Kranium is coming back with a new EP hungry than ever as he transparently spoke about struggling with depression and battling the fear of becoming a “one-hit wonder” while creating musical masterpieces he wants to be sampled decades from now.
It’s almost ten years since Kranium released his smash hit “Nobody Has To Know,” which led to a remix with rapper Ty Dolla $ign and a label deal with Atlantic Records. The dancehall artist has continued to make a name for himself, with songs like “We Can” featuring Tory Lanez and “Gal Policy” becoming immensely successful.
Now, he’s back with a new EP, an eight-track project called In Too Deep, which draws on the same motivations that drove his early career. The artist says he continues to be inspired by the hardships he’s faced in life being an international dancehall artist. He says that track gives him a place of solace knowing anyone can relate to it.
The artist shared that even though he was enjoying his Billboard success with “Nobody Has to Know,” he battled the fear of failure and worried about not being able to consistently release good music.
“I really thought I was going to be a one-hit wonder,” Kranium told Billboard. “‘Nobody Has to Know,’ at that time, when it came out, was the only thing you were hearing. That was the only reggae that translated from the American market to Africa and the Caribbean at the time. It was a hard mountain and a high one at that.”
He added that he was battling depression and anxiety even as he received a big break in his career many dancehall artists would be envious of.
“I didn’t believe I would climb that mountain because that was the same time I went into a depression. The first time I knew what anxiety and depression were was when that song came out. You get so much love, and then eventually it starts slowing down, and you start thinking everything doesn’t seem the same anymore, and then it’s like, ‘What’s next?'”
The artist also shared on his experience as a Jamaican artist transitioning to the United States and learning to navigate his own path as an artist who was widely popular on YouTube but now has to sell records and impress fans abroad who bought music- a difference in the landscape he appreciates.
In the meantime, Kranium is expanding his sound with some impressive features. His first track “Without You,” features Queen Naija is an Afrobeat, dancehall reggae, and R&B track. Other featured artists include Bleu and dancehall deejay Dexta Daps.
As for a feel of what the new EP offers, the artist teased it has some of his usual raunchy dancehall tracks but also has some R&B tracks to keep things mellow.
Kranium has not shared the release date for the project, but the Montego Bay-born artist shared that fans will get new music “soon” as the project is complete. He shared that he spent a total of 19 months creating the EP.
