Beale Street Cigar Festival

Many say that great songwriters & music producers come a dime a dozen. In fact, many of them go through life undiscovered, because their “value” never gets noticed by those who do the picking. Born in the home of blues and R & B, Memphis, TN native and hit songwriter keelyn Ellis, is definitely no stranger to music. Coming from a gospel influenced family, it was no surprise that Keelyn would find himself doing what he loved. Keelyn’s journey started out at the tender age of 6 as a drummer in his church. By the time he was ten, young Keelyn would be performing live shows around town with local artists. Because of his natural ear for music, it wouldn’t be long that he would soon develop in other areas. Keelyn later learned to play the piano by ear, and would be granted the opportunity to be the youngest pianist for his elementary school chorus. Indeed, Keelyn was a child prodigy in the making. His hunger for music would open doors for him. By the time he entered middle school, Keelyn begin writing and producing tracks for his peers and neighborhood friends. His early years would definitely begin the training that would soon expose his work to the world-at-large. It was not until he decided to step out on faith that his life would change for the better. At the age of 19, Keelyn dreams became a reality when he inked a producer management deal with Bad Boy Records. It was through Bad Boy that Keelyn would develop as professional songwriter. In 2007, Bad Boy’s CEO Sean “Puffy” Combs and Grammy Award Winning Producer Bryan Michael Cox handpicked Keelyn to write the theme song for MTV’s “Making the Band 4” music reality show. The song quickly became the first hit single for the platinum group DAY 26 and earned Ellis his first gold record and world-wide success. Keelyn’s success with Bad Boy has afforded him to work with some of the music industry’s most prominent artists such as Diddy , Mario Winans, Danity Kane, Nicole Scherzenger, Loon, and Keyshia Cole to name a few. Just when he thought that he had achieved a level of success, little did he know that his star would only beginning to shine brighter. In 2009, Keelyn landed an important placement with the hit CBS-TV Show “So, You Think You Can Dance” which featured the hit “Don’t Stop” in the good dancer montage of the show. That opportunity would too be the start to many other opportunities that Keelyn would soon walk into. Though he’s only 24-years-old, Keelyn has yet to see the many milestones that he is about to embark upon in his young career. He credits many for his opportunities. With nothing to lose, but everything to gain, Keelyn approaches life with many expectations. The sky is the limit….. Many say that great songwriters & music producers come a dime a dozen. In fact, many of them go through life undiscovered, because their “value” never gets noticed by those who do the picking. In Keelyn Ellis’s case, he has become the exception to the rule.