His classmates included Muhsinah, various members of Afro Blue (from NBC's The Sing-Off), Lance Gross, James Brandon Lewis, Cora Coleman-Dunham, and Rhodes scholar, Marianna Ofosu.

[3] In July 2011, Kenny teamed up with Washington, D.C.-based musician/producers Matthew Shell and Trey Eley on a remake of Michael Jackson's "Rock with You" for their album Freedom which proved to be a move in the right direction.

Their remake garnered a great deal of mainstream media attention, and radio stations across the country began putting the tune into rotation without their knowledge (including Sirius XM's Watercolors).

[6] In 2012, Lifschey introduced Kenny to Spanish indie pop band The Pinker Tones resulting in the remix of "Feels Good" from The Real Thing.

[7] Released in 2013, The Real Thing was well received by critics and featured an all-star lineup of cameos including Grammy-nominated vocalist Wayna, DJ Kid Koala, Butterscotch (from America's Got Talent), guitarist Chris Bruce (Me'shell Ndegeocello, India.Arie, Seal, Sheryl Crow), and bassist Dan Lutz (Sheila E., BeBe Winans, Gladys Knight, Jonathan Butler).

In the same year, he was one of fifteen vocalists (and the only American) selected for the Montreux Jazz Festival's annual Shure Vocal Competition, under the patronage of the legendary Quincy Jones.