5 Questions With Kranium

Gold-selling reggae and dancehall singer Kemar Donaldson, better known as Kranium, continues to represent the genre in a major way. His global streams across his catalogue are counted in the hundreds of millions, thanks to a series of international hits that have found their way straight into the hearts of dancehall, reggae and R&B audiences. Recently, it was revealed that his global hit, We Can, featuring Tory Lanez, was certified gold in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), meaning it has surpassed 500,000 units in sales and streams. 
Kranium enjoyed international recognition for his 2013 breakout hit single, Nobody Has to Know, a song which ushered him right inside powerhouse label Atlantic Records. Produced by PLMR Productions, Nobody Has to Know played on ethnic radio stations in New York City, including the influential Hot 97 FM. The song sold more than 39,000 copies in 2015, peaking at #32 on the Reggae Digital Songs chart. 
Nobody Has to Know earned RIAA Gold status in the United States and remains one of the defining records of his career. It was revealed that this second RIAA Gold certification places Kranium among a select group of contemporary dancehall artistes to earn multiple RIAA Gold certifications as the lead artiste on their own records.
Under Atlantic Records, Kranium released his debut album Rumors (2015), Midnight Sparks (2019), and the EPs Toxic (2021) and In Too Deep (2022), before parting ways with the label in March 2023.
With a growing tally of US and UK gold and platinum singles, Kranium shows no signs of slowing down. Boasting three Top-10 Billboard Reggae albums, his global journey continues to represent the culture.
Kranium was in Montego Bay recently, and 5 Questions With ... connected with him for an update on his career.

1. Bring us up to speed on what’s been happening for you in the last year. What have been some of the major highlights for you?
For the last year, I’ve been on tour for three months. I did North America ... the Midwest, and I did a whole tour in the Canadian market. And as far as upcoming shows, I have Reggaeland this year; it’s my first time doing the festival. And by the end of the day, I’m doing Japan, and then I’m doing [an] Australia tour and then New Zealand.

2.  How did you feel when you heard that ‘We Can’ earned your second RIAA gold certification? 
I knew for a minute, but yuh know how it goes wid di label. ... yuh have [to] mek sure to get the audit done and stuff like that done for the website to upload it. But when I actually found out earlier on in the year, it was an amazing feeling ... I actually [work] very hard fi it. I represent the culture very well. I have a very strategic way of doing music, and it’s paid off over the years in different markets. And there are more plaques to collect very soon, and more announcements, because certain records are doing very good in certain markets [where] dancehall is dominating.

3. Do you think that dancehall music continues to impact the world or has it stalled somewhat? 
Dancehall music has been impactful. I think that a majority of other genres always implement a little bit of dancehall into it. I think that some of the times we think about things that doesn’t even really matter, to be honest with you ...  because it’s a new time, in the sense of people just love music on a whole. So, it becomes like a soup and yuh a put in different ingredients at this point. Dancehall has always been dominant and always will be dominant. The artistes dem ah learn. Most artistes want to be great, and I think that’s what’s happening right now.

4. What is your opinion of the current crop of dancehall artistes and the sound of dancehall music? 
I think that the sound is very new to a lot of people, so it’s scaring a lot of people. The experiment will always happen. There’s a younger generation that is doing it, obviously, and I think eventually they will do it right. I think once artistes understand the importance of hooks ... and as time goes by and artistes get exposed to different things, the more they will understand that this is an adjustment they need to make. And I don’t bash them. I think it’s very good. I think it’s fun. When I was coming up in the game, they used to say that with the little dancehall-R&B vibe that I had, it was a big conversation. And look where I am today? I feel like if [we] give the youth dem a chance to do what dem want to do and experiment,  they will figure it out. The good ones will stay.

5. Will you be at A Taste of Sumfest tomorrow at Plantation Cove in St Ann? 
Actually, I won’t be able to make it. I have a show around that time. And as I said, I’m getting ready for the UK. I want to go in early because I’m using my band ... and my band is originally from the UK, so I need to go and take care of that because that’s a big stage and that’s a big representation, you know what I mean? And I feel like I have this big responsibility as a dancehall artiste who buss overseas.  I think I represent for all the other artistes outside of Jamaica who want to do dancehall music. With Sumfest ... I think it’s a great thing ... they did the right thing bringing back that vibe of a whole cultural movement that I remember from my youthful days going to school. I saw Mavado earlier in St Kitts, and we hol’ a good reasoning, and I think the show is going to be amazing. I am going to tune in to whatever live stream dem have because it is a very important moment.

yasmine.peru@gleanerjmjm.com