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XOXOK Praises The Politics Of Soul Music

Rocky Mount native Keenan Jenkins comprises the musical project XOXOK.
Rocky Mount native Keenan Jenkins comprises the musical project XOXOK.
Rocky Mount native Keenan Jenkins comprises the musical project XOXOK.
Credit Wyatt Kane
Rocky Mount native Keenan Jenkins comprises the musical project XOXOK.

Keenan Jenkins excelled in school, leaving his hometown of Rocky Mount in high school to attend the highly-selective North Carolina School of Science and Math. But music pulled him away from his studies, and midway through completing his doctorate, he came to the conclusion that his creative pursuits needed his full attention. Host Frank Stasio talks to musician Keenan Jenkins, who performs in the studio as XOXOK.

Nonetheless, he did his homework and got the piece of paper before moving on to dedicate himself to music full-time, allowing him to release the EP “Worthy” last year. Beyond XOXOK, Jenkin’s personal project, he brings his soul-infused guitar and bass to other local groups, including Jack Willow Junior and Wake Moody. Host Frank Stasio discusses the ways politics and art inform each other with Keenan Jenkins. XOXOK will perform at Kings in Raleigh on Thursday, March 12 at 8 p.m.

 

Copyright 2020 North Carolina Public Radio

Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.
Grant Holub-Moorman is a producer for The State of Things, WUNC's daily, live talk show that features the issues, personalities and places of North Carolina.