Benjamin Lee Kenney Sr. (born March 12, 1977) is an American musician from

Brielle, New Jersey Brielle is a borough located in southern Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, along the Manasquan River. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 4,774,Incubus An incubus is a demon in male form in folklore that seeks to have sexual intercourse with sleeping women; the corresponding spirit in female form is called a succubus. In medieval Europe, union with an incubus was supposed by some to result in t ...

(since 2003) and had previously played in

the Roots The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy F ...

as a guitarist. He also records as a solo artist, usually recording every instrument and singing all vocals on his records.

Career

Kenney played guitar for the hip-hop group

before he joined Incubus in 2003 after the departure of the bass guitarist and founding member Alex Katunich (aka

Dirk Lance George Alex Katunich (born August 18, 1976) is an American musician. He is best known as the former bassist of Incubus. Since high school, Katunich has used the stage name of Dirk Lance, which was apparently taken from the credits of a pornogr ...

). He had previously played with Incubus members

Mike Einziger Michael Aaron Einziger (born June 21, 1976) is an American musician, songwriter and producer. He is best known for being co-founder and guitarist of the rock band Incubus, and has also co-written, produced and collaborated with a wide array of a ...

and Jose Pasillas in

Time Lapse Consortium Time-Lapse Consortium was an American band formed in 2003. Their sound is described as psychedelic, jazz, and funk. The group consists of current Incubus members Mike Einziger on guitar, Jose Pasillas on drums, Ben Kenney on bass (although he ...

. Kenney plays at least six different instruments and sometimes plays drum duets with Incubus' drummer Jose Pasillas live on-stage. He has also done studio work for artists including

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is one of the world's best-selling music artists, with sales of over 88 million records. Timberlake is the recipient of numerous awards and ac ...

Faith Evans Faith Renée Evans (born June 10, 1973) is an American singer and actress. Born in Lakeland, Florida, and raised in New Jersey, she relocated to Los Angeles in 1991 for a career in the music business. After working as a backing vocalist for Al B ...

Erykah Badu Erica Abi Wright (born February 26, 1971), known professionally as Erykah Badu (), is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Influenced by rhythm and blues, R&B, Soul music, soul, and hip hop, Badu rose to prominence in the ...

and

Blackalicious Blackalicious was an American hip-hop duo from Sacramento, California, made up of rapper Gift of Gab and DJ/producer Chief Xcel. They are noted for Gift of Gab's often tongue-twisting, multisyllabic, complex rhymes and Chief Xcel's soulful pr ...

, and producers

Timbaland Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer, rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. He has received widespread acclaim for his innovative production work and distinc ...

and

DJ Jazzy Jeff Jeffrey Allen Townes (born January 22, 1965), known professionally as DJ Jazzy Jeff (or simply Jazz), is an American disc jockey (DJ) and music producer. He was a member of DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince with Will Smith. He is credited, alon ...

. ''26'', ''Maduro'', ''Distance and Comfort'' and "Burn the Tapes" were all released by Kenney's own record company, Ghetto Crush Industries. Ghetto Crush has also released music for the Division Group, Aleda and Root Valdez. Kenney helped the Smyrk to produce their EP, ''New Fiction''.

Solo career

Kenney started in New Jersey band called Racecar in 1994 with Jimmie Muller and Sam Hofman. After this, he and

Chuck Treece Chuck Treece (born May 30, 1964) is a session musician and professional skateboarder from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1984, he became famous for being the first African-American skateboarder to be featured on the cover of ''Thrasher'' magazin ...

started a musical duo called Supergrub in 1996, with three CDs released: ''Norma & Thurselle'', ''Communicator'' and ''Challenger''. He has five solo albums, ''26'' released on December 1, 2004, ''Maduro'' released on March 1, 2006, ''Distance and Comfort'' released on January 15, 2008, ''Burn the Tapes'' released on October 1, 2010, and ''Leave On Your Makeup'' released on September 17, 2013. Kenney plays guitar, bass guitar and drums while singing and writing every part on the solo records. When touring to support his solo records he plays guitar and sings, accompanied by Ashley Mendel on bass guitar and vocals and Sekou Lumumba on drums. Recently, Simon Harding from the band

Fin A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. Fin ...

has replaced Lumumba.

