Keeling Beckford Interview with Kimo Nichols

Keeling Beckford is a reggae renaissance man in every sense of the word. Although not well known even by most reggae fans, he has made an enormous contribution to Jamaica’s most famous export in a number of areas. Getting his start in the music business first as a vocalist, propelled to fame in Kingston and London by early reggae hits like Combination and Suzie Wong, he quickly made the transition to the roles of producer and then label owner of his own 12 Star imprint. It wasn’t long after that that he got started in the videography business, almost single-handedly giving birth to the sound system video industry. (For examples of his video legacy, just go to You Tube and search “live Jamaican sound system.”) Still going strong as a long time all-around reggae impresario, Keeling has led a fascinating, creative and incredibly productive life in the Jamaican music business. I was fortunate to be able to talk to Keeling recently over the phone recently from his home in New Jersey, where he still runs a studio and maintains a warehouse for his online retail music and video business. We talked about everything: from how he got his start as a young artist with the help of Desmond Dekker and Junior Byles, to his pioneering forays into the early NYC hip-hop scene, to his current projects. Mahalo, Keeling, for your time!