Ten Questions With Kranium

New York-based Dancehall artist Kranium has been in the game for over nine years.  With hits like Nobody Has To Know, Gal Policy, Last Night and We Can, the Jamaican-born entertainer says he’s here to stay because he’s laid the necessary groundwork and created a lane for himself.

His latest song is Wi Dey Yah, which sets the tone for an edgy and upbeat new approach from Kranium as well as his ongoing North America tour, which will see stops in Minneapolis, Atlanta, and Vancouver in the coming days.  In this interview with DancehallMag, we discussed the new song and Kranium’s careful rise to prominence.

What was your childhood like growing up in Jamaica?

What was it like? I think like every other Jamaican kid. It was just normal. The regular going to church, and coming home and going to school and back and play cricket and play football with your friends or marble.

I grew up in Montego Bay (but) I migrated to the States at age 12. I didn’t grow up my full, youthful days in Jamaica.

What sparked your interest in music?

What sparked my interest was the fact that I could sing and I knew that I was talented at a very young age. Just going to church, and stuff like that. I started off in church singing and I just loved the sound. I think that’s where most musicians, if I’m not mistaken, get their first confidence to be in front of a crowd…a church congregation. I started that whole motivational and just being confident thing in church.

I used to mess around with the drums, but I’m not gonna say I’m a player and I went to school for piano but mi just leave cause my head did jus too tough yah man.

How has Wi Deh Yah been going?

It’s doing good. Anybody who knows Kranium, fans who know me know that I always pace myself. Mi neva really rush. Mi tek my time. Like, I take my time a lot so now is more like doing the groundwork (and) getting the record where it needs to be, cause an average Kranium song takes three to six months to break. Actually, six months to break, to be fair.

Why does it take this length of time?

Because I don’t do the extra stuff. Mi nuh really deal wid the controversial tings. I don’t deal wid unnecessary tings so fi me it’s always about going at the right place fi mek sure seh the record is being played, doing the groundwork in terms of doing the radio station, doing the media rounds…doing certain things. And if tek a time like I said, because I never really jump the gun. I always wait until the streets start react mi start press gas wid certain other things. I don’t premature any record. I always make the record start green, turn, then ripe.

There has been a discourse, especially in Dancehall that there seems to be a lack of songs for women. What is your take on that?

I don’t think there’s a lack of songs fi woman. I think there’s songs that are being created but, my personal take on it is that there needs to be more artists who are true to what they are good at and not what they do because it’s doing something good. It’s like me, I don’t need to do a badman song because it’s not my thing to do. The lack of gyal song is not the issue. I feel like there are people who do it, and do it good but people feel like they’re not hearing it enough. The wrong set of (gyal songs) are coming out. It’s not that it’s not being created, it’s just that, you know when a woman hear a gyal song and dem really love it and support and go hard? there hasn’t been a lot of that lately. But it’s gonna happen.

Throughout the course of your career, you’ve managed to maintain your fanbase. How do you do that?

Dropping hit songs and nuh worry bout wah people think and weh the crowd a do. Just dropping enough records and don’t over do it. Just sticking to the script and making good music that I personally feel will last.

Which collaboration has stood out the most to you?

Imma be honest, Can’t Believe was a shocker when I did the Wiz Kid/Kranium and the Ty Dolla $ign.

What would you say is your biggest song to date?

I have three Golds in Canada, three Silver in the UK so it depends on where we talking about. In America, Nobody Has To Know is one of the biggest record, in London Nobody Has To Know is a big record, but We Can is a huge record in Africa. Can’t Believe is (also) one of the biggest records, so it all depends on the market.

What are your plans for the rest of this year?

Creating music and dropping records at a timely manner that I see fit in that specific time, or that quarter, as we would say in musical terms. It’s just drop music and doing everything to the best of my ability.

What would you like to say to your fans?

Thanks for the love and support. I highly appreciate it. Stop bash di youth dem. Mek di youth dem do weh dem haffi do. Support dem…if the music sound good, it sound good. If it don’t sound good, we give dem a next chance fi find it and figure it out and come back again.