Serengeti
Birth nameDavid Cohn
OriginChicago, Illinois, U.S.
GenresHip hop[1]
Occupation(s)Rapper
Years active2003–present

David Cohn, better known by his stage name Serengeti, is an American rapper from Chicago, Illinois.[1]

Early life

Serengeti is the great-nephew of jazz trumpeter Sonny Cohn.[2] He grew up in various places in Chicago, Illinois, as his parents divorced when he was 5 years old.[3] At the age of 12, he got into hip hop.[3] He started writing verses while attending Morgan Park High School.[3] He attended Southern Illinois University Carbondale, where he became friends with Open Mike Eagle.[2] He graduated from the university in 2001 with a degree in history.[4]

Career

In 2007, Serengeti released the first collaborative album with producer Polyphonic, titled Don't Give Up.[5] The duo released their second collaborative album, Terradactyl, in 2009.[6]

In 2011, Serengeti released his solo album, Family & Friends, which was produced by Yoni Wolf and Owen Ashworth.[7]

Serengeti is a member of Sisyphus along with Son Lux and Sufjan Stevens. The trio released Beak & Claw in 2012[8] and a self-titled album in 2014.[9]

In 2012, Serengeti released C.A.R.,[10] as well as Kenny Dennis EP.[11] Kenny Dennis EP was Serengeti's first release chronicling the biography of his meta character "Kenny Dennis", a once-famous Gangsta rap artist navigating life after the peak of stardom.[12] The EP was later ranked among the top 40 Hip Hop releases of 2012 by SPIN Magazine.[13] He followed this up with Kenny Dennis LP in 2013[14] and Kenny Dennis III in 2014.[15]

2020 saw the well-received release of Ajai with collaborator Kenny Segal, a continuation of the Kenny Dennis canon.[16] Cohn raps about the life of Ajai, a new character obsessed with Designer clothing and sneaker drops, who interacts with Dennis within the drop-collecting community.

Style

Serengeti's music is a sharp departure from most mainstream hip hop, which he considers "depressing" and always consists of "the same redundant ideas."[17]

In an interview, Serengeti said he created Dennehy as an "answer to common complaints about hip-hop" and "to put the fun back in hip-hop."[18]

Discography

Studio albums

  • Dirty Flamingo (F5 Records, 2003)
  • Gasoline Rainbows (Day by Day Entertainment, 2006)
  • Thunder Valley (Audio 8 Recordings, 2006)
  • Race Trading (Audio 8 Recordings, 2006)
  • Noticeably Negro (Audio 8 Recordings, 2006)
  • Dennehy (Bonafyde Recordings, 2006; Fake Four Inc., 2017 - reissue with bonus tracks)
  • Conversations with Kenny / Legacy of Lee (Golden Floyd Records, 2009)
  • Family & Friends (Anticon, 2011)
  • C.A.R. (Anticon, 2012)
  • Saal (Graveface Records, 2013)
  • Kenny Dennis LP (Anticon, 2013)
  • Kenny Dennis III (Joyful Noise, 2014)
  • Kaleidoscope (Audio Recon, 2017)
  • Jueles - Butterflies (self-released, 2017)
  • To the Max (self-released, 2018)
  • Dennis 6e (self-released, 2018)
  • Music from the Graphic Novel: Kenny vs the Dark Web (Burnco Recs, 2019)
  • EUD (Geti Enterprises, 2019)
  • The Gentle Fall (Cohn Corporation, 2020)
  • Kdxmpc (Cohn Corporation, 2020)

Collaborations

Remix albums

  • Friday Night Remixed (Breakfast Records, 2010) (with Hi-Fidel, as Friday Night)

EPs

  • Bells and a Floating World (Anticon, 2010) (with Polyphonic)
  • There's a Situation on the Homefront EP (Chopped Herring Records, 2011) (with Hi-Fidel and DJ Koufie, as Tha Grimm Teachaz)
  • Davis (Leaving Records, 2011) (with Matthewdavid, as Davis)
  • Beak & Claw (Anticon, 2012) (with Son Lux and Sufjan Stevens, as S / S / S)
  • Kenny Dennis EP (Anticon, 2012)
  • C.A.B. (Anticon, 2013)
  • You Can't Run from the Rhythm (Joyful Noise, 2015) (with Anders Holm, as Perfecto)
  • Dust (F5 Records, 2016)
  • Kaleidoscope EP (Joyful Noise, 2017)
  • Derek (Fake Four Inc./Audio Recon, 2017)
  • Kaleidoscope 2 (self-released, 2018)
  • The Moon (self-released, 2018)
  • 6e Features from Berlin (self-released, 2019)
  • Quail (Audio Recon, 2019)
  • Energy (Geti Enterprises, 2019)
  • Quarantine Recordings (Auto Reverse Records, 2020) (with Open Mike Eagle, as Cavanaugh)

