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      Renée-Lauren Ellis

On August 9 2005, Tony “CD” Kelly released the Katana riddim on the K-Licious Music/LAP Entertainment with only 19 songs – more songs than he’d like. Not one to sacrifice quality for quantity, Tony keeps a tight reign on the number of songs voiced on his riddims. “All of my songs have substance,” he noted in our phone interview, as he was in the studio working with sister-trio Brick & Lace. In addition to taking an active role in writing most of the songs featured on the riddim, Tony’s own company will be distributing Katana. This is the first time he’s had the opportunity to take the reigns in both the distribution and marketing/publicity aspect of a riddim. The riddim, which features songs by Shaggy, Wayne Wonder, Tanya Stephens, Bounty Killer, Tami Chin, Voicemail and other up-and-coming artists, benefited from an extensive promotional campaign that included a review in Vibe as well ads in The Source and on BET and All Hiphop.com.

Tony feels that self-distribution makes the process “more transparent” and allows him to have more control over his music, which will allow him to push what he feels are the top songs on the riddim (especially Bounty’s Top Billing) instead of leaving the decision up to a handful of execs who don’t understand the Hart & Soul of dancehall. He also accurately notes that most of the major labels have no idea how to market Reggae (and Dancehall) so “we must show them.” He encourages producers and artists to push for what they believe in instead of leaving decisions up to other people. And after close to 20 years in the business that includes producing many of dancehall’s biggest hits, Tony and his team are more than qualified to help chart a sustainable course for dancehall in mainstream American music.

HIS MUSIC
Of course everyone knows the name CD Kelly for producing hit riddims like Bookshelf, Buyout and Unda Wata but those riddims are a mere fraction of this man’s accomplished and stellar resume. His discography reads like a Who’s Who of Dancehall’s finest and most memorable hits. He’s worked with Tanya Stephens (Goggle), Snow & Friends (Anything For You), DMX, Sean Paul & Mr. Vegas (Top Shotta), Beenie Man & Chevelle Franklin (Dancehall Queen) and Lady Saw (Hice It Up). He also co-produced Mad Cobra’s Hard to Wet, Easy to Dry (it featured hits like Flex) and several songs on Patra’s hit album Queen of the Pack (including Queen of the Pack, Hardcore and Worker Man) and worked extensively with Shaggy on his latest album (to be released in September/October).

King of the Dancehall by Beenie Man, another of Tony’s latest big hits (even though he thinks he could have mixed it better…go figure), is voiced on a riddim he created in memory of Shocking Vibes manager and friend of Beenie Man, Paul Tyrell (a fact that Beenie did not find out until he had completed the song). The song highlighted the cross-over appeal of CD Kelly produced tracks.

Recently, he earned a BMI Urban Music Awards for producing Sean Paul’s Like Glue, which he calls “the highlight of my career” that left him feeling “joyous” as the people in the room recognized and acknowledged him for producing the hit song. Tony was also the co-producer on the Reggae Grammy® nominated Def Jam compilation album that featured Dancehall and Hip-Hop stars. His international success he feels is fuelled by catchy hooks, quality lyrics and staying true to what he believes. “I’m not in the business just for the money…I’m trying to elevate the music and the country.” Anything less would not be acceptable for him.

Just as important as his awards and recognition Tony is working, and hoping that other producers and artists do the same, to capitalize on the success of Sean Paul and exposure it brought to Dancehall. But he laments the fact the “nobody not writing properly” as more and more riddims feature a plethora of songs with little or no real lyrical value, not to mention that many riddims are getting faster and faster leading Dancehall to a more Soca sound. Even though he has worked with Soca artists before, most notably Machel Montana on Big Phat Fish, he feels that we need to stay true to our Dancehall roots in everything including the bare bones technicality of the speed of the beat. He points to Junior Gong’s big hit Jamrock as the level to which people in the business should aspire, and stresses that he tries to include positive and uplifting messages in his music. He also points to the general lack of quality in Dancehall’s lyrics as a reason why ‘One Drop’ has done so well. Not only did it allow singers to be in the spotlight but the riddim seems to force more quality into song-writing, something he thinks should be featured in Dancehall as well.

