Tony “CD” Kelly - KING OF THE DANCEHALL

Tony “CD” Kelly
KING OF THE DANCEHALL
“I strive to innovate, never imitate,” explains Tony “CD” Kelly, whose dancehall offerings explode like boomshots heard ‘round the world.

Tony's "CD" Kelly's superior producing, mixing and writing skills have brought a host of Jamaican artists to the attention of the American market. His sound has been instrumental in creating hit songs for popular reggae /dancehall artists like Sean Paul, Wayne Wonder, Sasha, Super Cat, TOK, Shaggy (whose album “Hot Shot” sold over 10 million copies), Beenie Man (collaborated on several albums including Back To Basics, The Doctor, Art and Life and 2002's Tropical Storm) and Baby Cham ("Desperate Measures" featured on Cham's debut album, Wow… the Story).

Tony "CD" Kelly has produced recent monster hits like Sean Paul's chart topper "Like Glue" for which he won BMI Awards as a writer & a publisher. He also wrote and produced "Deport Dem" which was a major crossover hit for Sean Paul. In the history of dancehall, Kelly has had the most crossover hits of any dancehall/reggae producer. He’s lent his production skills to several Grammy Award winning or Grammy nominated albums including Sean Paul’s “Dutty Rock,” Beenie Man’s “Art And Life,” and Shaggy’s “Boombastic” to name a few.

The Def Jamaica compilation album which he is the co-executive producer for received a 2004 Grammy nomination for Best Reggae Album. The album pairs today's hottest dancehall stars with some of the biggest names in hip-hop. Tony contributed to several tracks including the first single "Anything Goes" featuring CNN, Wayne Wonder, and Lexxus, the radio friendly, "Mardi Gras – The Remix," featuring vocals by Tanto Metro & Devonte. He also produced several tracks on Wayne Wonder's latest album, No Holding Back and the second single from Kevin Lyttle's album, "She Drives Me Crazy," featuring Mr. Easy.

A self-proclaimed perfectionist, Tony began his musical journey in the mid-80's, as an assistant engineer at Jamaica's legendary Tuff Gong Studios where he learned the fundamentals of production from studio wizards Scientist and Errol Brown. From their foundation he went on to engineer groundbreaking records for Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers, West African reggae artist Alpha Blondy, lovers rock crooner Maxi Priest and a large selection of artists on Donovan Germain's Penthouse label including Buju Banton. "Scientist and Errol Brown were two good teachers," Tony says. "What they taught me reflects in the quality of the music I produce now. I'm more melodious than most," he explains. "International fans don't have to understand every word of the Jamaican dialect to dance to one of my songs or to sing the chorus."

During the early 90's, the tracks he produced for Shabba Ranks, Mad Cobra created a dancehall sound that was more accessible to a whole new audience of hip-hop and R&B fans. His work with dancehall diva Patra paid off when her album, Queen of the Pack (1993) entered the pop charts. "I created Patra's entire sound," Tony states. "I wrote, produced, and engineered nine tracks for that album, including her single, 'Worker Man,' for which I received the first gold plaque of my career."

Additional shine for Tony's growing international status includes production on the popular reggae popster Shaggy's Boombastic, released on Virgin Records and his multi-platinum selling MCA album, Hotshot, Buju Banton's Unchained Spirit for Epitaph Records, hit singles such as Snow's "Anything For You All-Star Cast Remix" and soundtrack work on feature films like Dancehall Queen (the title track, which features Beenie Man and Chevelle Franklyn), Hype Williams's Belly ("Top Shotta" featuring DMX, Sean Paul and Mr. Vegas).

He even pushed Soca music to the forefront when "Big Phat Fish," a cut off of Trinidadian Carnival king Machel Montano’s 1999 album, Any Minute Now, became a worldwide club hit and the second Soca song to ever hit the Jamaican Top Ten. The tune was voiced on the massively popular "Unda Wata" riddim, which also spawned popular tunes for several dancehall artists like Mr. Vegas and Buju Banton.

His own record label, K..Licious Music, has logged many successful releases, led by its popular “Bookshelf” riddim (Sean Paul “Deport Dem”, Sasha “Dat Sexy Body”) “Unda Wata” Riddim, “Buy Out” Riddim (Mr. Easy “Drive Me Crazy”, Sean Paul “Like Glue”, T.O.K. “Money To Burn”), Triple Spin compilation series, which makes it easy for even the most casual reggae fan to add Tony's most popular beats to his or her CD collection. Tony Kelly's latest hits includes, Shaggy “Church Heathen”, “For Yur Eyez Only”, Street Bullies riddim, Bebe & Cece Winans “He Can Handle it” from their album Still, that’s nominated for a Grammy in the Gospel R&B Contemporary category.

Tony Kelly insists on setting trends, not following them. His musical influence has traveled far beyond his hometown of Kingston, Jamaica, setting trends that music lovers worldwide are more than happy to follow. "With every new release I always try to switch it up. Keep people interested."