With the release of his first song Samurai Chop in October, King Cruff is looking forward to a busy 2023. The Toronto-based artiste has worked with producers in that city and Jamaica on cross-genre tracks aimed at attracting a diverse audience.

Samurai Chop was released by Tuff Gong Collective and Universal Music Canada. It is a hybrid of sounds — reggae, dancehall, and rap — he was weaned on in Jamaica.

No matter the genre, the Kingston-born artiste says fans can expect consistency when they hear a King Cruff song.

“I try to mix as much personality as possible, whether it’s my sense of humour or raw anger. My hope for my sound is that it will resonate with people of all demographics; it doesn’t matter race or age. I want people who are not from Jamaica to gravitate towards our rootsy sonics. At the same time, I want to bring genres from the outside back home,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

The frenetic Samurai Chop was “in the vault” for an extended period before being released simultaneously with its video. It was launched two months ago after prompting from people who heard the track during his impromptu performances and were impressed.

To achieve a broad base King Cruff has worked with producers from Coalition Media House, including Jag.Huligin and Scnd from The Bahamas as well as Solo YT from Nigeria, and Jamaicans Tessellated and Chaddy Don.

“In Toronto I’ve been working with Junia-T, Richh Kidd, Lord Quest, just to name a few. As of right now, I’m happy to be working with so many producers from different backgrounds and perspectives as it influences my own sound to be as expansive as possible,” said King Cruff.

As a youth in Jamaica, Solomon Marley-Spence (his real name) listened to the songs of Bob Marley, Beres Hammond, and Chronixx. Hip hop giants like Kendrick Lamar and Andre 3000 also caught his ears.

Working with producers with different tastes has whetted King Cruff’s appetite to experiment. Unlike Samurai Chop, which sat around for one year before being released, he insists that will not be the case next year.

“For 2023 I want to go back to how it was in 2021 and keep releasing singles consistently. The first one should be dropping early next year. I want to try and create engaging visuals that tell thought-provoking stories. Work with some of the Jamaican artistes and producers that I’ve been seeing recreate the sound that we love so much,” said King Cruff.