It'a a rap

HAMBURG-With his "Sex Appeal," local hip hop artist Keno Dimove is poised to put Sussex County on the pop music map. Keno's catchy single tells a classic story: boy meets girl, girl flirts with boy, girl leaves boy. "I get shot down, and that's reality," said Keno, who penned his own lyrics. "It's about being attracted to someone, but it's a game." The single, which was produced by Outlook Records, is starting to make an appearance at local clubs such as Illuminations in Allentown, Pa. In the coming weeks, the song is scheduled to go into rotation on local station MAX 106.3 and Philadelphia area station B104.1, said producer Brian Foran. Keno cites as his influences hip hop artists such as Method Man, Eminem and Wu Tang Clan and others, but added he enjoys a wide variety of music genres from Guns 'N Roses to the Beatles. "Sex Appeal" was written in about 35 minutes, Keno said. It then went through about five different versions in two months before reaching the final version. Foran worked with Keno to record and mix the single at Pure Sound Studios in McAffee. Outlook is marketing him through various clubs and through a street team to spread "Sex Appeal" through the area. The label also plans to shoot a music video of the single. "I like to put humor in my stuff," said Keno, who is now working on a full-length album. "I'm not going to hide where I'm from." "It's great working with Keno," said Foran, who added that Sussex County has a lot of really good underground artists. "We want to pull them out of the underground." "I feel like I've been doing it too long to give up," said Keno, who has been performing for 12 years. "I think people will support a local artist." Keno grew up in Hamburg, attending Wallkill Valley Regional High School before leaving for California, where he finished high school. He met Scott Olsen, a producer with Outlook Records, while performing with the group "Broke and Loving It." "I came in and rapped on a remix for [fellow hip hop artist] Reverse's ‘Dare to Dream,'" said Keno. That rap turned into a single deal, which turned into an album deal with Outlook. Keno and his team at Outlook are working to stir "big label" interest, said Foran. "My long-term goal is to be a platinum artist, going to the MTV awards, yelling out, ‘Sussex County!' on the mic," said Keno. He added: "I feel like the sky's the limit."