ABOUT

zeee

Zeee’s Love for music came to life the day that his older brother introduced him to the rising genre of hip-hop in the early 80’s. In ‘85 his mom brought him a CASIO SK-5 keyboard and there was no turning back. With the aid of this machine, Zeee began his journey into producing his first set of beats, sampling little snippets of music from the radio, old records, cassettes, and even from TV programs.

In ‘92, his evolving production skills were put to the test, as a founding member of the rap group, Spook Hall, where Zeee promptly took on the role of beat maker. Still armed with his CASIO keyboard in one hand and a YAMAHA drum machine in the other, the group began to hone their recording skills with the scarce equipment they had.

With many group members coming and going, Zeee continued to foster both his production and rapping skills as the years went by. In the summer of ‘96 a friend of his, Jawanza King, managed to acquire a Tascam 8-track recorder. With one step closer to a formal studio setting, Zeee, along with the other members of Spook Hall, recorded a number of songs.

That same year, Zeee returned to England to continue his collegiate education, where he was also involved with a British rap group by the name of Lyrical Cast. They linked up with a studio and recorded a track he produced, entitled Lyrical Cast, inspired by the group’s name.

Confident in his production skill and having earned his college degree, Zeee moved to the United States of America in October ‘98 to pursue the music career he dreamt of since he first heard hip hop in the 80’s. This was not an easy task as he had yet to acquire adequate equipment to produce his music. That Spring, he began working at a golf course in Westchester County and with the money that he earned, he purchased an Ensonique ASR-X to continue on his musical journey. Yet as soon as he took one step forward, he was forced to take two steps back and leave the USA. Frustrated, but not fazed by this notion, he left for the island where he grew up – St. Vincent. With his new equipment in tow, nothing was going to stop him now.

2000 – the birth of HYSYANZ RECORDINGS….a new era for Zeee. With his new production company, Zeee planned to help other local artistes who did not have the luxury of getting there music recorded. During these early stages, he was given a lot of helpful advice from another local producer Adrian Bailey (creator of Kevin Lyttle’s Hit song “Turn Me On”). His production taste began to shift from hip hop to dancehall and soca, the ever-evolving genres of music in the Caribbean.

Zeee soon experienced musical success having released a number of albums and singles, including Spook Hall’s “THIS IS IT NOW” and “T.W.G”, Man From Yard 1,2 and 3, Soca Storm, and the Flood Storm Riddim. However, Zee still felt restrained and unable to show his full potential as a producer. In 2005, with the encouragement of his mentor Cherry Inca, he left for the States yet again with all of his equipment, $48 dollars in his pocket, and determination in his heart.

To be continued…

CLICK TP PLAY Slow Mo

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.