Equipment

His bass equipment includes

Lakland Lakland Guitars is an American manufacturer of electric bass guitars based in Chicago, Illinois. The company's first bass combined elements of the Fender Jazz Bass and the Music Man StingRay. The company's current line-up includes basses inspired ...

bass guitars, Line 6 effects and

Mesa Boogie Mesa/Boogie (also known as Mesa Engineering) is an American company in Petaluma, California, that manufactures amplifiers and other accessories for guitars and basses. It has been in operation since 1969. Mesa was started by Randall Smith as a s ...

amplifiers. He has retrofitted several of his Lakland basses with JBE pickups. His collection of bass guitars includes a seafoam-green USA

Joe Osborn Joseph Osborn (August 28, 1937 – December 14, 2018Bob Glaub Bob Glaub (born May 10, 1952)Hageman, William (April 29, 2005)."The aces of bass: Five giants of an overshadowed instrument", Knight Ridder Tribune News Service. is an American bass player and session musician. He has played with such artists an ...

, shoreline gold Skyline Hollowbody, custom 44-94, light blue 44-94, cherry sunburst 55-94 with Gibson knobs, fiesta red 30" Jazz Bass (44-60), 1975 Fender Jazz Bass,

Gibson SG Bass The Gibson EB-3 is an electric bass guitar model produced by the Gibson Guitar Corporation. Origins and history The Gibson EB-3 is a bass guitar introduced in 1961 and discontinued in 1979. It was produced at Gibson's plant in Kalamazoo, MI. It ...

Fender Jaguar Bass The Fender Jaguar Bass is an electric bass guitar currently manufactured in Mexico by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. Design In appearance, the Jaguar Bass is largely faithful to the original Fender Jaguar, with exception of the ...

, and a Hofner 500/1 "Beatle Bass". Most of his bass guitars have rosewood fingerboards and are strung with GHS flatwounds, with the exception of the Skyline Bob Glaub and the 55-94 which are strung with Thomastik-Infeld roundwounds. Kenny also plays

Gibson Les Paul The Gibson Les Paul is a solid body electric guitar that was first sold by the Gibson Guitar Corporation in 1952. The guitar was designed by factory manager John Huis and his team with input from and endorsement by guitarist Les Paul. Its typi ...

s which is seen in the DVD video for "Not Today". His live Mesa/Boogie rig consists of a pair of Big Block 750 heads and a Roadready 8x10 cabinet. In the studio and for solo gigs and small live gigs with Incubus, he uses Mesa Walkabout 1x12 combos and extension cabs.

Discography

With
Incubus An incubus is a demon in male form in folklore that seeks to have sexual intercourse with sleeping women; the corresponding spirit in female form is called a succubus. In medieval Europe, union with an incubus was supposed by some to result in t ...

* '' A Crow Left of the Murder...'' (2004) * '' Light Grenades'' (2006) * '' If Not Now, When?'' (2011) * ''

Trust Fall (Side A) ''Trust Fall (Side A)'' is a four-track EP by alternative rock band Incubus. It was released in 2015 on Island Records. It was the first release from the band since their 2011 album, '' If Not Now, When?''. A sequel to this EP was later releas ...

'' (2015) * '' 8'' (2017) * ''

Trust Fall (Side B) ''Trust Fall (Side B)'' is the fifth Extended play, EP by rock music, rock band Incubus (band), Incubus. It was released on April 17, 2020. Side B serves as a sequel to ''Trust Fall (Side A)'', which was released in 2015. Track listing Personne ...

'' (2020)

Solo

* ''26'' (2004) * ''Maduro'' (2006) * ''Distance and Comfort'' (2008) * ''Burn the Tapes'' (2010) * ''Leave on your Makeup'' – EP (2013) * ''Must Be Nice'' – (2019)

With
The Roots The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy F ...

* ''

Phrenology Phrenology () is a pseudoscience which involves the measurement of bumps on the skull to predict mental traits.Wihe, J. V. (2002). "Science and Pseudoscience: A Primer in Critical Thinking." In ''Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience'', pp. 195–203. C ...

'' (2002)

Guest Appearances

* '' Justified'' -

(guitar on "Right For Me") (2002)

Notes

External links

Kenney's websiteIncubus' official websiteThe Division Group websiteSupergrub websiteGhetto Crush Industries website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kenney, Ben Incubus (band) members The Roots members African-American rock musicians American male singers African-American rock singers American rock bass guitarists American male bass guitarists 1977 births Living people People from Brielle, New Jersey Alternative hip hop musicians American male guitarists 21st-century American singers 21st-century American bass guitarists Time-Lapse Consortium members African-American guitarists