For his first releases in 2026, Krueshef shows his versatility on My Sound and Blaze dem Up, which came out in January and on May 15, respectively. These songs are an homage to the Jamaican music he listened to as a youth in St Croix.

My Sound, which features Lawgiver, is co-produced by Krueshef, Steely and Clevie, Jtwist, Lawgiver and Kimani. Blaze Dem Up is co-produced by Austin Joseph and Lloyd Laing.

“My Sound is a song to uplift and strengthen one’s self-esteem and have confidence in knowing who you are and where your history began. It didn’t begin with slavery but it began with royalty,” said Krueshef. “Blaze dem Up is a song to rebuke and correct your friends and family when they mess up and to stay with Yah Jah because you are protected by the blood of Yahusha Jesus, so your enemies will not triumph over you.”

Triumph meant a lot for Krueshef (given name Clarence Joseph) growing up in the United States Virgin Islands. In addition to admiring roots-reggae acts like Bob Marley, he listened to dancehall kingpins including Bounty Killer and Merciless.

Several of the songs he has recorded (first as Splittt Personality) are homage to those influences.

“Both genres I am very comfortable with because I grew up listening and making songs to both legendary ‘riddims’ for fun and for the love of music. I still love listening to Bob Marley and the latest dancehall kings,” he said.

Krueshef knows how to roll with the punches. He was a boxer who fought as a super-middleweight, winning four fights as a professional. He was also a member of the United States team to the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece.

As Splittt Personality, he recorded one album, Introspective. Krueshef has released one EP, We Rise Up.

— Howard Campbell