Kenny Beats

Known widely within hip-hop circles for his adaptable production approach, Kenny Beats began crafting tracks during his teenage period alongside Kendrick Lamar and ScHoolboy Q before extending his reach to include figures ranging from Travis Scott through Vince Staples. Following the attainment of worldwide recognition as one component within electronic pair LOUDPVCK, he revisited hip-hop roots after the duo's dissolution in 2017 and cultivated an intimate group of associates via his customized beat-making method. This manifested through shared mixtape efforts, notably the 2019 partnership Netflix & Deal alongside 03 Greedo, plus input from Thundercat, Vince Staples, JPEGMAFIA, Mac DeMarco, and additional contributors on his inaugural studio effort Louie from 2022.

His introduction to music occurred via production classes at high school, after which Kenny Beats (born Kenneth Blume III) initiated his career by supplying beats to numerous neighborhood MCs from a home setup. Subsequent training periods at RCA, J Records, and Cinematic Music Group enabled Blume to refine his craft while expanding professional networks. By age 19 he had already worked with everyone from Kendrick Lamar to Mac Miller and secured admission to Berklee College of Music. There he encountered classmate and fellow producer Ryan Marks, whose introduction to the emerging trap wave within EDM prompted the pair to form LOUDPVCK. Their energetic singles fueled international tours and festival appearances until Marks exited the project in November 2017 to explore fresh avenues.

Growing discontented with his EDM footprint, Blume reimmersed himself in hip-hop by contributing to Huncho Jack's "Dubai Shit" in December of that year. Full reengagement arrived in 2018 through the collaborative album 777 with KEY! and production duties on Rico Nasty's debut Nasty. By tailoring sessions directly with artists and deploying signature 808 patterns to match contemporary rap's energetic textures, he forged a distinctive workflow.

The method yielded further joint releases, closing 2018 with 2 Minute Drills alongside ALLBLACK and opening 2019 via Bad Influence with Q Da Fool plus Anger Management with Rico Nasty. High-profile credits accumulated on Vince Staples' FM! and Ski Mask the Slump God's Stokeley, while he launched the studio-documentary series The Cave that year and created the comedic track "Jesus Is the One (I Got Depression)" featuring Zach Fox. A session with Denzel Curry was preserved as the 2020 release Unlocked, which entered the Billboard 200 just outside the Top 100. His debut proper under his own name, Louie, surfaced in August 2022 via XL Recordings and showcased longtime associates including Vince Staples and Slowthai together with appearances from Mac DeMarco, JPEGMAFIA, Thundercat, and others.