David Cohn, better known by his stage name Serengeti, is an American rapper from

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

Early life

Serengeti is the great-nephew of jazz trumpeter

Sonny Cohn George Thomas Cohn (March 14, 1925 – November 7, 2006), known professionally as Sonny Cohn, was an American jazz trumpeter whose career spanned over six decades. After working for fifteen years with Red Saunders (1945–1960), Cohn went on ...

. He grew up in various places in

, as his parents divorced when he was 5 years old. At the age of 12, he got into hip hop. He started writing verses while attending

Morgan Park High School Morgan Park High School is a four-year public high school and middle school located in the Morgan Park, Chicago, Morgan Park neighborhood on the far south side of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1916, Morgan Park is a part o ...

. He attended

Southern Illinois University Carbondale Southern Illinois University (SIU) is a public research university in Carbondale, Illinois, United States. Chartered in 1869, SIU is the oldest and flagship campus of the Southern Illinois University system. SIU enrolls students from all 50 sta ...

, where he became friends with

Open Mike Eagle Michael W. Eagle II (born November 14, 1980), better known by his stage name Open Mike Eagle, is an American hip hop artist and comedian. Originally from Chicago, Illinois, he is now based in Los Angeles, California, where he is a member of the h ...

. He graduated from the university in 2001 with a degree in history.

Career

In 2007, Serengeti released the first collaborative album with producer

Polyphonic Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice ( monophony) or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ...

, titled '' Don't Give Up''. The duo released their second collaborative album, ''

Terradactyl ''Terradactyl'' is the second collaborative studio album by American musicians Serengeti and Polyphonic. It was released on Anticon in 2009. Critical reception Marisa Brown of AllMusic gave the album 4.5 out of 5 stars, calling it "an impressiv ...

'', in 2009. In 2011, Serengeti released his solo album, '' Family & Friends'', which was produced by

Yoni Wolf Jonathan Avram "Yoni" Wolf (born April 30, 1979) is an American alternative hip hop and indie rock musician and co-founder of the record label Anticon. From 1997 until 2004, Wolf released music under the stage name Why?. In 2004 he transferred ...

and

Owen Ashworth Owen may refer to: People and fictional characters * Owen (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname Places United States * Owen, Missouri, a ghost town * Owen, Wisconsin * Owen County, Indiana ...

. Serengeti is a member of

Sisyphus In Greek mythology, Sisyphus or Sisyphos (; Ancient Greek: Σίσυφος ''Sísyphos'') was the founder and king of Ancient Corinth, Ephyra (now known as Corinth). He reveals Zeus's abduction of Aegina (mythology), Aegina to the river god As ...

along with

Son Lux Son Lux is an American experimental band. Originally the solo project and moniker of founding member Ryan Lott, the band's first three albums, '' At War with Walls & Mazes'', '' We Are Rising'' and '' Lanterns'', shaped the band's unique soun ...

and

Sufjan Stevens Sufjan Stevens ( ; born July 1, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He has released ten solo studio albums and multiple collaborative albums with other artists. Stevens has received Grammy and Academy Award nomina ...

. The trio released ''

Beak & Claw ''Beak & Claw'' is the debut EP by Sisyphus (released under the name S / S / S), a collaborative project between Serengeti, Sufjan Stevens, and Son Lux. It was released through Anticon on March 20, 2012. If featured guest appearances from Shara W ...

'' in 2012 and a self-titled album in 2014. In 2012, Serengeti released '' C.A.R.'', as well as ''

Kenny Dennis EP ''Kenny Dennis EP'' is an EP by American rapper Serengeti. It was released on Anticon on April 3, 2012. Entirely produced by Jel and Odd Nosdam, it was recorded in Berkeley, California. Critical reception Matt Sullivan of '' Impose'' said: "Thi ...

''. Kenny Dennis EP was Serengeti's first release chronicling the biography of his meta character "Kenny Dennis", a once-famous

Gangsta rap Gangsta rap or gangster rap, initially called reality rap, is a subgenre of rap music that conveys the culture, values, and experiences of urban gangs and street hustlers, frequently discussing unpleasant realities of the world in general th ...

artist navigating life after the peak of stardom. The EP was later ranked among the top 40 Hip Hop releases of 2012 by SPIN Magazine. He followed this up with ''

Kenny Dennis LP ''Kenny Dennis LP'' is a studio album by American rapper Serengeti. It was released on Anticon on June 25, 2013. Critical reception At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album re ...

