A conversation with David Kenny

A transcript from Episode 2 of Breakfast & Launch

Editor’s note

Some people think best by listening. Others by reading.

Every conversation on Breakfast & Launch begins as spoken language, but I believe good conversations deserve a second life on the page.

What follows is a lightly edited version of my conversation with David Kenny—music producer, podcast engineer, and one of the people who helped bring this podcast into existence.

We’ve removed repetition, tightened the language, and reshaped the conversation for readers while preserving the ideas, stories and personality of the original discussion.

I hope you enjoy reading it.

“My father didn’t leave me an inheritance. The inheritance he left me was God.”

— David Kenny

Introduction

Taiwo: David Kenny has quietly shaped some of Africa’s biggest podcasts.

He’s a music producer, audio engineer, creative strategist, and someone I’ve worked with for years.

In many ways, this podcast exists because of conversations we’ve had together.

David, welcome.

“At my core, I’m a creative.”

Taiwo: For people meeting you for the first time, who is David Kenny?

David: At my core, I’m a creative.

I started in music production, but over the last six years my work has expanded into digital media and content strategy. Today I spend as much time helping creative projects succeed as I do making music itself.

How a WhatsApp status started a friendship

Taiwo: We actually met because of a WhatsApp status.

I had just moved to Canada and was looking for someone who could help me take my music seriously.

One day a friend shared a song by Eniade. I loved it, searched for her on Instagram, saw that she had tagged you, and reached out.

I sent you the stems for what eventually became It’s Okay.

When you sent the track back…

…I completely lost my mind.

(Laughs.)

We’ve been working together ever since.

Every creative wants that reaction

Taiwo: Do producers get emotionally attached to their work?

When an artist doesn’t immediately love something you’ve created, does it affect you?

David: Of course.

Every producer dreams of that moment when an artist hears something and immediately lights up.

There’s that famous clip of Timbaland playing “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” for Jay-Z.

Every creative wants that reaction.

But I’ve also learned something.

Music is incredibly subjective.

Sometimes people don’t dislike an idea.

They’re simply not ready for it.

Time changes perspective.

You can hear something today and dismiss it.

Three years later you hear exactly the same thing and wonder why you didn’t appreciate it.

So I’ve learned to listen carefully instead of taking it personally.

Why good producers don’t force their ideas

David: If an artist isn’t feeling something, I don’t argue.

Knowledge is calm.

Capacity isn’t arrogant.

I’m serving the music—not my ego.

Sometimes I’ll quietly leave the door open because I know they might come back later.

And many times…

they do.

“Dating Intelligently”

Taiwo: That happened to me.

I remember you completely replacing the instrumental for one of my songs, Dating Intelligently.

When I first heard it…

I wasn’t convinced.

A day later…

I couldn’t stop listening.

That became one of my favourite songs we’ve made together.

It taught me something important.

Sometimes you have to trust people whose taste you respect.

Why artists should trust producers

David: Exactly.

Usher didn’t even like Caught Up.

Michael Jackson wanted Quincy Jones to remove one of the most iconic musical introductions ever recorded.

Great artists still need trusted collaborators.

Sometimes your own attachment prevents you from seeing clearly.

Losing his father at twelve

Taiwo: You’ve shared something with me over the years that has stayed with me.

You lost your father very young.

How did that shape your life?

David: My story is still being written.

God is still writing it.

Before my father died…

life was good.

We had a loving home.

He was an incredible father.

If he received a promotion at work, he’d gather the entire family—even us children—to explain what had happened.

Everyone had a voice.

Everyone mattered.

I learned collaboration before I even knew what collaboration meant.

Then…

everything changed.

One day we were an upper-middle-class family.

The next…

I was standing at my father’s funeral, the firstborn son, holding a shovel and throwing sand into his grave.

I was twelve.

“There was no manual.”

David: Overnight I became the man of the house.

I wasn’t just grieving.

I suddenly had younger siblings looking up to me.

I had to become a father…

without ever having been one.

There was no manual.

Only the twelve years I had spent watching my own father.

That experience forced me to grow up far earlier than I should have.

Choosing purpose over shortcuts

David: Those years were difficult.

I was confused.

University wasn’t working out.

Nigeria kept happening.

Around me, internet fraud was becoming popular.

Many young men were making money that way.

But I came from a home that had given me something more valuable.

My father didn’t leave financial inheritance.

Our investments disappeared paying for his medical treatment.

The inheritance he left me was God.

He taught me how to hear God’s voice.

That became my compass.

Music became college

David: I didn’t know what I wanted to study.

But I knew I loved music.

Playing drums became my education.

It also became how I helped support my family.

Churches paid me.

Artists hired me.

That income helped pay rent, buy books and support my siblings.

Eventually I asked myself,

“What’s next?”

That question led me from drumming…

to production…

to digital media…

to content strategy.

Looking back, I can see God connecting the dots long before I could.

Building isn’t always linear

Taiwo: One thing I admire about your story is that it doesn’t follow a straight line.

It’s easy to look at where someone is today and imagine they always had clarity.

But often, clarity comes after obedience.

David: Exactly.

Sometimes the closed doors are guidance.

Sometimes what feels like delay is actually direction.

Closing

Taiwo: David, thank you.

Your story has encouraged me for years, and I know it will encourage many others.

Thank you for sharing it with us.

David: Thank you for having me.

Prefer watching?

This article is adapted from Episode 2 of Breakfast & Launch with David Kenny. It has been lightly edited for clarity and readability while preserving the substance of the original conversation.

If you’d rather experience the conversation as it was originally spoken, you can watch the full episode on YouTube.

→ Watch: He Lost His Father at 12. It Changed Everything. | David Kenny