It’s hard for many youth from Seaview Gardens to avoid the lure of music. The St Andrew community has produced a flurry of top dancehall artistes, including Grammy-winner Shabba Ranks, Bounty Killer, Elephant Man, and Dexta Daps.

Lisimba Taylor never got into singing or being a deejay, but music production always intrigued him. He recently made his début as a producer with Simple Dutt, a song by high-riding deejay Skeng.

The single, co-produced by D Advocate Entertainment, was released in late June.

“Music has always been my therapy… the production aspect was introduced to me by my friend. Seeing him working on recordings and rhythms day by day got me fascinated and intrigued. So one day I asked to take his place on a project that he had, just to see if I could and the rest is history,” said Taylor.

The head of D Advocate Entertainment made the link with Skeng, who agreed to voice a song for the fledgling producers. With dancehall music riddled with countless producers, Taylor is aware of the competitive arena into which he has ventured.

“I’m planning on bringing a different sound to create peace and love to the game,” he said.

Seaview Gardens is considered one of contemporary dancehall’s main arteries. While he is familiar with the elders who set the pace, like Shabba Ranks and Bounty Killer, Taylor is more taken with young turks such as Dexta Daps.

He is a past student of St Andrew Technical High School.

— Howard Campbell