Singer, songwriter and producer, Craig ‘Serani’ Marsh got a career boost recently when vocals from Dying, his 2006 collaboration with Mavado, was sampled by superstar rapper Drake.

The Canadian artiste used Serani’s lyrics for 9, a song from his latest album Views.

Serani said Drake’s team followed proper recording rights procedure by contacting his manager, Julian Jones-Griffith, prior to the album’s release on April 29.

“Drake is currently my favourite rapper and I listen to all his music. I met him years ago and we were cool, but I did not see this one coming at all. I’m extremely happy right now!” said Serani.

Serani is not unfamiliar with international success. His song, No Games, debuted at number 55 on the Billboard’s R&B/Hip Hop Chart in 2008.

In recent years, a number of hip hop acts as well as EDM maestros Major Lazer have sampled several dancehall and reggae songs with some success.

Views is Drake’s fourth album. Released last Friday, the 20-track set has collaborations with Jamaican artistes and producers including Popcaan, Dwayne ‘Supa Dups’ Chin-Quee, Matthew ‘Boi-1da’ Samuels, and Stephen McGregor.

For Serani, getting recognition from a multi-platinum-selling artiste like Drake is a shot in the arm.

“Hip hop sampling dancehall is major for us Jamaicans. It does well for our culture’s promotion internationally too,” he said.

In the meantime, Serani is currently promoting his latest singles Gone and Low Rider.

Released in March, Gone is produced by UIM Records.Low Rider, a collab with dancer Renae 6:30, was released on Monday. This single is self-produced.

“I am really exicted about the collaboration. I think it is going to be a summer anthem as this is the time when the world parties. Renae 6:30 also has a dance to accompany the song. We’ll be riding into the summer with that one,” he told the

Jamaica Observer.

— SIMONE MORGAN