing Spotify views. “Veering,” a song that popped off, much to his surprise, is at 500,000 listens. He takes his craft seriously, and he wants people to know that.

But music wasn’t always the end goal for him; Keni had other hopes and dreams for what he wanted college to look like.

“Before music, basketball and football were my life,” Keni said. “I trained every day, all the time.”

Dedicating himself entirely to his high school sports, he didn’t have much time to think seriously about music. However, this passion existed in his life ever since he was young.

“I always rapped on the side as a hobby with my uncle and his friends, and I was always intrigued by it,” Keni said. “I thought my uncle and his friends were the coolest people ever, so if they did it I would.” 

He found joy and comfort in this particular musical form – a musical form that involves rhyme, chant, and, oftentimes, street vernacular.

After attending a preparatory school on an athletic scholarship and eventually quitting basketball, he saw no better time to commit to his new craft. It was time to fully dedicate himself to music.

No one just gives themselves a stage name like “Keni Can Fly” without some inspiration, a solid team behind them, and a clear vision of the art they want to share. Keni explained how it was both out of necessity and style.

“I wanted to do Kenny with an ‘I,’ but I saw that there was already another ‘Keni,’” he said. “It was a really big YouTube account, so I didn’t want his stuff to come up when I dropped something and someone was looking for it.”

Although this idea had to be tabled, he found inspiration somewhere else.

“I’ve been really into words of affirmation from reading ‘The Secret’  four years ago,” Keni explained. “I guess at the moment I thought the coolest thing was to make some wild ambitious affirmation as my artist name, which is just a cool way to tell myself I can do anything.”

The inspiration doesn’t stop there. Keni finds creativity through countless other artists, places, and mediums. Creatives like Wes Anderson, Christopher Nolan, Tomi Adeyemi, and Haruki Murakami push him to keep making genre-bending, unique music. Specific music artists like Choker, Basquiat, Frank Ocean, Lauryn Hill, and Jaden Smith inspire him, too. 

Thankfully, Keni shares his fondness for music with close friends, as well. 

He and Matteo Woods, one of Keni’s oldest friends at USD, share this passion, and together they celebrate each other’s successes. 

This past summer, in particular, Keni was delighted to celebrate one of Woods’s biggest accomplishments to date: hearing a song he produced for Tobi Lou performed live at Lollapalooza. And Keni was right there next to him, living in the moment with his friend.

“We got to watch it from backstage, and there were probably 700-1500 people just going absolutely nuts to this song that wasn’t even out yet,” Keni reminisced. “For me, it was just so wild to see a dear friend, who works on his craft every damn day, consistently and wholeheartedly, finally have his work pay off.”

To Keni, feeling like you “made it” in the music industry is a lot different than people imagine.

“In music, results, numbers and things of that nature are so ambiguous and abstract in digital form,” Keni explained. “So, in person there was no question. All we knew is it was a lot of people, including us, going absolutely crazy to something the homie made.”

This instance and many more are what sets Keni apart from so many other music artists; he will be the first person to tell you that he doesn’t roll solo; ever. 

He’s not some high and mighty artist who thinks no one can reach or understand his musical genius. 

Instead, it’s quite literally the opposite. Looking at his social media, watching any of his music videos, or simply asking about him around campus, it becomes obvious his network extends out in just how much he relies on them.

“In regards to my support system, I could write a whole book on that,” Keni said. “It’s a nice feeling to know that you have people who are there for you and vice versa.”

His support system was, of course, present when he performed in person this past summer at 1853 Studios and Music Box in San Diego. 

His performance at 1853 Studios, in particular, stands out as something he will never forget. 

“I’ve never felt so alive and that was legit the best night of my life,” Keni recalled.

Because much of his music was dropped during quarantine, Keni was so excited to finally see the physical manifestation of his music, and it far surpassed his expectations. 

Just as concerts give life to his music, so do his intricate, visually-stimulating music videos. 

With more than a few music videos on his Youtube, it’s obvious how serious Keni takes visual story-telling. 

“In a world that is so visually driven, I think if you’re not telling a cohesive and interesting visual story or creating a visual world then how can you expect people to want what you’re trying to give them. i.e. good music/art,” Keni pointed out. “At the end of the day, it’s just like how can I make this world I’m building easy for people to understand, and how can I get them to want to experience or be a part of it?”

At this point in his career, that means creating visuals that are loud, bold, and centered around the youth yet still bear an important message: he’s interested in the contrast between youthfulness and maturity, which is obvious in bar101, one of his singles. 

His recent switch to a Visual Arts major also pushes him to create with intention and purpose again, something he’s appreciative of at USD. 

If it isn’t obvious already, Keni is a creator with the truest sense of the word; from witty song titles, one-of-a-kind music video concepts, and a flare for style and taste like no other, he really does it all. 

He’s paved a unique path for himself in the musical world on his own terms because he’s always just doing him. 

Whether he knows it or not, everyone at USD knows; Keni really can fly.