Singles

  • "Black Giraffes / Busty Women" (F5 Records, 2003)
  • "Fast Living / Breakfast of Champions" (The Frozen Food Section, 2005)
  • "Be a Man" (Graveface Records, 2012) (with Advance Base and Tobacco)
  • "Firebird Logo" (Burnco Recs, 2013)
  • "Havin' a Time" (Geti Enterprises, 2019)
  • "Ajai Epilogue" (Cohn Corporation/Fake Four Inc., 2020) (with Kenny Segal)
  • "Première" (Joyful Noise Recordings, 2020)
  • "Unblu" (Loves Way, 2020) (with Jenny Lewis)
  • "hacksaws" (CC KING, 2023) (with Marcus Drake)
  • "gianfranco" (CC King, 2023) (with Owen Cubitt)

Guest appearances

  • Themselves - "Keys to Ignition" from The Free Houdini (2009)
  • Tobacco - "2 Thick Scoops" from LA UTI (2010)
  • Open Mike Eagle - "Easter Surgery" from Unapologetic Art Rap (2010)
  • Open Mike Eagle - "Four Days" from Extended Nightmares Getdown: The Dark Blue Door (2011)
  • Open Mike Eagle - "Universe Man" from 4nml Hsptl (2012)
  • Open Mike Eagle - "Credits Interlude" from Component System with the Auto Reverse (2022)

Compilation appearances

References

  1. 1 2 Christgau, Robert (August 5, 2011). "Serengeti: Play Your Part". NPR. Archived from the original on September 27, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
  2. 1 2 Weiss, Jeff (July 28, 2011). "Anticon MC Serengeti: The Quirkiest, Deepest Rapper". LA Weekly. Archived from the original on September 27, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 Downing, Andy (January 19, 2007). "Real characters inspiring Serengeti's hip-hop vision". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on September 27, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
  4. ↑ Westhoff, Ben (March 3, 2005). "Outsider Hip-Hop". Chicago Reader. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
  5. ↑ Huff, Quentin B. (September 6, 2007). "Serengeti & Polyphonic: Dont Give Up". PopMatters. Archived from the original on July 1, 2018. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
  6. ↑ Britt, Thomas (December 17, 2009). "Slipped Disc: Serengeti & Polyphonic - Terradactyl". PopMatters. Archived from the original on March 16, 2019. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
  7. ↑ Kelly, Zach (July 21, 2011). "Serengeti: Family and Friends". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on July 1, 2018. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
  8. ↑ Pelly, Jenn (February 27, 2012). "Sufjan Stevens Teams With Son Lux and Rapper Serengeti as s / s / s, EP Due on Anticon". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on March 16, 2019. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
  9. ↑ Minsker, Evan (December 19, 2013). "Listen: Sufjan Stevens, Son Lux, and Serengeti Announce LP as Sisyphus, Share "Calm It Down"". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on April 12, 2019. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
  10. ↑ Camp, Zoe (July 30, 2012). "Serengeti - C.A.R." CMJ. Archived from the original on August 4, 2012. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
  11. ↑ "SPIN's 40 Best Hip-Hop Albums of 2012: Serengeti - Kenny Dennis EP (Anticon)". Spin. December 11, 2012. Archived from the original on July 2, 2018. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
  12. ↑ "Serengeti: Kenny Dennis EP". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
  13. ↑ "Serengeti – Kenny Dennis EP (Anticon) SPIN". www.spin.com. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
  14. ↑ Galil, Leor (June 26, 2013). "The enduring appeal of Serengeti's alter ego, Kenny Dennis". Chicago Reader. Archived from the original on November 5, 2018. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
  15. ↑ Weiss, Dan (November 10, 2014). "Review: Serengeti's Emmy-Worthy 'Kenny Dennis III'". Spin. Archived from the original on December 21, 2019. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
  16. ↑ "Serengeti: Ajai". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
  17. ↑ "Serengeti: Music: Ben Rubenstein". CenterstageChicago.com. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007.
  18. ↑ "Serengeti | Schedule". SXSW. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
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