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| Photo by Alex Von Kleydorff, Hearst Connecticut Media |
Reprinted from the Norwalk Hour, December 15, 2016
[NORWALK] Kenneth Shuler’s story isn’t unusual.
He grew up in South Norwalk, a child of a broken home and a family in poverty. Depression, homelessness, domestic violence and abuse in the shelter system are all issues that have shaped his life.
Rather than fall into an endless cycle, he’s breaking the mold and building a career in music, telling a story and giving back to the community that shaped him into the artist he is today.
But the story isn’t about him, he said. It’s about everyone who’s ever dealt with those same issues.
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| Photo by Alex Von Kleydorff, Hearst Connecticut Media |
“My life story is very similar to a lot of people who battle class and race issues,” Shuler said. “I had a brief stay in the shelter, I grew up around mental illness and domestic violence, I slept on the floor of the pentecostal church in high school. And despite those dynamics, I can tell my story and it’s one that people like me are going through.”
Shuler released his debut hip-hop album under the moniker FNX (pronounced phoenix) on Black Friday. But he isn't selling it. Produced by Norwalk’s Factory Underground, Shuler is giving away the 17-track album for free, asking instead that fans donate the money they would have spent to a GoFundMe page he plans to use to feed hungry families in Fairfield County. [see follow up story in the Norwalk Hour, December 26, 2016 for results of the campaign].
Shuler credits his ability to break out of his family's predetermined path of poverty to Norwalk’s George Washington Carver Center, an organization he says kept him off the streets and in school. After graduating from Brian McMahon High School in 2003, he went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Southern Connecticut, and an MBA from the University of New Hampshire.
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| Photo by Alex Von Kleydorff, Hearst Connecticut Media |
In June 2016, Shuler hosted the first Hometown Love Initiative event in conjunction with Factory Underground and the Carver Center. The event featured a barbecue, basketball tournament and food drive, drawing alumni and community members for an event so successful they’re already planning to duplicate it next year. [The event raised 600 non-perishable food items that were donated to Person-to-Person Food Bank of Norwalk.]
“[Carver] gave me a platform to give back to my hometown,” Shuler said.
Marc Alan, director of marketing for Factory Underground, said the Norwalk-based recording studio is always looking for ways to get involved in the community. And, having built a relationship with Shuler since he started recording there five years ago, the Factory became the perfect partner for Shuler’s initiatives.
“We love being involved in things to help people,” Alan said. “And FNX is great. With hip-hop, people expect a negative connotation, and it can be hard to convince people it’s not that, but he keeps bringing positive attention to the culture and we really support that.”
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