Gold-selling reggae and dancehall singer Kemar Donaldson, better known as Kranium, continues to represent the genre in a major way. His global streams across his catalogue are counted in the hundreds of millions, thanks to a series of international hits that have found their way straight into the hearts of dancehall, reggae and R&B audiences. Recently, it was revealed that his global hit, We Can, featuring Tory Lanez, was certified gold in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), meaning it has surpassed 500,000 units in sales and streams. Kranium enjoyed international recognition for his 2013 breakout hit single, Nobody Has to Know, a song which ushered him right inside powerhouse label Atlantic Records. Produced by PLMR Productions, Nobody Has to Know played on ethnic radio stations in New York City, including the influential Hot 97 FM. The song sold more than 39,000 copies in 2015, peaking at #32 on the Reggae Digital Songs chart. Nobody Has to Know earned RIAA Gold status in the United States and remains one of the defining records of his career. It was revealed that this second RIAA Gold certification places Kranium among a select group of contemporary dancehall artistes to earn multiple RIAA Gold certifications as the lead artiste on their own records.Under Atlantic Records, Kranium released his debut album Rumors (2015), Midnight Sparks (2019), and the EPs Toxic (2021) and In Too Deep (2022), before parting ways with the label in March 2023.With a growing tally of US and UK gold and platinum singles, Kranium shows no signs of slowing down. Boasting three Top-10 Billboard Reggae albums, his global journey continues to represent the culture.Kranium was in Montego Bay recently, and 5 Questions With ... connected with him for an update on his career.

1. Bring us up to speed on what’s been happening for you in the last year. What have been some of the major highlights for you?For the last year, I’ve been on tour for three months. I did North America ... the Midwest, and I did a whole tour in the Canadian market. And as far as upcoming shows, I have Reggaeland this year; it’s my first time doing the festival. And by the end of the day, I’m doing Japan, and then I’m doing [an] Australia tour and then New Zealand.

2.  How did you feel when you heard that ‘We Can’ earned your second RIAA gold certification? I knew for a minute, but yuh know how it goes wid di label. ... yuh have [to] mek sure to get the audit done and stuff like that done for the website to upload it. But when I actually found out earlier on in the year, it was an amazing feeling ... I actually [work] very hard fi it. I represent the culture very well. I have a very strategic way of doing music, and it’s paid off over the years in different markets. And there are more plaques to collect very soon, and more announcements, because certain records are doing very good in certain markets [where] dancehall is dominating.