At 24 years old, Keanu Gordon has created waves in the entertainment field. He started out as a photographer, then four years ago became music video director Shot by Deth.

Among the videos he has directed are Guard Ring by Teejay, Clip Tall by Iwaata, Soon Time by Jeff Fullyauto, Good Name by Chronic Law, Dawkiss Life by SVM, and Kraff and Light Up by Intence.

“I started out as a photographer. I used to take photos of celebrities and just caught them at the moment doing random stuff. I also focused on regular people and did candid shots of them. I later did photos at parties and events as a means to an end. I enjoyed doing recap videos, but I wanted to focus on the dancehall and capture different moments. So, I put out that type of content and created that kinda vibe,” Shot by Deth disclosed in an interview with the Jamaica Observer‘s Splash.

Originally from Havendale, he attended Ardenne High School and University of Technology (UTech), Jamaica for a short time, studying entrepreneurship.

After leaving UTech, he went into photography. His next stop was directing music videos.

“Photography is still just taking pictures, so it can really take you so far and no more, unless you’re willing to commit. I didn’t want that, I wanted to dabble more into the full space,” said Shot by Deth. “I started watching old videos and took note of the camera angles and how certain shots would look. And with the little YouTube knowledge, I started doing music videos.”

Getting clientele in his new field was not difficult.

“I used to shoot photos of celebrities, so when most of my clients heard that I was doing music videos, they wanted to work with me,” Shot by Deth explained. “To me, taking photos was like storytelling. So, moving it up a notch, and you’re trying to tell a story, really piqued my interest. Now, I can sit down and orchestrate a whole video. I think music videos were more palatable for me.”

Palatable but also controversial. Many Jamaican videos are graphic and depict the violence some artistes argue is a reflection of Jamaica’s reality.

Shot By Deth is aware of this.

“Yes, I am concerned. Sometimes I’ll hear a song and I’d be like, that song is tough and then the music video just doesn’t add up and it makes me lose love for the song. If a man can provide you with a solid instrumental and then a next man can provide you with some solid vocals, then the least you can do is provide them with some solid visuals, from the cover artwork to the music video,” he said.

Shot By Deth’s entry into production came from his passion for music.

“I just love music from when I was growing up. When I was living in Havendale, I used to see artistes around the community at the studios, so it never did come een like nuttin to transcend to music production,” he said.

To date, Shot By Deth has produced songs by Intence, Iwaata, Bakersteez, 7 Daze, Tyrant, Projexx, Joe Grime, Jahshii, A1 Milli and Prince Swaany.

“My end game is to be that bridge to create superstars for the world to see. I want to be able to show the youth that the world is a very big place. They don’t need to focus on ‘bussing’ here in Jamaica, there are other markets that they can focus on making that impact with their music,” he said.