Kelby Tejeda Birthday: October 18, 1984
Born: New York, NY
Raised: Staten Island (Shaolin)
NY Occupation: Producer/Engineer/Songwriter
“If music is your world, then step into NewGround,” and that’s exactly what Kelby Tejeda did. Kelby has loved music as early as the age of three. Growing up in a Dominican single parent household, Kelby would run around making as much noise as possible with his Güira, a commonly used Dominican instrument, and perform in front of his family. He would constantly plead with his mother for piano lessons, guitar lessons, or any lessons involving music. Forced to learn the importance of money by hearing his mother constantly say “we can’t afford it,” Kelby never let that deviate his passion and dream to pursue the only thing that made him happy, music.
Years later, Kelby and a couple of friends started a singing group. Among one of the members was, his best friend, and CEO of NewGround Entertainment, Haghi “NV” Suka. The group quickly gained local recognition singing at talent shows, school functions, and anywhere they were given the opportunity to be heard. Unfortunately, the group had to split up due to unforeseen circumstances.
The road didn’t end there for Kelby. Although he didn’t pursue the singing route, he realized he had an interest in another part of music he wasn’t fully exposed to yet, producing/engineering. The idea he could be the one putting together the sounds that made him fall in love with music in the first place, gave Kelby an even bigger reason to follow his dream. Studying and learning from producers such as, Wu-Tang’s RZA, Timbaland, Dr. Dre and Swizz Beats, he worked on his own style, and became completely dedicated on making his mark in the music industry.
Kelby is now the VP and producer/engineer of the independent music label NewGround Entertainment LLC. He is Currently making tracks for, the princess of NewGround, Elizabeth Styles, up and coming Reggeaton and Spanish Hip-Hop artist Fuerza, and R&B sensation, Haghi “NV” Suka. Look out for Kelby and the entire NewGround family hitting the net as soon as 2008.