CURRENTLY in his third year at Utech, 21-year-old Ramon Pairman is driven by his passion for music. Although studying for a degree in Computing, Ramon plans to take the world by storm with his dancehall/hip-hop fusions of music. With the stage name Kray-Z, his energetic and charismatic personality, help to make his original lyrics and beats not only unique but also catchy.

TEENage took some time to sit with the young artiste to find out more about him and his music.

TEENage: How long have you been singing/dj-ing?

Kray-Z: Since I was about 13, in third form, that’s when I started rapping. When I was 15, I started to switch over to dancehall, and now it’s just my own style.

TEENage: What can you bring to the music scene that’ll make you different from everybody else?

Kray-Z: My music is, dare I say, refreshing, is not no war tune, just a mainstream sound. Plus I don’t just do dancehall or rap, my music is a fusion of dancehall, hip-hop and R&B.

TEENage: What/who inspired you to start singing/deejaying?

Kray-Z: Nuff people, friends from high school who used to deejay and I decided to try it by putting my own spin on it by adding a little dancehall. Most of my music influence comes from the hip-hop genre, but there’s always a bit of dancehall cause I born and grow with dancehall.

TEENage: What was the inspiration for your stage name?

Kray-Z: (laughs) I used to do lots of crazy stuff in high school. They used to call me Kid Crazy’, then it went to ‘Crazy Kid’, but since I’m not a kid anymore I just dropped the ‘Kid. Generally though, anybody who knows me knows that I kinda just sick in my head (laughs).

TEENage: Other than the music, what do you enjoy doing?

Kray-Z: I’m a party freak, so if it’s not the music is a party (laughs). There’s also Vybes Squad Entertainment, where I do party planning and promotions, and, of course, there’s school. I wouldn’t say I enjoy it to that extent (laughs), but I do it cause it needs to get done.

TEENage: Do you plan to pursue music as a career or will it just be your hobby?

Kray-Z: Definitely can’t be just a hobby; I like music too much for it to just be my hobby. But I’ll have my degree as my back-up, just in case.

TEENage: How can readers contact you/preview your work?

Kray-Z: Well, every young artiste has a MySpace® (laughs), so it’s myspace.com/krazythefuture. There’s also the fan page on Facebook® and, of course, I’ll be in the streets.

TEENage: What’s next for Kray-Z?

Kray-Z: Well, I just dropped a 14 track mix tape named Hustle for Mine. It’s all original tracks on original beats, and produced by G3 Musik and currently the biggest single on it is Right Now. Thing is, I want the CD to not be just a CD, but a movement, a Hustle For Mine movement. so it’s all about promoting and getting the people to know me and my music. Then, of course, more producing and recording with G3 Musik. Have a few performances to do and a couple party ads to deal with too.

TEENage: As a new artiste, who would you like to work with from the local or international market?

Kray-Z: May seem strange, but I would love to work with other young artists like Protoje. There other artistes though like Wasp, Jah Vinchi, Nas and Trey Songz.

TEENage: Where do you see yourself in five years?

Kray-Z: Honestly, by then I hope to be international. Because of my style of music I see a foreign market being bigger than a local market. But five years is a while away, anything can happen.

TEENage: What advice do you have for TEENage readers that have a talent?

Kray-Z: Whatever your talent is, as long as you like what you do and you can get enjoyment from it, then go for it. Listen to the advice and comments and all that from people because it might help you, but remember to do your thing and do it for you.

TEENage: Any shout-outs or news for TEENage readers?

Kray-Z: Well, first I have to big up Stevie G from G3 Musik, he produces for me. Also have to big up Razzy my engineer, Ruption Di Boss, who sorted out my video, Ras-I and, of course, Vybz Squad Entertainment.