Usain Bolt To Team Up With Dancehall Producer Dave Kelly, Says Cham
International Dancehall artist Cham says Dancehall heavyweight Dave Kelly, the producer behind some of the genre’s most iconic riddims and Cham’s biggest hit songs, will be working on musical productions with Usain Bolt and his A-Team Lifestyle label.
Cham was responding to questions posed by Anthony Miller during Friday night’s episode of The Entertainment Report, about whether the reclusive Pepperseed producer was “going to rock the Dancehall word yet again” and whether he was going to play a part in adding depth to, and crafting the “new sound coming out of Jamaica”, going forward.
“Dave Kelly has never stopped rocking the Dancehall space. If you listen Buju Banton’s album, the two biggest songs on the album, Trust and Blessed are produced and written by Dave Kelly,” Cham explained.
“So probably he’s just behind the scene. And he is a man that just like to be heard and not seen, why a lot of people don’t know that’s Dave’s work, behind the scenes. But he is there, he is working on my project right now, and he will be doing a lot of stuff in the future with Team Bolt and A Team,” the Calabar High School old boy added.
A prolific songwriter as well as producer, Dave Kelly has been the man behind many of Buju Banton’s hits such including Bogle, Big it up, How It Ago Go and Man A Look Yuh and Batty Rider. The duo worked closely in the 1990s, with Kelly being one of the architects behind the Gargamel’s breakthrough album, Mr. Mention and also co-producer of Til Shiloh.
Now 51, Dave Kelly has released some of the most popular, timeless and influential Dancehall beats including Pepperseed, Joyride, Showtime, Fiesta, and 85.
His Madhouse label also created the Bogle, The Bug, Arab, Mi Nuh Know, Heartbeat, Medicine, Stink, Rae Rae and Haunted riddims.
Among some of the biggest hits produced by Kelly are Action by Terror Fabulous and Nadine Sutherland in 1994 which was also written by him, Look by Bounty Killer in 1999, Sycamore Tree by Lady Saw, Dude by Beenie Man & Ms. Thing 2003 on the Fiesta riddim, which was featured on Beenie Man’s album Back to Basics; Slam by Beenie Man, and Ghetto Story by Cham.
Dave Kelly who is the brother of record producer Tony “CD” Kelly, began his career as an engineer in the late 1980s. He started Madhouse along with business partner Janet Davidson in 1991 after getting into producing at Donovan Germain’s Penthouse label.
The infectious Pepperseed riddim, which spawned several hit songs, was released in 1994. It was the maiden riddim on his Madhouse label and turned out to be one of the biggest riddims in Dancehall history.
Pepperseed featured songs such as Things A Gwaan by Spragga Benz, Wifee by Dugsy Ranks, Frisco Kid’s Big Speech, No Gyal by Louie Culture, Big Things and Dapper by Daddy Screw; No More by Gary Minott, Loving Excess by Wayne Wonder and Don Yute, Tan So Good by Chippy Ranks, and Man A Look Yuh by Buju Banton.
Kelly’s Joyride riddim spawned hits such as Tanya Stephens’ Yuh Nuh Ready fi Dis Yet and Rubbers by Frisco Kid.
Last November, veteran Dancehall artist General Degree had revealed that Dave Kelly had written Beenie Man’s Old Dog and Frisco Kid’s Think Wi Nice and given him first choice to voice either song.
The lyrics to the three songs were written by Dave with a pencil on sheets of paper and shown to him.
However, the Manchester native said he opted out, as he was uncomfortable with the lyrics of both tracks which were written for Kelly’s Duggu Duggu riddim which also featured songs such as Wayne Wonder’s Glamour Girl, More Wood by Baby Cham and Duggu Duggu by Stranger.
The Brinks artist said he instead chose the third song the Madhouse producer introduced him to, Heavy Man, as the lyrics were less risqué, but said that he was still reticent, as the song was still too braggadocio for his taste.
Degree said the day he was asked by Kelly to take his pick of the songs was still etched in his memory, as the producer was the first songwriter he encountered who wrote lyrics using a pencil.
Degree said later on Dave Kelly also wrote Old Dog and introduced him to the lyrics, and asked him to voice the song on the Stink riddim. However, he said he shunned the song as the lyrics were not in keeping with his modest image, and the song was later voiced by Beenie Man.
The Stink riddim was a massive success with chart-toppers such as Merciless’ Gal Dem Gizzada, Captain Barkey’s Go Go Wine, Alley Cat’s Hot Gyal; Baby Cham’s The Mass, and Beenie Man’s Old Dog. Kelly’s own Girls Anthem, which he released under the moniker “Rude Boy Kelly”, Tony Curtis’ Do You Wanna, Spragga Benz’ Girl Watchers, and Wayne Wonder & Frisco Kid’s Dreamland were also successes.