photo credit Neil Watson
KING CRUFF TO PERFORM AT ‘BASTID’S BBQ JAMAICA’ BLOCK PARTY ON FEBRUARY 25 AND JOIN DillanPonders ON TOUR THIS MARCH
Innovative artist and captivating performer King Cruff brings heartbreak onto the dancehall floor with his new single “FALLBACK” out today via Tuff Gong Collective/Universal Music Canada, the country’s leading music company. Linking up with Jamaican reggae artist Runkus, King Cruff delivers his latest genre-blending banger with an undeniable groove.
“Runkus has been an artiste that I’ve regarded as one of the pioneers of this neo-reggae sound and I genuinely believe he’s going to play a big part in the future of reggae music,” says King Cruff. “I admire his lyricism and his way of bringing together reggae elements with aspects of hip-hop, soul, folk, even drill music if he wants. He’s truly an artiste that can step into any space and mold the sound to his whim.”
The official music video for “FALLBACK” is the second in King Cruff’s “Ackee Metaphor” series filmed in Jamaica by director Kit Weyman. Immersed in lush landscapes and laced with evocative symbolism, King Cruff and Runkus honour the folklore of the island.
On the concept for the video, King Cruff shares: “We wanted to capture Jamaica in a different realm visually. Everyone’s seen the party video, the gyal bruk out videos. I wanted to capture the supernatural mystics of the island – the old folk stories and the superstitions that are so ingrained in our culture. Kit killed it as a director and our team was built of Jamaican people which I love. It’s honestly one of my favourite videos to date.”
“FALLBACK” once again proves King Cruff to be a talented genre mixologist known for his creativity and skill for combining elements of hip-hop, dancehall, reggae, funk, Afrobeats, and jazz. His unique ‘punky’ sound is evident in his previous singles “SHEDOENEED” featuring Stonebwoy and Jag.Huligin, his Top 40 radio hit “Soufflé” , and his major label debut “Samurai Chop” which earned him the title of Pandora’s Artist to Watch: Caribbean.
King Cruff will be hitting Jamaican stages this month with performances at Skratch Bastid’s block party Bastid’s BBQ Jamaica this Sunday and in Kingston at Super Heavy on February 28th before he takes his dynamic live show on tour with Canadian hip-hop artist DillanPonders. See tour dates below.
King Cruff Canadian Tour Dates:
March 15 – Ottawa @ Brass Monkey
March 16 – Montréal @ L’Escogriffe
March 21 – London @ Rum Runners
March 22 – Toronto @ The Baby G
About King Cruff:
Canadian-Jamaican artist King Cruff (Solomon Marley-Spence) was born with the talents of songwriting and performance in his blood. An introspective storyteller, he sees his songs as think pieces set to ‘punky’ rhythms. Drawing on his audio engineering background, the versatile King Cruff fuses genres across the diaspora including hip-hop, Afrobeats, dancehall and reggae.
While reggae royalty is in his blood, King Cruff’s rapid flow and patois-laced lyrical style reveals the influence hip-hop lyricists such as Andre 3000 and Kendrick Lamar have had on him choosing to carve his own path as an MC. The 26-year-old artist is a natural-born performer who has spent the past year on stages in Canada, the US, and Jamaica for cultural events like Toronto’s Caribana, Afro Carib Fest, School Night, Bastid’s BBQ Toronto, the Tuff Gong Takeover in New York alongside Skip Marley, and at both the LA and Toronto opening nights of the Bob Marley One Love Experience.
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