Make Sure They See My Face

Make Sure They See My Face is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Kenna. It was released on October 16, 2007 via Interscope and Star Trak labels. The record includes two singles.

Make Sure They See My Face
Studio album by
Kenna
ReleasedOctober 16, 2007 (2007-10-16)
Recorded
Label
Producer
Kenna chronology
The Black Goodbye EP
(2007)		 Make Sure They See My Face
(2007)		 Land 2 Air Chronicles I: Chaos and the Darkness
(2011)
Singles from Make Sure They See My Face
  1. "Out of Control (State of Emotion)"
    Released: December 19, 2006
  2. "Say Goodbye to Love"
    Released: August 21, 2007[1]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]
musicOMH[3]
Pitchfork Media6.4/10[4]
PopMatters8/10[5]
Rolling Stone[6]
The Skinny[7]
Slant Magazine[8]

Recording

Recording for the album took place at: Virginia Beach (Hovercraft Studios, Mixstar Studio), Norfolk (Lopside Studios), Los Angeles (The Record Plant), Studio City (Ringside Studios), New York (Allido Studios), London (Whitfield Street Studios)

Background

The inspiration for the album came from Kenna's attempt to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, the title, inspired from a phone calls by Neptunes' Pharrell Williams asking Kenna; "are you going make sure they see your face?". Kenna's Kilimanjaro climb took him to 18,200 feet before he fell ill from taking a sulfur-based altitude medicine, one he was unaware he was allergic to.[9]

Upon the album's British release in May 2008, Kenna told noted UK R&B writer Pete Lewis of the award-winning Blues & Soul: "I actually went in to make an album that unifies all walks. As a person I've always been between worlds. I've always had to be someone who adapts, someone who's a chameleon of sorts. So vocally, musically spiritually, and in my life I've constantly tended to approach things with the idea of just bringing things together and not limiting myself whatsoever. So musically that's what this record is to me - a fusion of all worlds and a unifier."[10]

Singles

"Out of Control (State of Emotion)" was released as the lead single of the album on December 19, 2006.[11] "Say Goodbye to Love" was released on August 21, 2007.[12][13][14]

Accolades

The first single "Say Goodbye to Love" was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Alternative R&B Performance Category.

Track listing

All songs produced by The Neptunes and Kenna.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Daylight"Kenna, Chad Hugo4:26
2."Out of Control (State of Emotion)"Kenna, Hugo4:02
3."Loose Wires / Blink Radio"Kenna, Pharrell Williams4:40
4."Say Goodbye to Love"Kenna, Williams3:12
5."Sun Red Sky Blue"Kenna, Hugo4:05
6."Baptized in Blacklight"Kenna, Hugo4:08
7."Static"Kenna4:50
8."Phantom Always" (featuring Justin Timberlake)Kenna, Hugo, Justin Timberlake4:38
9."Face the Gun / Good Luck"Kenna, Hugo5:34
10."Better Wise Up"Kenna, Hugo3:58
11."Be Still"Kenna4:05
12."Wide Awake"Kenna, Hugo4:17
US iTunes Store bonus track[15]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Down"Kenna, Williams3:10
UK bonus tracks[16]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Big Lights"Williams, Kenna4:05
14."Rockaway Life" (featuring Justin Timberlake)Hugo, Kenna, Timberlake3:57

Release history
Country Date Label
Canada[17] October 16, 2007 Universal Music Group
United States[18] Interscope Records
United Kingdom[19] May 12, 2008 Polydor Group

Credits
  • Kenna - lead vocals, production, executive producer, songwriting
  • The Neptunes - production, instruments
  • Chad Hugo - songwriting (tracks: 1, 2, 5, 6, 8-10, 12)
  • Pharrell Williams - songwriting (tracks: 3, 4)
  • Chester Kamen - additional guitar (tracks: 1, 8, 9, 11)
  • Damon Crawford - drums (tracks: 2)
  • Patrick Matera - guitar (tracks: 2)
  • Kenna, Morningbreath - art direction, design
  • Danny Betancourt - engineering
  • Ali, Andrew Coleman, Anthony Kilhoffer, John Hanes, Richard Reitz, Scott Thomas, Scott Wilson, Tim Roberts - additional engineering
  • Chris Gehringer- mastering
  • Serban Ghenea - mixing
  • Michael Muller - photography (tracks: 2)

References
  1. "Kenna - Say Goodbye To Love". Discogs.
  2. "Make Sure They See My Face - Kenna | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.
  3. Hands, Steve (11 May 2008). "Kenna - Make Sure They See My Face | Album Reviews". musicOMH. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  4. "Kenna: Make Sure They See My Face". Pitchfork.
  5. Sawdey, Evan (14 October 2007). "Kenna: Make Sure They See My Face, PopMatters". PopMatters. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  6. "Kenna: Make Sure They See My Face : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. March 30, 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-03-30.
  7. Arnold, Liam (11 June 2008). "Kenna - Make Sure They See My Face | The Skinny". The Skinny. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  8. Schrodt, Paul (16 October 2007). "Review: Kenna, Make Sure They See My Face". Slant Magazine.
  9. Vibe Magazine. Kenna: Feel Like I'm Nowhere by Sean Fennessey; October 16, 2007.
  10. "KENNA: AHEAD OF THE GAME". Bluesandsoul.com.
  11. "Out of Control (State of Emotion) - Single by Kenna". Apple Music. January 2006.
  12. "ITunes - Music - Say Goodbye to Love - Single by Kenna". iTunes. Archived from the original on 2015-06-24. Retrieved 2013-02-21.
  13. "ITunes - Musique - Say Goodbye to Love - Single par Kenna". iTunes. Archived from the original on 2015-06-24. Retrieved 2013-02-21.
  14. "ITunes - ミュージック - ケナ「Say Goodbye to Love - Single」". iTunes. Archived from the original on 2015-06-24. Retrieved 2013-02-21.
  15. "Make Sure They See My Face (Bonus Track Version) by Kenna". Apple Music. January 2007.
  16. "Make Sure They See My Face by Kenna on iTunes". iTunes. Archived from the original on 2016-03-06. Retrieved 2013-02-21.
  17. "Make Sure They See My Face". Amazon.ca.
  18. "Make Sure They See My Face". Amazon.com.
  19. "Make Sure They See My Face". Amazon.co.uk. December 10, 2008.
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