KINGSTON, Jamaica — Dancehall artiste Craig ‘Craigy T’ Thompson continues to reap success with his debut EP, Unload.
Officially released on November 29, 2024, the body of work peaked at number three on the Reggae iTunes charts and has also catapulted the artiste’s listenership on Spotify, as well as tripled his YouTube subscribers. The entertainer has so far released an accompanying music video shot by Prime Concepts at Ideas Evolution Studios for one of the tracks titled Onion, which has almost 100,000 views.
“The release of this project happened organically. It came out of a connection that developed between myself and DJ Frodo online. I kept noticing his beats on Instagram and I messaged him in the DMs (direct messages) that I was looking to do some work and he sent me some tracks and I fell in love with the six that I chose,” Craigy T explained.
He noted that credit also goes to Edward Collins and Dean Mundy in completing the tracks. Fellow TOK member Bay-C is featured on a song called Man A Baller on the EP.
The popular artiste who forms part of TOK added that he is pleased with the trajectory of the EP, and noted that this is only the beginning of the magnitude of success to come.
“What I’m looking to do is to create a solid foundation with this EP. It is a good starting place; I think it is my creativity in its rawest and unfiltered form. So, based on the reaction from my peers, the general public and my own analysis, I intend to refine my image and my music, accordingly. As time progresses, you will see an evolution in music from me,” he said.
Craigy T further reasoned that he manages to nurture his individual career, as well as his role in the group without friction.
“I think it ebbs and flows more than it being a perfect balance. My personality, even within TOK, shows and presents itself. The group is a much larger entity, so for everything it’s like a board of directors have to vote and decide on. That takes into consideration everybody’s input including Shams (Richard Browne) who is a part of our management team. I think my personality is one that will show regardless of my environment, so I don’t know if I have to ‘tone it down’ at all when I’m in the group,” he said.
As for the rest of the year, Craigy T has an album in the pipeline. Besides that, he is eyeing accolades for his personal and professional development.
“I would love to end the year with a Grammy nomination… Everything that I do is really geared towards personal growth and evolution. I am always thinking of what it does to the inner being. Just to understand self more is really my main goal every single year,” he told Observer Online.
— Kediesha Perry