CANY McKENZO
From behind the scenes of Botswana`s pop music industry, heading production of some of the most successful albums of the past decade, Keith and Kinn is proud to present Cany McKenzo. Known mostly as a hit maker for other artists, Cany has been silently working on a sugar recipe for his own project, Cotton Candy, released on his own label X3MIX Records. We tracked down the man behind the hits and caught up with him in his well equipped studio.
EARLY YEARS
Cany McKenzo started djing at high school parties in 1996. While studying for BSc at the University of Botswana in 1999, he also deejayed in hostel parties and went on to do his BSc (Hon) Quantity Surveying at Reading University (UK) from 2001. It was then that Cany Mckenzo got the opportunity to work for a Radio Station where he worked as a presenter for a hip-hop show doubling as a club dj and later became part of the commercials production team. By then, his interest in music production had grown bigger and soon enough, Cany enrolled for a part time sound engineering course, juggling his studies with varcity and work.
MUSIC
In 2005 Cany McKenzo met Mr Tagg to form a production team called Ken-Tag-It, which produced albums such as Selemela by Mr Tagg, Skhokho by Mapetla, Mopheme by Jay-R and Maphuthadichaba by Thulie. Having managed to release these 4 albums in less than 6 months Mckenzo took a different approach, and set up his own label. X3MIX Records was born. Cany has since produced hit songs for artists such as Mapetla (Ahh!!), Skazzo (Hoof Hoof , Follow Follow), VEE (Monwana), Exodus (Masupatsela) and Mingo (Tshaba Tsotsi).
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In 2007 Cany returned to the UK, this time to work towards saving for his dream studio, a 100% Pro-Tools system. Well dreams do come true and Cany now boasts an MPC 5000 the AKAI flagship and the close of 2009 saw him host top South African house producers, Dr Duda and Mono T on special production assignment for Easy B`s Monate Fela album.
COTTON CANDY
Cany`s first love is deejaying, and with the release of his debut album, Cotton Candy, he`s set on a come back to the decks. Crafted in his state of the art studio, Cotton Candy showcases Cany`s production skills and some singing too (Cany sings on two of his songs). From kwaito hit maker to house producer, the focus for 2010 at X3mix is house beats.
The album is undoubtedly dance floor candy with an electro vibe in many of the tracks. Cany has put considerable effort in this album and the result is solid beats and a host of new singing talent on the opening track "Angel of Love" and "Tonight", my favourite track. Another song to look out for is the Setswana love song, "Lorato".
Theres something for everyone on this offering, whether its electro fueled beats, soulful or kasified grunge. This is the beginning of a new journey for McKenzo who intends to bring more candy to dance floors across Botswana and the world.