'' in 2013 and ''

Kenny Dennis III ''Kenny Dennis III'' is a studio album by American rapper Serengeti. It was released on Joyful Noise Recordings on November 11, 2014. Critical reception David Jeffries of AllMusic says, "more than any of the earlier releases, it draws upon Chica ...

'' in 2014. 2020 saw the well-received release of Ajai with collaborator Kenny Segal, a continuation of the Kenny Dennis canon. Cohn raps about the life of Ajai, a new character obsessed with

Designer clothing Designer clothing refers to apparel created by a specific fashion designer or licensed by a person or brand. It is often considered luxury clothing, known for its high quality and haute couture appeal, made for the general public and bearing the ...

and sneaker drops, who interacts with Dennis within the drop-collecting community.

Style

Serengeti's music is a sharp departure from most mainstream hip hop, which he considers "depressing" and always consists of "the same redundant ideas." In an interview, Serengeti said he created ''Dennehy'' as an "answer to common complaints about hip-hop" and "to put the fun back in hip-hop."

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Dirty Flamingo'' (F5 Records, 2003) * ''Gasoline Rainbows'' (Day by Day Entertainment, 2006) * ''Thunder Valley'' (Audio 8 Recordings, 2006) * ''Race Trading'' (Audio 8 Recordings, 2006) * ''Noticeably Negro'' (Audio 8 Recordings, 2006) * ''Dennehy'' (Bonafyde Recordings, 2006; Fake Four Inc., 2017 - ) * ''Conversations with Kenny / Legacy of Lee'' (Golden Floyd Records, 2009) * '' Family & Friends'' (Anticon, 2011) * '' C.A.R.'' (Anticon, 2012) * '' Saal'' (Graveface Records, 2013) * ''

'' (Anticon, 2013) * ''

'' (Joyful Noise, 2014) * ''Kaleidoscope'' (Audio Recon, 2017) * ''Jueles - Butterflies'' (self-released, 2017) * ''To the Max'' (self-released, 2018) * ''Dennis 6e'' (self-released, 2018) * ''Music from the Graphic Novel: Kenny vs the Dark Web'' (Burnco Recs, 2019) * ''EUD'' (Geti Enterprises, 2019) * ''The Gentle Fall'' (Cohn Corporation, 2020) * ''Kdxmpc'' (Cohn Corporation, 2020) * ''have a summer'' (Cohn Corporation, 2021) * ''KDIV'' (2024) * ''Palookaville'' (2024)

Collaborations

* ''Noodle-Arm Whimsy'' (The Frozen Food Section, 2005) * '' Don't Give Up'' (Audio 8 Recordings, 2007) * ''The Boredom of Me'' (Audio 8 Recordings, 2008) * ''Friday Night'' (Breakfast Records, 2008) * ''

'' (

Anticon Anticon (often styled as anticon.) was an independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1998 by seven musicians and manager Baillie Parker. It was collectively owned among six musicians, co-founder Parker, and manag ...

, 2009) * '' There's a Situation on the Homefront'' (Breakfast Records, 2010) * ''Saturday Night'' (Breakfast Records, 2010) * ''Shtaad'' (Blank Records, 2011) * ''

'' (

Asthmatic Kitty Asthmatic Kitty Records is an American independent record label founded in 1999 by a community of musicians from Holland, Michigan led by Sufjan Stevens and his stepfather Lowell Brams. Some were Holland natives, and others had come to attend lo ...

/ Joyful Noise, 2014) * '' Time and Materials'' (

Mello Music Group Mello Music Group (MMG) is an American independent record label based in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 2007, Mello Music has released hip hop compilations and albums by producers and rappers such as Oddisee, Apollo Brown, Mr. Lif, Ghostface Kil ...

, 2015) * ''

Testarossa The Ferrari Testarossa (Type F110) is a 12-cylinder mid-engine sports car manufactured by Ferrari, which went into production in 1984 as the successor to the Ferrari Berlinetta Boxer. The Pininfarina-designed car was originally produced from ...

'' (Joyful Noise, 2016) * ''Doctor My Own Patience'' (Graveface Records, 2016) * ''Ajai'' (Cohn Corporation/Fake Four Inc., 2020) * ''With Greg From Deerhoof'' (

Joyful Noise Recordings Joyful Noise Recordings is an independent record label with headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana. The label was founded in 2003 in Bloomington, Indiana by Karl Hofstetter, who also played drums on several of the label's first releases. Joyful N ...

