Since making his debut two years ago with the hip hop-influenced ‘Samurai Chop’, King Cruff has shown his willingness to blend genres on follow-up songs like ‘Souffle’. He continues on that eclectic path with ‘Fallback’, his latest song which features fellow Jamaican artist, Runkus. It is distributed through Tuff Gong Collective and Universal Music Canada.
King Cruff told this column that it was exciting to do a dancehall song, given his love for that genre.
“It’s major for me. It’s a song that not only stays true to the Cruff brand but elevates it. I love experimenting with all these sounds, and now we’ve fully entered into the dimension of dancehall music. And it’s made easy when you have production from Banx and Ranx. Made even easier when you have a big hook from Runkus,” he said.
Banx and Ranx are a rising artist/production duo from Montreal who have worked with high-profile artists such as Grammy winner Sean Paul.
When he decided to cut a dancehall song, King Cruff called on Runkus, son of veteran singjay Determine, who has made a name for himself with songs like ‘Mercy Jah’ and ‘Champion’. A video for ‘Fallback’, filmed mainly in St. Thomas parish, eastern Jamaica, has also been released.
“I’d been a Runkus fan for some time, and we had some mutual connections in the industry. The studio session itself was pretty impromptu. And we built the song from the ground up, all from the bassline that you hear. Everything about this song was serendipity. The video was the same way. We had an idea to make it a Jamaican horror movie. And the director and the team understood the concept, and the end result was better than I could have imagined,” King Cruff explained.
He is scheduled to perform at the May 9 Jo Mersa Marley Birthday Celebration in Nine Mile, St. Ann parish, Jamaica. That event, which features the Marley brothers — Stephen, Damian, Ky-Mani and Julian, is held in memory of Stephen’s son who died in December 2022.
