Q&A: KennyHoopla on ‘conditions of an orphan//, Fighting Back’ and Finding Home
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
CLEVELAND’S KENNYHOOPLA IS ENTERING A BOLD NEW ERA. After making waves with 2021’s SURVIVORS GUILT: THE MIXTAPE alongside Travis Barker and this spring’s rebirth // renaissance, Kenny is back with his most vulnerable and urgent project yet: conditions of an orphan//, arriving September 19 via The Orchard. The EP features production from Paramore’s Zac Farro and Mike Elizondo (Turnstile, 50 Cent), pulling together jagged indie rock, raw emotion, and bold experimentation to create something that feels both deeply personal and sonically expansive.
At its core, conditions of an orphan// is about resilience. For Kenny, the project marks a moment of rebuilding, of standing up after being knocked down by the weight of grief, isolation and the pressures of the music industry. The title itself is a statement, one that reflects the passing of his mother, the loss of mentors and friends, and the search for a true sense of belonging. It’s heavy and unflinching, but also shot through with an undeniable spark: the sound of someone refusing to give up.
“It’s like I’m back on my feet for the first time and standing up to fight again,” Kenny shares. Across these songs, you can hear both the hunger and the hurt, the grit and the tenderness of an artist determined to carve out space for himself. We caught up with Kenny to talk about starting from scratch, channeling his experiences into music, and what it means to keep pushing forward when life demands everything from you.
LUNA: conditions of an orphan// feels like a fresh chapter for you. What sparked this “starting from scratch” moment in your career?
KENNYHOOPLA: I think it's the only choice I had — or keep going the last route, which was just very suffocating for my art. It had to happen eventually and I got to a point where I realized the sooner the better. It's important to be ever-learning and adaptable as possible as an artist in today's world. The blueprint is changing every day and more than ever, people we would consider "at the top" don’t have the answers. They may have the money, but you need discipline and authenticity to keep it from running out.
LUNA: You’ve described the EP as “standing up to fight again.” What does that fight look like for you right now, both personally and musically?
KENNYHOOPLA: Musically, this is my first "official" offering since going through what I was going through and still climbing out of today. I think this industry really "knocked me out," and this is my getting up to get back in the fight. Personally, this is me just simply trying again. I have every reason to quit right now or say how things are unfair or complain, but those moments are what define us as people—what we do with them. I'm going to take control of my life again and take what I've learned and apply it.
I’ve been dealing with a lot of cliché personal problems—family, friends, financials—and I feel like I'm coming out on the other end of it finally. At least that chapter. Life will keep having its ups and downs. I realize it's not linear.
LUNA: The title is such a powerful statement. What does the phrase conditions of an orphan mean to you in the context of this record?
KENNYHOOPLA: It stands for starvation. It stands for hunger, doing whatever you have to do to find "home" or "comfort." I'm still hungry, I still crave impact and a number one Hot 100 record. I still have so much to say and in that, I've never been so alone and dissociated.
My friends I started with aren't here anymore, my only parent isn't here anymore, and anyone I thought I saw as a mentor or OG or could "save" me… well that never happened. I still feel like a kid and I'm trying to grow up so quickly but I don't have a lot to guide me. I'm going in blind and open-armed. These are my conditions.
I think to make this I was more limited with resources or people than past projects, and I think you can hear that—it feels a bit more raw and urgent. I was on a time constraint and I had to be very on the nose and make a golden egg out of mud.
LUNA: You worked with Zac Farro and Mike Elizondo on this project. How did their influence shape the sound and energy of the EP?
KENNYHOOPLA: I think they both put their own touches on this regardless of the project "looking" for their "influence." If someone touches something it'll always come through one way or another—it’s kind of inevitable.
In orphan with Zac, you can hear it leans more fundamentally pop-like, and in a song like “too many jocks –” you can hear Mike very big on the percussion, and things feel “epic” more or so. All I can ask for is that whoever I'm working with cares about it as much as I can, and after that, it's kind of out of my hands.
I had one week overall to finish 4 songs. For that short of a timeline, I think they all turned out really well. I also had a bigger hand in this production than any other project of mine, and they really encouraged that. Something as simple as me questioning a melody on a synth and they were like, “No, that’s great—put that down!”
LUNA: This EP digs deeper into personal themes like grief, isolation, and belonging. Was there a track that felt the most vulnerable to write?
KENNYHOOPLA: “charity//” for sure. It was pretty direct and I wasn't trying to hide behind quaint poetry at all.
LUNA: Collaboration has been a big part of your journey. What do you look for in the people you choose to work with?
KENNYHOOPLA: More than anything I look for taste, discipline, humor, and patience. Someone who gets what I'm trying to get at or maybe is speaking from a similar place. Someone who understands discipline and devotion, because that's what it takes for you to realize this “music” is bigger than both of us.
Someone who can laugh—1. because I love to, 2. because we'll need that to get through this war. And someone who has patience, because I don't have it figured out at all and my genius requires time, communication, and research. I want to make songs that will outlive a music platform or app. I want to make something so powerful that 10 generations down will still be humming their heads and carrying these creations with them.
LUNA: How do you balance making music that’s deeply personal with creating something that connects universally with listeners?
KENNYHOOPLA: For me it goes hand in hand because music is my life. That's something that I think my fans love about me—just really leveling with them and having the guts to have complete humility.
LUNA: If someone is discovering your music for the first time through conditions of an orphan//, what’s the one thing you hope they take away from it?
KENNYHOOPLA: Inspired. I can say all of these other things that are more spiritually and egotistically materialistic, but even if they fucking hate it, it would be beautiful for them to feel like “I'm inspired.” Regardless.
LUNA: What intentions do you have for the upcoming months?
KENNYHOOPLA: Honestly, to get my music in people's faces, tour, make some more beautiful music and get this album out. I've realized more than anything—even money—that the music just needs to be top tier and in-ignorable and contagious. I have a long way to go.
