Keznamdi

“This is not a choice or hobby for me, Music chose me. it’s a way of life and the only thing I have ever known,” explains a passionate Keznamdi, describing why his path has already been carved out in stone.

Keznamdi’s fate as a musician was inevitable, growing up with his parents who are lead singers of international reggae band—Chakula, touring the world and recording their 10 albums in the recording studio, located in his own home, buried in the lush St. Andrew hills of Jamaica.

Keznamdi ate, breathed and slept music. After countless nights falling asleep beside the strum of his fathers guitar, and hanging out backstage with his sisters at Reggae concerts, Kez already knew all the words to his parents’ songs at a very young age, bouncing perfectly on that infectious Reggae beat.

Not surprisingly, Keznamdi recorded his first song at 5 years old—“Mix a Color”—an educational song about color mixing, inspired by his mother’s background in early childhood education at Harvard University. Already a natural and crowd pleaser on stage, he jumped at the opportunity to perform Mix a Color at his moms album release tours for her popular children’s album “Save the World” which became a viral hit in primary schools across Jamaica.

Keznamdi and his sisters were placed in music schools throughout their childhood and each began to flourish as individual musicians in college.

2013 saw him make his debut with the independent Bridging the Gap EP, scoring #1 on iTunes Top Reggae Albums Chart and the Billboard Reggae Albums Chart. He quietly built a fan base with consistent performances around Jamaica, maintaining a prolific output in the process. He joined forces with one of Jamaica’s most famous producers for the song “Grade,” which continued to stoke excitement.

During 2015, he made waves around the world by joining forces with ZHU and A-Trak on the hypnotic crossover hit “As Crazy As It Is,” which cracked 10 million Spotify streams. Co-written with Poo Bear [Justin Bieber, Sam Smith], the single “Champion” saw him deliver another reggae #1.

In 2017, he dropped the Skyline Levels, Vol. 1 EP, and headlined his own sold-out tour, packing venues everywhere. Calling the project Skyline Levels proved important as that’s how he defines his music. He notably shot the video for “Father Protect Me” in South Central Los Angeles, telling a powerful story. Next up, the project’s triumphant single “Victory” [feat. Chronixx] scored over 1.2 million YouTube views and half-a-million streams. On its heels, “So Right” amplified the impact among fans as he embarked on a tour with his full band.

Following a string of successful projects, tens of millions of streams, and critical acclaim, Keznamdi delivered a definitive body of work in the form of his 2020 full-length debut, Bloodline. Throughout 2018 and 2019, he recorded the full-length in Jamaica, mixed in Miami, and mastered at Abbey Road Studios in London. Along the way, his vision crystallized with universal ambition. Fittingly, he opens the album with “Skyline Drive.” Sunny acoustic guitar and samples of sirens and smoking underscore his bouncy delivery as he welcomes listeners to his old stomping grounds. Elsewhere, “City Lock” [feat. Tory Lanez] tempers his rapid cadence with a robust beat. It climaxes on a hypnotic and harmonic cameo from multi-platinum recording artist Tory, adding another dimension to this buoyant banger. Elsewhere, church-style organ swells towards another island-inflected beat on “Morning Comes” as “Queen of the Ghetto” spins “the story of a queen” over cinematic production. In many ways, the title track perfectly encapsulates the overarching theme and message. In the end, Bloodline will make you treasure Keznamdi’s legacy and even your own.