Ansel Collins was born in 1949 in Kingston, Jamaica. He initially embarked on his musical journey as a drummer before transitioning to keyboards in the mid-1960s. By the late 1960s, he was performing with the Invincibles band, alongside notable musicians such as Lloyd Parks, Sly Dunbar, and Ranchie McLean. Collins contributed his keyboard talents to The Maytals' tracks "Pressure Drop" and "Sweet and Dandy." Following his collaboration with Lee "Scratch" Perry, he formed the duo Dave and Ansel Collins with Dave Barker, achieving a number one hit in the United Kingdom in 1971 with the song "Double Barrel." His keyboard work is representative of the Skinhead reggae style.

In addition to his performance career, Collins is a producer and has released several solo records, including the singles "Cock Robin," "Atlantic One," "Stalag," and "Nuclear Weapon" between 1969 and 1971, as well as a number of albums in subsequent years. Throughout the 1970s, he was a member of the Channel One studio band The Revolutionaries, as well as the Impact All Stars and Sugar Minott's Black Roots Players, playing on numerous iconic tracks from the roots reggae era, including the 1979 album Black Roots. He also played keyboards for Jimmy Cliff's backing band, Oneness, during the same period.

Continuing his musical endeavors into the 1980s, Collins primarily worked as a session musician and released a solo album in 1986. He collaborated with several backing bands, including Lynn Taitt and the Jets, which featured reggae producer Joe Gibbs. In the 1970s, he was a regular member of The Aggrovators and Soul Syndicate. In 1978, he was part of The Gladiators and contributed to their album Proverbial Reggae.

Collins' keyboard work can be heard on various albums by a multitude of artists, including Scientist's Scientist Rids the World of the Evil Curse of the Vampires (1981) and Scientist in the Kingdom of Dub, Rico Rodriguez's Man from Wareika (1977), Lincoln Thompson's Natural Wild (1980), Augustus Pablo's This Is Augustus Pablo (1974), Black Uhuru's Sinsemilla (1980) and Chill Out (1982), Jimmy Cliff's Give Thankx (1978), King Tubby and Prince Jammy's His Majesty's Dub (1976), Cliff Hanger (1985), and Humanitarian (1999), as well as albums by The Royals, Mighty Diamonds, Gregory Isaacs, Prince Far I, and even Serge Gainsbourg's Aux armes et cætera (1979).

In the mid-1970s, Collins began collaborating with prominent musicians of the time, including Ansel Collins, Robbie Shakespeare, Sly Dunbar, Cedric Brooks, and the well-known percussionist Sticky. He also worked with guitarist Earl "Chinna" Smith and deejay Errol Scorcher on several recordings, including the hit "Mosquitoes." Notably, roots reggae singer I Wayne was raised by his aunt and her husband, Ansel Collins.