Kenneth La'ron (born August 5, 1997), known by his stage name KennyHoopla, is an American singer, songwriter & musician. He is primarily known from his singles "How Will I Rest in Peace if I'm Buried by a Highway?" and "Estella". He released his commercial debut EP ''How Will I Rest in Peace if I'm Buried by a Highway?'' on May 15, 2020.

Early life

La'ron was born in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

. When asked about his earliest musical memory in an interview with ''

DIY "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and semi ...

'' magazine, La'ron recalled recording a "horrible" freestyle rap on a cassette toy his mother gave him when he was around 10 years old.

Music career

2016–2019: ''Beneath the Willow Tree'' and other singles

KennyHoopla began posting songs to his SoundCloud page in 2016. On October 5, 2016, he released an EP titled ''Beneath the Willow Tree'' to SoundCloud, which consisted of some of the tracks he had posted throughout the year, as well as some new songs. The EP received acclaim from several music blogs, who considered him an artist to watch. On October 26, he uploaded the song "Cave" to SoundCloud, which became his most streamed song on the site at the time. On August 6, 2017, he released his commercial debut single "Waves", along with a music video. This was followed by "Sickness" in 2018. On February 1, 2019, he released the single "Lost Cause", which became his most popular song at the time and gained him more exposure. Its music video was released on February 6. This was followed by "Sore Loser" on September 18, which was also positively received.

2020–present: ''How Will I Rest in Peace if I'm Buried by a Highway?'' and ''Survivors Guilt: The Mixtape''

On February 4, 2020, KennyHoopla released the single "How Will I Rest in Peace if I'm Buried by a Highway?" This track quickly became his most popular song to date, becoming his first song to reach 1 million views on YouTube, and garnering praise for its unique

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

and new wave inspired sound. The track also received radio play on alternative music stations, and peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart. On March 12, he released the follow-up single, "The World is Flat and This is the Edge". On May 13, 2020, he released the single "Plastic Door", and announced that his EP ''How Will I Rest in Peace if I'm Buried by a Highway?'' would be released that Friday, May 15. The EP received critical acclaim, being praised for its versatile mixture of sounds such as

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

, hip hop,

pop punk Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti-suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other pu ...

, and

drum and bass Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-ba ...

. On August 28, he released a reworked version of his 2019 single "Lost Cause", featuring guest vocals from

Grandson Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

. On October 14, he released another version of the song, this time featuring guest vocals from Jesse Rutherford of

The Neighbourhood The Neighbourhood (sometimes rendered as "THE NBHD") is an American rock band formed in Newbury Park, California, in 2011. The band is composed of vocalist Jesse Rutherford, guitarists Jeremy Freedman and Zach Abels, and bassist Mikey Margot. ...

. On October 12, 2020, he revealed that he is working on his debut album. Two days later, on October 14, he posted a picture to his Twitter account of him in the studio with

Blink-182 Blink-182 (stylized as blink-182) is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Poway, California in 1992. Their current lineup consists of bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. Though their ...

drummer

Travis Barker Travis Landon Barker (born November 14, 1975) is an American musician who serves as the drummer for the rock band Blink-182. He has also performed as a frequent collaborator with hip hop artists, is a member of the rap rock group Transpla ...

. On November 20, he released the song "Estella", which features Barker on drums. Its music video was released five days later, on November 25. On May 7, 2021, he released the single "Hollywood Sucks" featuring Travis Barker, and announced that he would be releasing the mixtape '' Survivors Guilt: The Mixtape'' on June 11. KennyHoopla is scheduled to support

Yungblud Dominic Richard Harrison (born 5 August 1997), known professionally as Yungblud (pronounced "Youngblood"), is an English singer, musician, songwriter and actor. In 2018, he released his first EP, ''Yungblud'', followed shortly after by the albu ...

in London on his Occupy the UK tour in 2021, and

Machine Gun Kelly George Kelly Barnes (July 18, 1895 – July 18, 1954), better known by his pseudonym "Machine Gun Kelly", was an American gangster from Memphis, Tennessee, active during the Prohibition era. His nickname came from his favorite weapon, a Thomps ...

on his 2021 ''Tickets to My Downfall'' U.S. tour, alongside

Jxdn Jaden Isaiah Hossler (born February 8, 2001), known professionally as Jxdn (stylized in all lowercase and pronounced "Jaden"), is an American singer, songwriter and TikTok personality from Chattanooga, Tennessee. Hossler rose to prominence on the ...

and Carolesdaughter.

Musical style

La'ron's music has been categorised as

, and

, often incorporating elements of new wave and

dance-punk Dance-punk (also known as disco-punk, punk-funk or techno-punk) is a post-punk subgenre that emerged in the late 1970s, and is closely associated with the disco, post-disco and new wave movements.Rip It Up and Start Again: Post Punk 1978-1984 ...

Discography

Mixtapes

Extended plays

Singles

As featured artist

Tours

Headlining

* Survivors Guilt Tour (2022) * Home for the Holidays (2022)

Supporting

- Occupy the UK Tour (2021) *

- Tickets to My Downfall Tour (2021)

Notes

References

{{KennyHoopla Living people People from Cleveland American alternative rock musicians Singers from Ohio Alternative rock singers American pop rock singers 1997 births African-American rock musicians 21st-century African-American male singers