Betcha haven't heard ...
Mikail Samuels, Youthlink Writer

Name: Makeida Beckford
Full-time occupation: Musician
Sign: Virgo
High school: St Andrew High School for Girls
Dreams of collaborating with: Jr Gong

Two thousand and nine was a big year for Makeida 'Keida' Beckford. Not only did she release her first song, Jamaican Boy, but she accepted the reality that music was something she wanted to do full time. Influenced by many different artistes and genres of music, Keida is on her way to introducing her own flavour to the Jamaican music industry. Youthlink is ready to Betcha Haven't Heard ... of Keida.

Music and arts

Youthlink (YL): Which genre of music are you most comfortable singing and why?

Keida (K): Well, ... for me it would have to be dancehall, simply because I think I am more of a deejay than a singjay. With dancehall, it allows me to express myself, and I feel comfortable doing it. It comes natural to me and I don't have a problem with it.

YL: Your parents have made a name for themselves in the field of visual arts. Do you find it hard to walk in their footsteps?

K: I would have to say no, because it's in my nature, comes natural to me. Art is like music; it's something you have to practise every day in order to get better at and that's what I do, so it's not hard, really.

YL: How different was the progression from graphic art to music?

K: To be honest, music came out of the blues for me. I always sang in my bathroom, but I never thought of taking music seriously. It is something that I would say just came to me and the transition was OK, I guess, simply because I already had an ear for music.

Mixing both

YL: You do music, you have a bachelor of fine arts degree in visual communication and graphic design, plus you have other interests. What are your intentions?

K: Well, ... even though I have my BA in fine arts, I have already done set design, so what I intend to do is to use it in my music videos, create sets for my videos and become interactive with my product, so that I can help to direct my videos.

YL: Keida's music is old school with new rules. What is one of those rules?

K: It's simple. It has an old-school sound fused with a new-school mix. I intend to be different and combine dancehall with reggae. With that, I hope to create something new though persons would say stick to one thing; if you're doing dancehall do dancehall, but I want to do both.

YL: Complete the following: In the next year Jamaica should look out for Keida doing ...

K: More music, more music videos and coming out with bigger and better things in terms of developing myself in the industry.

For more information, check her out at www.myspace.com/keidamusic or www.facebook.com/pages/Keida/102540277184?v=info