EMERGING producer Karey Kelly has teamed up with Popcaan to produce a song decrying the havoc caused by the island’s warring gangs and the high rate of murder in Jamaica.

“The violence in Jamaica has reached epidemic proportions, cause when you hear stories about babies being killed and kids being shot as a result of these criminals, it really pains the heart,” said Kelly, principal of Karey Records.

The song, Find Them, was released on July 3. It is co-produced on Karey Records and Popcaan’s Unruly Entertainment labels. The song’s accompanying video was directed by Ezra Tafari.

According to the latest crime statistics from the Jamaica Constabulary Force, up to July 10, 2021, the number of people killed is 743, a 3.9 per cent increase over the corresponding period last year.

Kelly said he was introduced to Popcaan through a mutual acquaintance.

“My friend Travis Chromatic introduced me to Popcaan. One Sunday, I made a rhythm and the following Monday, I linked up at Popcaan and played the rhythm, and the rest was history. The making of the song was very unorthodox. It was recorded outside,” he said.

Kelly, a graduate of Wolmer’s High School for Boys, has worked with Vybz Kartel, Beenie Man, Intence, Jahvillani, and Popcaan in the past.

“I was always fascinated by rhythms from when I was in prep school, I always thought that Stephen Di Genius’s productions just sounded futuristic and cool, so by time I started high school in 2009 I got the programme FL Studio from former music producer-cum-athlete Julian Forte and I started making beats,” he said.

A junior national representative in track and field at the time, Karey found it difficult to do both music and sports.

“My first official production that got me a little buzz in the streets was Chronic Law’s Wild Wild West in 2019, when the whole 6ix movement was happening,” he said.