Kraff keeps eyes on prize
DANCEHALL deejay Kraff rose to prominence earlier this year with SleepWalk. Next month he’ll have his biggest assignment of his fledgling career as one of the featured acts on Sting.
“As you know, the nature of this business is rooted in exposure. Mi can’t entertain unless I have the attention of the masses. So the opportunity to perform in the presence of international reps is definitely on my mind,” he told the Jamaica Observer‘s Splash.
Sting, the biggest one-night dancehall show, returns after a seven-year break. It is scheduled for December 26 at the Grizzly’s Plantation Cove in St Ann. Other acts billed for show include Skeng, Jahshii, and Silk Boss.
“Mi feel like this new batch of artistes represents a conscious rebellion. Fi we generation have access to nuff information, so wi reason pon a different level and a dat people attracted to,” he said.
Kraff shared his aspiration for his career. He seeks a hybrid of international mainstream one, while still remaining to his hardcore roots.
“Who say me can’t have both? Yeah, mi want a deep connection to mi listeners like Aidonia and Kartel, but me also want the opportunity to work with other genres and cultures and a broader and more diverse audience like a Shaggy and Sean Paul,” he said.
“I’ve proven that I’m not a stranger to hard work. So you can expect me to continue pushing boundaries, you can expect interesting collabs, and some cross genre work,” he continued.
Kraff said he intends to release music that his fans can relate to.
“Yuh affi intentional; you affi consistent; and you affi break out ah di boxes weh people always try put you in,” he said.
Kraff said he will be using his platform at Sting to introduce fans to material from his debut EP 11:11. He is pleased with the reception.
“It feels good. I appreciate the support. My EP is my response to the reception. 11:11 means alignment. I’m moving in my purpose,” he said.
Produced by Tepa Music, the project was quite fittingly released on November 11.
The release was celebrated with an official launch held on November 10 at Mecca in St Andrew.
The EP contains a total of six tracks, with collaborations from artistes Valiant and SVM. Its creation was a team effort, with contributions from his team — TJ (Tiffany Juie), Deep Jahi, and Black Rushan — as well as the producers: Hugo Boss from WWW.COM Records, Kyle Butler from Dynasty, DropTop Records and Jiggy D. The songs were all voiced by Steeno and the project was mixed by Simpac.
The Rusea’s High School past student, whose given name is Tevin Randall, is known for songs including Dinero, Charge Up, Floating, and Pain.