Photo Credit Adit Dixit
Breakout Canadian-Jamaican artist King Cruff releases his new single “PROPPA GHANDA” featuring multi-platinum producer/songwriter duo Banx & Ranx via Tuff Gong Collective/Universal Music Canada, the country’s leading music company. Pairing the energy and hit-making hooks of Banx & Ranx’s signature ECM (Electronic Caribbean Music) sound with King Cruff’s think-piece style lyrics, “PROPPA GHANDA” is the sonic union of the summer.
“Banx & Ranx and I have this mutual love and connection to Caribbean music, and that became the basis of what we wanted this collaboration to be – an homage to that sound that we love so much,” says King Cruff. “Lyrically, I was recounting the feelings I had felt during the pandemic and in its aftermath. There was so much uncertainty and it always felt like you were waiting to hear what else is coming around the corner. Meanwhile, all of these platforms were saying different things and telling you what you should and shouldn’t trust or believe in. The essence of the song is just to question everything.”
“We created this song during our very first session with King Cruff and it was the start of a strong friendship,” say Banx & Ranx. “We were immediately inspired by Cruff’s songwriting style of taking Jamaican music into a new universe so for ‘PROPPA GHANDA’, we blended some funk rhythms, disco grooves, electronic elements, and of course, heavy basslines, for a smooth, infectious melody alongside Cruff’s deep lyrics.”
As his name suggests, King Cruff is drawn to the theme of duality. Cruff plays with these layers in his music, juxtaposing vibrant rhythms and tempos with lyrics that have narrative depth, woven within his intricate bars and smooth cadence.
“PROPPA GHANDA” is the second of King Cruff’s songs that Banx & Ranx have produced, following the dancehall/reggae track “FALLBACK”, his collaboration with fellow Jamaican artist Runkus which was released earlier this year and named one of Billboard’s Reggae/Dancehall Fresh Picks of the Month.
“PROPPA GHANDA” is already the fourth single to be released by King Cruff this year via Universal Music Canada/Tuff Gong Collective, following “TORONTO CONDO GIRLS”, “LINGO” (both of which feature Nigerian-Canadian artist Solo YT), and “FALLBACK” featuring Jamaican reggae artist Runkus. In 2023, King Cruff dropped his first collaborative single “SHEDOENEED”, an ode to independent women featuring award-winning Ghanaian artist Stonebwoy and Bahamian MC Jag.Huligin, as the follow-up to his Top 40 radio hit “Soufflé” and his 2022 major label debut “Samurai Chop”, which earned him the title of Pandora’s Artist to Watch: Caribbean.
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 the Tuff Gong Takeover in New York alongside Skip Marley, Toronto’s Caribana, Afro Carib Fest, School Night, Bastid’s BBQ Jamaica, Bastid’s BBQ Toronto, Flavours & Vibes, on tour with DillanPonders, and at both the LA and Toronto opening nights of the Bob Marley One Love Experience. King Cruff recently made his debut at HISTORY in front of a sold-out crowd opening for Damian Marley and Stephen Marley on their Traffic Jam Tour, shared Jamaican stages with Buju Banton, Runkus, Julian Marley, YG Marley and Lauryn Hill, and was named the Reggae/Afro Beats Artiste of the Year at the 2023/2024 Essence and Culture Awards.
About Banx & Ranx:
Known for their positive, creative energy in the studio, JUNO Award-winning, GRAMMY and Latin GRAMMY Award-nominated duo Banx & Ranx – Zacharie “Soké” Raymond and Yannick “KNY Factory” Rastogi – have solidified their status as a powerhouse in the music industry. With an astonishing 2 billion streams worldwide and over 1 billion views on YouTube, Banx & Ranx have surged to the forefront of popular music as they continue to bring Canadian talent from Montréal to the world.
From the moment they became an artistic duo in 2014, their chemistry ignited career-changing experiences of producing, co-writing, and collaborating with international superstars such as Dua Lipa, BLACKPINK, Sean Paul, Sia, DJ Snake, Ty Dolla $ign, David Guetta, Shenseea, Ellie Goulding, Diplo, Jung Kook, and many more established artists.
Multifaceted globally successful producers, songwriters, and artists, Banx & Ranx have been recognized in the past year with a 2023 GRAMMY Award nomination for their production on Sean Paul’s album Scorcha, a JUNO Award win for Breakthrough Group of the Year, three JUNO Award nominations, and three SOCAN Gala Awards. Additionally, Banx & Ranx have achieved Platinum certification on three consecutive Top 10 radio singles with breakout fellow 31 East artists Rêve (“Headphones”, “CTRL + ALT + DEL”) and Preston Pablo, whose smash single “Flowers Need Rain” and has reached Quadruple Platinum status.
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