![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/loopnewslive.blob.core.windows.net\/liveimage\/sites\/default\/files\/8Mf7i8hmry.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nGrowing up, Kelly was deeply immersed in the church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His father and brother played drums in church and he joined them around the age of four.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI played for years till I was seven or eight. When my dad migrated, I went to the US to check him in Charlotte, North Carolina and one day I went up on the Cartoon Network website and there was this game where you could make your own compositions by dragging and dropping loops. I did that every day and then when I went back to Trinidad and my mum bought me a laptop for school so I was just on it constantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy sister took me to her friend\u2019s house one day and that was the wife of gospel singer Koen Duncan. He had a studio and when I saw it I was like whey this real nice. I saw the speakers, keyboards, guitar and it felt familiar because I was like always around instruments. I say I have to do this thing so I went home, I downloaded FL Studio and when I realise what I could do with it I was on it every day, every single day. I used to get in trouble for being too lazy, always on my laptop. I get in real trouble for my music,\u201d said Kelly who used to duck classes at Pleasantville Senior Comprehensive School to work on his music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kelly started making beats that were familiar to the southern gospel music his father liked. His father was so impressed, he bought him a USB microphone that Kelly requested for his birthday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo I started singing because I had no artist to work with. I started taking Drake\u2019s old songs and remaking the words into gospel songs. I put that on a CD and sold that in church. I couldn\u2019t wait on anybody. I definitely knew I wasn\u2019t going to do anything else in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said when his parents saw that he was trying to do gospel they supported him. They bought him another computer and the rest of his equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey start me off. I dropped my first original song on radio with me and fella called Christopher Sanayhie called \u2018Focus\u2019. The song did real good, it was playing on radio plenty. That was the first time I had that kind of experience. I reached out to plenty gospel artistes. Nisa, a gospel singer, sent me to a Jadee and he end up doing a song over a soca riddim called \u2018Going Back for What\u2019 and that ended up doing real good. After that artistes started reaching out,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Acknowledging the criticism over the violent lyrics in dancehall songs, Kelly said while many of the artistes sing positive, uplifting songs, they don\u2019t get the same popularity as the gunman songs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, he said, beyond the lyrics, the movement is providing a beacon of hope for the youth in the impoverished communities as it transforms the lives of the artistes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI have seen the change,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cI see plenty artistes change from how they were and try to help friends, try to put other men on. Swanny pulling in other artistes under him and giving their friends a forward, they not trying to do it alone. They are trying to spread a positive message, even though they sing a lil badness in their music which I don\u2019t agree with all the time, they try to tell people there is a better way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As the genre grows, so does Kelly\u2019s popularity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That landed him an audience with Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley where he demonstrated the art of making beats at the PM\u2019s recent Friday Night Lime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat experience was real cool. I get to meet the Prime Minister from producing dancehall. It was something I didn\u2019t expect. It felt good to see the Prime Minister take interest in what young people are doing and put aside the negative messages in the music and focus on the craft,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Asked what he would like to see the winning party do for the people in his industry after the elections, Kelly said he never felt like he needed help from the Government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOnce I continue working, opportunity will come to me. I may not speak for the majority because I didn\u2019t grow up as hard as others but all I need is a laptop and headphones. I don\u2019t need nothing else,\u201d he said, stating that many youth simply need access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen Kamla gave out laptops in schools, that birth a whole generation of DJs. In Point Fortin alone it have about 50 DJs. Access. That is all they need. A computer gives you access to many things and starting many different careers.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Joshua Kelly grew up in church and made his name as a music producer doing gospel songs. Today, he is the most sought after producer for Trinidad and Tobago\u2019s dancehall artistes, producing songs such as Prince Swanny\u2019s \u2018Catch 22\u2019 and \u2018Real Mad Dogs\u2019, the late K Lion\u2019s \u2018Say\u2019, the late Rebel Sixx\u2019s \u2018Uncrowned King\u2019 and the \u2018Covid-19 riddim featuring a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":3067,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[71],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/loopnewslive.blob.core.windows.net\/liveimage\/sites\/default\/files\/VOfMo8t0bY.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n