KENWA - WINNING FORMULA
Supported by PEOPLE DEM COLLECTIVE
Working alongside Margate’s People Dem Collective, local activist & wordsmith Kenwa continues foray into music
Things often have a funny way of going full circle to complete a cycle or conclude a sequence. Exactly one year after organising a march in support of the BLM movement, Margate musician Kenwa released the video for his debut track Winning.
What started as a Facebook group quickly turned into a demonstration of unity, where a mass of people walked from Ramsgate to Broadstairs, ending with an eight-minute-and-46-second silent kneel at Broadstairs Bandstand, following the murder of George Floyd in May 2020.
“The whole world was on pause at that time, so everyone had a moment to absorb whatever was going on,” says Kenwa, real name Kane McArthur. “I’ve been very political in that sense since a youngster and passionate about expressing these things like police brutality and injustice.
“Where it was so intense, it was all that was in my mind and thoughts at that moment – there was such a mixture of anger, fear and emotion that I had to organise a march. Because if there was any time for me to do it, it was right then.”
Having started his own group, Kenwa was approached by the team at People Dem Collective about their own demonstration.
“The second I walked up to the meeting spot, they [People Dem] acknowledged me, called me over and introduced me to everyone else. It was a moment of instant connection. I felt like I’d found my tribe and a sense of belonging.”
One year on and the relationship that has formed between People Dem and Kenwa has been a perfect example of how the collective can support and mentor young creatives to help them explore their potential. It has also been a fruitful collaboration in continuing the movement to highlight racial injustices the world over – including the Bun Hate Let’s Skate campaign.
“I thought, with one little Facebook group having such an impact on my peers locally, how could I continue that? And I thought I would utilise my passion for skateboarding,” says Kenwa.
“Skateboarding is something that has given me a home in an area like this. Among skaters, there isn’t this thing about race, sexuality etc, it’s just: you skate, I skate, we skate together, cool. So I thought it was the perfect community to really embrace it.”
With his group Scorcha Boyz (@scorcha_boyz), the skate day saw a march and fundraiser for the People Dem-led campaign to develop the old Primark building into the UK’s first-ever National Cultural Centre dedicated to black and brown history. It included some 60 skaters heading around Thanet with picket signs stopping and speaking to people.
“It was very apparent and very in your face,” explains Kenwa. “That’s when I really started working with People Dem.”
Starting off with the Black Dreams Matter project, Kenwa was linked with local director Tom Dream – the eagle-eyed among you will see a photo of Kenwa with Arlo Parks over on page 15 – where he was camera assistant at shoots including that for a Gucci fashion video, an interview piece with musician Che Lingo and GQ’s Man of the Year, which was awarded to Patrick Hutchinson.
Kenwa’s image, together with a performance of spoken-word piece I Can’t Breathe, was projected on to the iconic Arlington House in Margate as a culmination of the Beautiful Youth project with People Dem… which leads us back nicely to the beginning of Kenwa’s musical journey.
WINNING
While day to day Kane is working in flooring, his creative activities have been encouraged – he even gave us this interview on a day he probably should have been at work – allowing him to develop his skills with the camera: “Because of the skateboarding I’ve done a bit of filming and, though I’ve never studied it, it is something I’m really interested in.
“[People Dem] gave me a few opportunities to assist on that. They’d organised that all and offered me the opportunity. And every time they did, I took it in a heartbeat and luckily enough my work has been supportive enough to take these days off at the last minute.”
His musical endeavours, however, are something the artist has been planning for some time. In fact, on the night of the original Arlington House projection, Kenwa returned home to write the track Winning.
He explains: “I went to the launch and I was so inspired… I felt like I had to write something. I didn’t think all that much of it, it was just a spurt of inspiration at the time, and I was sitting on it for ages, but I played it to some of my bredrins and they were like ‘Yo, you’ve got to bring this out’. I thought ‘Yeah, f**k it, let’s do it’.”
The track, which has the accompanying video (Produced by Klaxon Creative https://klaxoncreative.com/ ) of Kenwa starring as different service roles in a hotel/pub, is chilled but provocative. Lyrics include the likes of “No longer are we slaves, no longer are we servants”, “Always watch the feds, cause they love to stay observant” and “The system is against us and that’s certain”.
Kenwa says: “I feel like I’m quite poetic when it comes to writing. But I can block myself by going too in-depth. So with that I very much wanted it to be an expression of resilience and persistence but also light-hearted so people can still vibe with it. I saw it as a matter of ‘I’m going to have fun but speak what I want to speak at the same time’.”
With more music on the horizon and even an EP in the offing, Kenwa has paid tribute to People Dem Collective for their role in preparing him to take his opportunity.
“If I hadn’t had the experiences that I have through People Dem, I wouldn’t have the same outcome as I have now.”
A Special thanks goes out to Director/Editor Liam Smith of Klaxon Creative, Director/Producer Emily Close and Director of Photography Max Edmed, whose tireless work and creativity made this project come to life.
INSTA: @peopledemcollective @kenwa_kenwizz
INFO: www.peopledemcollective.com
