KEZNAMDI
Q&A
(February 2026)
Photo credit: Ivor Mccray
Below is a Q&A with compelling Kingston, Jamaica–born singer-songwriter Keznamdi, the 2026 Grammy Award winner for “Best Reggae Album” for BLXXD & FIYAH.
His music feels like a passport stamp: rooted in reggae’s spiritual backbone yet shaped by a life lived across continents. Keznamdi spent his formative years in Tanzania and later completed high school in Ethiopia, absorbing East African rhythm, culture, and communal spirit, elements that still echo through his melodies and cadence.
In this Q&A with Keznamdi, he talks about his Grammy win, influences, unique upbringing, and philosophy on life.
KEZNAMDI
Q&A
•Winning a Grammy Award is for many a life-changing experience. Can you describe the feeling when you heard you’d won and the significance of the award for your career?
Keznamdi: I think it’s definitely a life-changing experience and a dream come true for any aspiring musician. But it’s bigger than that for me as a grass roots artist, to be able to represent such a sacred culture and a music that is more than just entertainment on the global stage is a humbling experience. It also reminds me how important it is to stay focused and not get distracted by why we chose to write such an album in the first place.
•Your songs movingly capture the feelings of existing in a difficult world and offer hope through positivity. How do you maintain that balance in your music and in your life?
Keznamdi: I’m a blessed individual to have a strong foundation of parents who are real revolutionaries who dedicate their lives to culture and the betterment of humanity. I also have a strong team of managers and creative directors who I genuinely feel the almighty brought into my life as my guardian angels.
•When someone leaves a concert of yours, what do you want
them to take away from it?
Keznamdi: The concert for me is the connection part of the music, it’s where I get to connect with the listener and I hope that connection will inspire someone to look deep within themself or just to be a tool for someone in these hard times!!!
•Your music obviously draws upon your experiences from living in many different places throughout your life including being born in Kingston. What have been some highlights?
Keznamdi: I had a very unique upbringing with parents of the Rastafari faith but also growing up in Tanzania and Ethiopia as a Jamaican. I feel like that’s a superpower that gave me tools to connect with all walks of life, whether that’s from the inner cities of Jamaica to Africa to the first world.
•If you could have a conversation with anyone who’s living or dead, who would it be and why?
Keznamdi: As I said I’m grateful to have the parents I have. My father is a very wise and spiritual man, and I give thanks he’s still here with me and whenever I’m in his presence it’s not only a joy but always a reminder of Self!!!
•Beyond music, where do you draw inspiration from? Any particular films, books or anything else?
Keznamdi: This little thing called life is greatest inspiration, even a dog or a bird can teach you something!!!
•Which famous historical event would you like to have witnessed and why?
Keznamdi: I don’t really look at life like that. All I have is my experience and I know nothing outside of that.
•What was the most memorable concert you attended and how did it affect you?
Keznamdi: I remember going to a Raging Fyah concert, a grass roots band from Jamaica when I was younger and I just remember how profound it made me feel about the new conscious music coming out of Jamaica.
•Which album by another artist has had a profound effect on your life?
Keznamdi: I think like everyone else, the entire Marley family has done great works in humanity but also Burning Spear.
•If you record a cover song with an artist outside your genre, which song would that be and who would you like your collaborator to be?
Keznamdi: There is a song that I cover when I’m on tour by a very special artist. That song is “Valerie” by Amy Winehouse, she’s a very special soul and I truly love her songs.
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About Keznamdi
Keznamdi is a Kingston, Jamaica–born singer-songwriter whose music feels like a passport stamp: rooted in reggae’s spiritual backbone, but shaped by a life lived across continents. Raised in a home where his parents led the reggae outfit Chakula, an environment that made music feel less like a dream and more like daily language he was recording early, contributing his first track (“Mix A Color”) at just five years old.
That foundation expanded into a truly global perspective. Keznamdi spent formative years in Tanzania and later completed high school in Ethiopia, absorbing East African culture, rhythm, and community elements that still echo through his melodies and cadence today. He eventually relocated to California to attend St. Mary’s College on a soccer scholarship, and when an injury redirected his path, music became the central focus not as a fallback, but as destiny arriving on schedule.
Sonically, Keznamdi stands at the intersection of tradition and now: a sweet blend that threads reggae and dancehall with global influences (including Bongo Flava, R&B, and rap), delivered with a writer’s intent and a performer’s warmth. As he puts it: “My music is a message…everyone of my song dem have a purpose.”
Over the years, his catalog has traced a steady climb—beginning with Bridging the Gap (2013), featuring collaborations like “My Love For You” with Chronixx and “Darkness” with Kabaka Pyramid. He followed with Skyline Levels Vol. 1 (2017), home to “Victory” (ft. Chronixx), and the project debuted at No. 3 on the iTunes reggae album charts (per Berklee). His debut full-length album Bloodline arrived in 2020, setting the stage for a bigger statement to come.
That statement is BLXXD & FYAH (released August 22, 2025): a bold, narrative-driven body of work that frames “blood” as sacrifice and “fyah” as transformation “a call…a message…a movement” with the fire aimed squarely at injustice. Featuring Kelissa, Mavado, Marlon Asher, and Masicka, the album expands Keznamdi’s world while keeping its moral center intact. The impact has already reached music’s highest stage: BLXXD & FYAH earned Keznamdi his first GRAMMY® for Best Reggae Album at the 68th Annual GRAMMY Awards (2026 GRAMMYs).
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