Grammy Nominee Explains Why He Changed His Name

One Grammy-winning producer is ditching his stage name.

Kenneth Blume, better known to the world as Kenny Beats, is now going by his birth name instead.

The well-known producer recently composed the score for the just-released thriller film Lurker, which was part of the reason he decided to get rid of his moniker.

While Blume has been a DJ and EDM artist for over two decades now, it was only in 2017 when he really rose to fame after becoming a pop and hip-hop producer.

His first project to garner critical acclaim was his 2018 collaboration with Atlanta rap legend KEY! on their collaborative album 777. Soon after, he began producing for some of the biggest names in music, like Ed Sheeran, Rico Nasty, Vince Staples, Migos, Remi Wolf, IDLES, and plenty more.

“I named myself Kenny Beats at 15 years old for MySpace—because my name was Kenny and I made beats—and it kind of just stuck,” he told Variety in an interview. “And whenever I get a Grammy nomination as Kenny Beats, there’s times where in my heart I’m just like, ‘But my last name is Blume.’”

With Lurker, seeing his name all over the film premiere at film festivals all over the country was a gratifying moment for him.

“To be honest, Lurker has been a big part of me deciding to use my real name,” he said. “Being at Sundance and seeing my government [name] come up on the screen was a very different feeling.”

Lurker premiered at Sundance before playing in several famous festivals, including the Berlin Film Festival. It released late last month and is still in theaters.