Though he had no experience in music production, Miguel Haynes has always been aware of the rich dancehall heritage of Seaview Gardens. That, and his love for music, led to him establishing a state-of-the-art recording facility there.

Deadly Beats Recording Studio was officially opened on January 1 and is already creating a buzz in the community, which has produced a number of top-flight artistes including Grammy winner Shabba Ranks, Bounty Killer, Elephant Man and Nitty Kutchie.

“I have no background in music production, just simply the love for the music. I grew up in a yard surrounded by music and lots of musicians,” said Haynes.

Originally from Big Yard on Orange Street in West Kingston, Haynes decided to open the studio to help aspiring artistes.

“It’s so important for it to be in Seaview Gardens because Seaview is a musical factory. You could never find a better community to build a studio than in Seaview Gardens,” he said.

Haynes plans to build on Seaview Gardens’ impressive musical legacy. It has also produced the Scare Dem Crew (which included Elephant Man and Nitty Kutchie), Blackmann and high-riding singer Dexta Daps.

Haynes employs a number of engineers and producers at Deadly Beats, who also assist in production and creation of the studio’s songs. Its acts include Wilful Skillful, Seggy Inkk and Night Owl.

According to Haynes, since it opened, the studio has been inundated with artistes seeking to ‘buss’.

“January 1 was di opening because we wanted to start di year with good vibes an’ give persons such as producers an’ artistes an opportunity to see di place an’ check out di equipment an’ everything else,” Haynes shared.

Financial investment to set up Deadly Beats studio is significant. However, Haynes declined to reveal figures.

“As far as cost to build, I just look at it as an investment, like any other business. I don’t even keep track of how much money it cost,” he said. “I acquired a little equipment because I already had some. I just needed to get some of di latest equipment that was needed so that di studio would have a different sound an’ feel from anything else.”

While Seaview Gardens has strong music credentials, it also has a history of gang violence. Haynes was asked how the studio would cope with any domestic friction.

“Gang violence is everywhere when youths don’t have anything to look towards. They then turn to a lot of things, but di plan is to give the youths a better opportunity than they have right now. Ninety-five per cent of di youths in Seaview love music, so one youth off di street is one youth keeping out of trouble,” he stressed. “If you pass through Seaview, all these youths talk about is music. War is far from their minds, so I don’t worry.”