KINGSTON, Jamaica – Steely and Clevie, the dynamic duo who produced countless hit songs by various artists during the 1990s, head the honorees for the second Grammy Certificate Ceremony, scheduled here for September 13.
The event is staged by Back 2 Da Future Music Limited, a London-based publishing company, operated by Kennedy Mensah. That organization produced similar ceremonies in South Florida, Kingston and London in 2024.
“The main difference (this year) is, we have two main collaborators in the Royalty Network Inc who are a US-based music publisher that we work with. Also, we are honoring Steely and Clevie’s 40th anniversary, because it marks 40 years since the release of (singer) Nitty Gritty’s Sweet Reggae Music, which marked the beginning of Steely and Clevie as a duo,” Mensah explained.
He described last year’s shows as “an unmitigated success”. They saw many unknown artists, studio engineers, musicians, and producers getting certificates. These were for their work on Grammy-winning or Grammy-nominated albums and songs.
The certificates are authorized by the Recording Academy of America.
Singer Anthony Malvo, music producer Philip “Fatis” Burrell, and Robert Livingston will be honored. Musician Paul “Wrongmove” Crossdale, along with producers Christopher Birch and Computer Paul, will also receive recognition.
Steely and Clevie became a team after playing keyboards and drums for the Roots Radics and Generation Gap bands. They were also part of the Studio One Band. This band played on many of Freddie McGregor’s hit songs in the 1990s.
Sleeper Hit
A sleeper hit in the United Kingdom, Sweet Reggae Music launched their golden run as producers. Another massive hit for them was You Don’t Love Me (No, No, No) by Dawn Penn, which they remixed in 1994.
Steely died in 2009 at age 47.
Mensah, a former journalist, was born in London to Ghanaian parents. He has been a music publisher since 1999 and has operated Back 2 Da Future Music Ltd for 19 years.
