Biography
Karl Reid, professionally known as Shootii, is an industrious dancehall recording artist based in New York City.
Though Shootii currently resides in New York, he was born in Trout Hall, Clarendon, where he lived with his grandparents until the tender age of twelve. He then moved to Kingston to be with his mother as his grandparents relocated to Nigeria. While in Clarendon, he attended the Trout Hall All Age School and was passionately involved in track and field. Even though he was extremely good in the sport, he did not follow through with it because he ended up leaving the school to join his mother in Kingston.
Upon arriving in Kingston, Shootii soon realized that his mother could not afford to send him to school so he took it upon himself to learn a trade. He got into tailoring (which he learnt from a friend in West Kingston) and became so good at it that he considered pursuing it as a career. However, he only spent about five years in Kingston, because at age seventeen, he had to move again, this time to join his father in New York City.
As he transitioned from a boy to a man in New York’s rich and diverse musical culture, Shootii slowly began to get into the entertainment industry. Growing up he was always drawn to music on some level, whether it was taking part in church services (which were insisted on by his grandparents), or listening to a lot of 80’s and 90’s dancehall and being captivated by the lyrical prowess of artists like Lt. Stitchie and Buju Banton. Music always fascinated him! As such, once he became a U.S. citizen he began travelling back and forth between Jamaica and New York, networking and learning as much as he could about the craft of music. On one of his many trips, he got the opportunity to see Buju Banton rehearse at Penthouse Recording Studio in Kingston; he decided then and there that he was going to commit himself entirely to the music business.
He met and developed a close relationship with recording artist Frisco Kid, who took it upon himself to teach him as much as he could about the dancehall industry. Frisco Kid also opened a lot of doors for him by introducing him to Beenie Man and members of the Shocking Vibes Crew. In addition to that, Shootii also got a chance to record at Buju Banton’s Cell Block studio. He did a song entitled “Big Gun No Fun,” which unfortunately did not get a lot of promotion because he had to return to America.
After years of keeping a low profile, Shootii met and began working with Chemist in 2017 (a producer who is linked with established artists: Spice, Aidonia and others). He recorded and released a catchy dancehall single, “Long Time,” which was inspired by a friend’s betrayal. Since its release, the song has been getting good rotation on radio stations in Jamaica, America and the UK. Shootii and his team are now committed to promoting the record while simultaneously working on new music.
FOLLOW SHOOTII ON ALL HIS SOCIAL SITES:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/shootii_music
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shootii_music
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Shootii-416549488783656
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuJAtEKSrcUqTT7NatA5NhA