, 2020) * ''Ajai II'' (self-released, 2022) * ''Open I Remixes Vol 1'' (CC King, 2024)

Remix albums

* ''Friday Night Remixed'' (Breakfast Records, 2010) * ''The Remixes by Open I, Vol. 1'' (OTHAR, 2024)

EPs

* ''Bells and a Floating World'' (Anticon, 2010) * ''There's a Situation on the Homefront EP'' (Chopped Herring Records, 2011) * ''Davis'' (Leaving Records, 2011) * ''

'' (Anticon, 2012) * ''

'' (Anticon, 2012) * ''C.A.B.'' (Anticon, 2013) * ''You Can't Run from the Rhythm'' (Joyful Noise, 2015) * ''Dust'' (F5 Records, 2016) * ''Kaleidoscope EP'' (Joyful Noise, 2017) * ''Derek'' (Fake Four Inc./Audio Recon, 2017) * ''Kaleidoscope 2'' (self-released, 2018) * ''The Moon'' (self-released, 2018) * ''6e Features from Berlin'' (self-released, 2019) * ''Quail'' (Audio Recon, 2019) * ''Energy'' (Geti Enterprises, 2019) * ''Quarantine Recordings'' (Auto Reverse Records, 2020)

Singles

* "Black Giraffes / Busty Women" (F5 Records, 2003) * "Fast Living / Breakfast of Champions" (The Frozen Food Section, 2005) * "Be a Man" (Graveface Records, 2012) * "Firebird Logo" (Burnco Recs, 2013) * "Havin' a Time" (Geti Enterprises, 2019) * "Ajai Epilogue" (Cohn Corporation/Fake Four Inc., 2020) *"Première" (Joyful Noise Recordings, 2020) * "Unblu" (Loves Way, 2020) * "hacksaws" (CC KING, 2023) * "gianfranco" (CC King, 2023) * "Owen arm n" (CC King, 2024) * "shark attack" (CC King, 2024)

Guest appearances

Themselves Themselves, previously known as Them, is an American hip hop duo based in Oakland, California. It consists of Doseone and Jel. They are also part of Subtle and 13 & God. The duo's first studio album, '' Them'', was included on ''Fact''s "100 ...

- "Keys to Ignition" from ''

The Free Houdini ''The Free Houdini'' (styled as ''theFREEhoudini'') is a 2009 mixtape by American hip hop duo Themselves. It is a return after a six-year hiatus that saw the members, Jel and Doseone, spend the majority of their time on their other band Subtle ...

'' (2009) *

Tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

- "2 Thick Scoops" from ''

LA UTI ''LA UTI'' is an EP by Tobacco. It was released through Anticon on November 9, 2010. It includes guest appearances from Antipop Consortium, Doseone, Rob Sonic, Serengeti, Height, Icicle Frog, and Zackey Force Funk. Critical reception Chris Mar ...

'' (2010) *

- "Easter Surgery" from ''

Unapologetic Art Rap ''Unapologetic Art Rap'' is the debut studio album by American hip hop artist Open Mike Eagle. It was released via Mush Records on May 11, 2010. Music videos were created for "I Rock" and "Pissy Transmissions". Critical reception Ali Elabbady of ...

'' (2010) * Open Mike Eagle - "Four Days" from ''Extended Nightmares Getdown: The Dark Blue Door'' (2011) * Open Mike Eagle - "Universe Man" from ''4nml Hsptl'' (2012) * Open Mike Eagle - "Credits Interlude" from ''Component System with the Auto Reverse'' (2022)

Compilation appearances

* "Blood Pt. 2" on ''

Dark Was the Night Dark Was the Night may refer to: *Dark Was the Night (album), ''Dark Was the Night'' (album), a 2009 compilation album *Dark Was the Night (2014 film), ''Dark Was the Night'' (2014 film), an American thriller film *Dark Was the Night (2018 film), ' ...

'' (2009)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Serengeti Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Rappers from Chicago African-American male rappers 20th-century American male rappers Anticon artists Sisyphus (hip-hop group) members 21st-century American rappers Joyful Noise Recordings artists 21st-century African-American musicians Southern Illinois University Carbondale alumni Underground rappers