While most outlets are prepping their year-end lists for the oncoming 2020 holiday stretch, we here at Vanyaland are instead looking ahead — to 2021 and one of its surefire breakout artists. That would be kennedi, who we last caught up with in October through her intoxicating and attention-grabbing alt-R&B track “liquor love”. Now the Minnesota-born, Los Angeles-based artist, singer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter comes correct with another authoritative beat in “i don’t wanna like you yet,” a love story restrained by timing that’s aided by a sensual Jacqueline Kulla-directed video that positions kennedi as a new queer voice with pure icon potential.
“’i don’t wanna like you yet’ is about coming out of a relationship and just starting to hang with someone new and catching feelings way too quick,” says kennedi. “the video captures the tension between me and kaylen going back and forth with each other. at the end we are at the pier and realize the inevitable.”
What’s also inevitable is kennedi’s rise to prominence. “i don’t wanna like you yet” is the latest single from last month’s self EP, which will be followed by its companion piece SABOTAGE in early 2021. It’s a two-part EP collection that opens up the young artist and her life with bi-polar disorder, each carrying different sides to her mental nature and makeup as she navigates her world of mental health struggles, queer identity, and a journey that began in a snowbound Midwest town.
“The self EP is exactly what it sounds like — myself and all of the raw emotions that come with me,” admits kennedi. “It’s a snapshot into how I felt in the moments during the time I was writing these songs. It tells the story of my journey over the past year — my relationships and life experiences. Honest and raw. That is self.”
While SABOTAGE awaits, so do great things. Immerse yourself under the lights of “i don’t wanna like you yet” below.