Kenyatta recorded in the mid-1960s with bebop saxophonist Sonny Stitt and pianist Valerie Capers before playing with the free-jazz groups of saxophonist Bill Dixon, trombonist Roswell Rudd, and pianist Andrew Hill. He made several albums as a leader in the late '60s and early '70s, and had recorded occasionally since, most recently releasing Cool Blue in 2001. His later recordings combined elements of fusion, pop, and soul-jazz; his biggest hit was a 1973 cover of the theme from the film Last Tango in Paris.

A resident of Switzerland for much of the last two decades, Kenyatta taught at the Ecole de Jazz et Musique Actuelle and founded the Hello Jazz Music School in Lausanne.