Access Green: Kenna Talks ‘Summit On The Summit: Kilimanjaro’ & The Cause Of Clean Water

Stars have gone to great lengths for good causes before, but in January, a very prominent group of celebs trekked to new heights — 19,340 feet, to be exact – for the cause of clean water.

The result of that venture is “Summit on the Summit: Kilimanjaro,” an MTV documentary that will air at 9 PM EST on MTV on Sunday and feature stars ranging from Jessica Biel, Emile Hirsch and Isabel Lucas to musicians Lupe Fiasco, Santogold and Kenna – the latter of which put the project together.

“It started really simply,” Kenna told AccessHollywood.com. “My dad said he saved a bunch of money, $10,000, to go dig a well in Ethiopia and I asked him why.”

The answer shocked the musician. His father, who was born in Ethiopia, had not had clean water as a child – and lost his brother and his best friend because of it.

“At the same time, for about 10 years, he suffered from water-borne illnesses,” Kenna said. “I had no idea. I felt like a bad son.”

But the knowledge inspired him to do something to raise awareness – and, five years after trying to climb Mount Kilimanjaro (and coming up short) on his own, the mountain loomed large in his thoughts.

“It just was something I wanted to conquer,” he said, adding that once he brought up the idea with friends, everyone wanted in.

“Justin [Timberlake] wanted to climb, Jess wanted to climb, Lupe wanted to climb,” he said. (Justin provides an introduction for the documentary but was unable to join the week-long trip due to scheduling conflicts.) “It was inspirational because… they were like, ‘I could do something great for myself and at the same time, do something great for the world.’ I decided then that if those people wanted to go, it needed to have a place in the world, it needed to punch through pop culture.”

The group grew, with celebs as well as sustainability experts and educators from all walks of life joining the trip.

“I wanted to have luminaries from all different aspects and parts of the world. I wanted it to be a representation of mankind,” he said. “I wanted people who got to see this climb to see themselves. I wanted to make sure we had Bernice Ang from Singapore and Lupe Fiasco from the South side of Chicago and Jessica Biel from treehugger Colorado. That’s the only way I felt like we would have a real summit, a real conversation.”

But the weeklong climb wasn’t easy – even with preparation guided by celebrity trainer Jason Walsh.

We had requirements for everybody, that they train for a period of time before the climb and they had to have a certain level of V02 test and the doctor said they had to be fit enough,” Kenna said, adding that some climbers started fitter than others. “You found Jess Biel being super healthy before we did it but she still did a lot of serious training to make sure she was ready to do the climb.”

While Kenna had taken on the mountain before, this time, the group went a different, more treacherous route.

“It was probably 10 times more difficult,” he said. “I had been joking that it had been a 2 on a treadmill to everybody, but when I got there it was the most difficult thing I’d ever experienced.”

And the climb itself wasn’t the only concern – almost every day, the group experienced inclement weather ranging from snow, to rain to sleet to hail, as well as a lack of oxygen and the accompanying altitude sickness and health scares.

“The possibility for cerebral edema or corneal edema or pulmonary edema… the healthiest people who were the ones who were most susceptible to the pulmonary edama,” Kenna said. “We had Melissa Arnot, who’s an Everest climber, and she was our medic. She was dealing with everyone. Without her, God bless, her, II would say 50 percent of us probably wouldn’t have made it.”

But the group reached the summit, and now they’re ready to share their story with the world – and ask for help in the effort to make clean water available to everyone.

“I hope that people will see that sometimes it’s important to be an actionist vs. an activist,” Kenna said. “It doesn’t have to be climbing a mountain, it doesn’t have to be fundraising. It has to be something where people get the chance to see that you are intimately and profoundly moved by something that’s happening in the world and you will do anything for people to pay attention to that subject.”

He said that Lupe Fiasco was so personally moved, the rapper went into the studio to do a track for Haiti, “Resurrection,” produced by Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda and on which Kenna joined him. The video for the song premiered on MTV on Wednesday, March 10 and the track benefits Music For Relief’s “Download To Donate For Haiti,” which also features tracks by Dave Matthews Band and Linkin Park, among others.

“[He] did something, beyond the climb, on his own. That’s what this is about – being active, finding what you love and engaging it, and knowing that you have people who are going to back you, to support that mission,” Kenna said.

And this year’s climb may not be the last – Kenna added that he’d like to do another, or something else to keep the cause at the forefront.

“It comes down to the story,” he said. “It has to mean something. It has to have relevance. Otherwise, it’s not worth doing just to do it.”

In the meantime, the musician is working on a new album, “Songs For Flight,” due early next year. Beyond his collaboration with Lupe, he’s done a charity track of his own – “Turn,” which benefits Summit on the Summit.

“Summit on the Summit” airs on MTV at 9 PM EST on Sunday; viewers can follow the group at www.summitonthesummit.com and help in the aid efforts by texting “SEND” to 90999.