THE MAN BEHIND THE MUSIC
“I’m really into my music. [I’m] into growth and making other people survive,” CD Kelly says as he explained that it was important to use Reggae/Dancehall as a way to show ghetto youth that there’s more to life than poverty, and there’s more for them out there than guns and drugs. “Is like dem born under a cloud,” he remarks sadly. Tony’s riddims feature songs that ask questions no one wants to ask and are about real life. Even as Jamaica’s reality becomes increasingly grim with a rising crime rate and hopelessness among young people, he still wants his music to be an inspiration with the clear message that anyone “can mek it innah life” with hard work. He points to himself and his brother Dave Kelly (another super-producer) as examples of what struggle and dedication can do.

When Tony Kelly left school, he was resolute about not wanting to work for anyone else; he wanted to be his own boss. “I had an old man intention, an old man vibe” he remarks but I think nowadays we’d call it an entrepreneurial spirit. He wanted to get out of the ghetto and rise above what he was accustomed to seeing every day. So he decided to work for a little then to step out on his own. In the mid-80s, Tony began as an assistant engineer at Tuff Gong Studios under the guidance of legends Scientist and Errol Brown. From Scientist and Brown, he learned how to produce high quality tracks and about being melodious, and with their lessons in mind, Tony went on to produce for Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers, Alpha Blondy (the West African reggae star) and Maxi Priest; he also worked on the Penthouse label with Buju Banton.

By the mid-90s he’d produced for Shabba, Mad Cobra and Snow during the first international wave of Dancehall and worked to create a dancehall sound that was more accessible to the new audience of R&B and Hip-Hop lovers. By the time we worked with Patra on her album he was ready to take Dancehall to the world. His hard work and early lessons paid off as he earned his first gold record for Worker Man. He followed up this milestone with work on Shaggy’s hit albums Boombastic, Hotshot and on Buju’s Unchained Spirit.

Tony has certainly been successful at home and internationally. And he isn’t worried about becoming disconnected from the ‘real’ dancehall. “I’m born with it,” he declares and is sure that he’ll never get bored with music and will always stay true to dancehall. His refusal to simply following trends has earned him the respect of Jamaican artists and Hip-Hop/Rap artists alike. He’s enjoying Dancehall’s success and influence and hopes that as our sound becomes more incorporated into Hip-Hop that those artists will come to the ‘originals’ for collaborations instead of just hijacking the sound. Recently he worked with Kanye West and Wayne Wonder on a song for West’s forthcoming album but is especially pleased that an authentic dancehall sound will be on the song.

LOOKING FORWARD…
With Katana released, Tony is already hard at work on his next riddim. He’s working with established Jamaican artists, Ava, a “wicked” singer as well a wide range of artists from all over including The Terribles (a down South rap group), Collie Bud (a Bermudan DJ), and is trying to find a Jamaican Gospel artist. In addition to working with Brick & Lace, who are now signed to Geffen Records, he’ll again join up with the likes of Delly Ranks and Voicemail. He worked with Assassin (Dat Nuh Necessary) recently and looks forward to working with him again. And over the years he’s worked a lot with Wayne Wonder, Beenie, Shaggy, and Bounty so expect more tracks from them produced by CD Kelly.

But he’s also seriously considering making the big move from riddim-based production to contract producing, perhaps with a major label and so that he can have even more input and influence over the songs he works on. He’s also concentrating on his company, L.A.P. Entertainment, formed with wife Leanna Kelly, who is obviously a major source of inspiration and support in Tony’s life, and business partner Patrick Sutherland. He’ll also be handing over more responsibility for mixing to Claude Reynolds, his protégé (and his wife’s cousin) as he focuses more on getting the right words and feel on the riddims.

For Tony, his music should show that there’s a way out and I sensed a feeling of obligation from him to use his position to create pathways for other people coming up in the business. I also got the sense that Tony isn’t afraid of emotion – heartache, love, sadness, hope – either. He’s penned several songs about his wife (Perfect Proposal and My Kind of Lady by Wayne Wonder; Miss L.A.P by Beenie Man) and wishes that more of that true, raw emotion was communicated in Dancehall and Reggae. So while he’s busy creating songs for anyone to dance to he, CD Kelly also ensuring that his songs don’t communicate anything negative but instead communicate honest emotion and reality. He encourages young producers to “go back in the days” and listen to the work of legends like Sly & Robbie, Steely & Clevie, and to take note of the song-writing skills of someone like Beres Hammond. Most importantly, he cautions young people “Don’t become a follower.”