''Make Sure They See My Face'' is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter

Kenna Kenna Zemedkun, known professionally as Kenna, is an Ethiopian-born American musician, philanthropist and technology creative. His track "Say Goodbye to Love" was nominated for Best Urban/Alternative Performance in the 2009 Grammy Awards. Kenna ...

. It was released on October 16, 2007 via Interscope and

Star Trak Star Trak was an American record label, founded by The Neptunes and Rob Walker in 2001. It operated as a division of Interscope Geffen A&M, a subsidiary of Universal Music Group. Its name is a reference to the 1960s TV program ''Star Trek''. ...

labels. The record includes two singles.

Recording

Recording for the album took place at:

Virginia Beach Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

(Hovercraft Studios, Mixstar Studio),

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

(Lopside Studios),

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

(

The Record Plant The Record Plant is a recording studio established in New York City in 1968 and currently operating in Los Angeles, California. Known for innovations in the recording artists' workspace, it has produced highly influential albums, including Blon ...

Studio City Studio City is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, in the southeast San Fernando Valley, just west of the Cahuenga Pass. It is named after the studio lot that was established in the area by film producer Mack Sennett in 1927, ...

(Ringside Studios), New York (Allido Studios),

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

(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. Upon the album's British release in May 2008, Kenna told noted UK R&B writer Pete Lewis of the award-winning

Blues & Soul ''Blues & Soul'' is a British music magazine, established in 1967 by John Abbey. ''The Independent'' has noted ''Blues & Soul'' as being the equal of magazines such as '' NME'' and '' Q''. ''Billboard'' magazine has called ''Blues & Soul'' "a ...

: "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."

Singles

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

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 The Neptunes are an American songwriting and production duo composed of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1992. Williams often provides additional vocals on records and appears in the duo's music videos ...

and

Release history

Credits

- lead vocals, production, executive producer, songwriting *

- production, instruments *

Chad Hugo Charles Edward Hugo (born February 24, 1974) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter. With close friend Pharrell Williams, he formed the production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom he has prod ...

- 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 Chris Gehringer (born May 27, 1962) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered recordings such as Gwen Stefani's '' Love. Angel. Music. Baby.'' (2004), Rihanna's '' Loud'' (2010), Lady Gaga's '' Born This Way'' (2011) and Drake' ...

- mastering * Serban Ghenea - mixing * Michael Muller - photography (tracks: 2)

References

{{Authority control 2007 albums Interscope Records albums Star Trak Entertainment albums Albums produced by the Neptunes Albums produced by Kenna Kenna albums