Joshua Gant, also known by his artist name Kennon, is a 2018 Stony Point High School graduate who has made a name for himself in the Austin area.
He was once recording music in his college apartment at Prairie View A&M University. Now he is working with the likes of rappers like That Mexican OT, Sauce Walka, and several local Austin artists.
Kennon has gone from making demos for Chris Brown and Summer Walker to working with producer Kyle Beats. He was also featured on a song titled “Black Boots” that gained a million views on TikTok.
Born and raised in Louisiana before moving to Central Texas, Kennon reminisces about his time as an adolescent growing up in Round Rock.
Courtesy of Kennon / Warm Audio Studio
“I just remembered fishing a lot. And that’s what most of Round Rock was for me, just fishing all around Round Rock,” he said. “I just go on to every lake and every body of water in any neighborhood —fishing in Terra Vista, fishing in Hutto, fishing in Pflugerville.”
His earliest memory of music included watching his father create music.
“I remember he would like to take me with him to like his rehearsals. I remember him having his saxophone, him singing and stuff, and listening to gospel music. Seeing that definitely plays a part in who I am now,” he said.
Kennon, who is typically an R&B singer, decided to switch to country and has a desire to combine both genres.
“I was only doing R&B, but it was kind of weird because I was already doing country music. I just would never release it. My goal is to blend both genres in my own way,” he said. “I like to have elements of indie country. It’s a little bit more spacious or free.”
While switching genres, Kennon learned an important thing about taking risks.
“If you’re gonna switch genres, you have to be confident in that genre —very, very, confident in that genre. You cannot go halfway. Like, if you’re gonna do it, just do it,” he said.
Distinguishing the differences between the jobs of a producer and an engineer can be challenging. However, they are both important for every major music artist.
“So I would think of the producer as the painter and the engineer as the brush,” Kennon said.
From attending middle and high school with That Mexican OT to working with him, it’s a full-circle moment.
“I went to Hernandez Middle School and Stony Point High School with That Mexican OT. He would just always be rapping. Everybody would be around, cause he was so good at it,” he said. “I was shy, but I would sing sometimes around him.”
Kennon and Mexican OT reconnected throughout the years through being in the same places in the city.
“I think it was like upstairs Voodoo Lounge, and we were on stage with OT,” Kennon said,
“and he was like, ‘shout out, Josh, man. Shout out to Josh. He grew up; he used to sing all the time, man.’ I was like, dang, that’s crazy that he remembers that. But we got reconnected because I was always in places he was at out here in Austin.”
Kennon says he’s naturally a very shy person. However, being an artist has helped him socially and to build his confidence.
“It’s gotten me out of my comfort zone, putting me in spaces that I wouldn’t normally put myself in and also like just surrounding myself around different energies that I normally wouldn’t,” he said. “It forced me to try different things that I wouldn’t necessarily try by myself, and that has opened different avenues, giving me more confidence.”
Kennon described music as more of a memory than a feeling.
“It’s such a down-to-earth feeling to be able to bond over music. Music is deeper than just listening with your ears. It touches your soul and your spirit, and it can cause different emotions that will bring you together to somebody else,” he said.
He described music as being deeper than just words.
“Like, music is memories, music is love — it is so many things,” he said.
