| JRDN | |
|---|---|
JRDN at 2011 New Years Eve Bash at Nathan Phillips Square, Toronto |
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| Background information | |
| Born | October 17, 1978 (age 32) |
| Origin | Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada |
| Genres | R&B, Hip Hop, Soul |
| Labels | Kuya Productions, |
| Associated acts | Belly, Danny Fernandes, Mia Martina, Alyssa Reid Classified, Jay Bizzy, 4Play |
| Website | www.jrdnmusic.com |
Ralph Jordan Croucher better known by his stage name JRDN (born October 17,1978) is a Canadian recording artist. Croucher’s upbringing was split between Halifax, Nova Scotia and Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He also currently serves as a Youth Ambassador for D250 and was a delegate in the Citizen Voices program.[1][2]
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Ralph Jordan Croucher was born in Halifax but grew up in Toronto until age 11 when his family returned to Nova Scotia. In Toronto, he lived at Jane Street and Finch Avenue in the same building as King Lou from Dream Warriors. The jazz rap pioneer introduced Croucher to hip hop culture at this time. JRDN is the cousin of Brendan Fleet of the Croucher's Family side before marriage.
Croucher attended St. Francis Xavier University where he played on the basketball team.[3] After graduation he played professionally for one year in France.
Croucher returned to Halifax to work as an outreach worker to mentor at risk high school students. It was at this time in Halifax that he began to focus seriously on music. Previously, he had sung national anthems at sporting events and played in a cover band called Shades of Groove.
Currently JRDN is signed to Kuya Productions and is managed by CP Management.
Jordan gained music experience by competing in Canadian Idol. This gave him an opportunity to perform with Canadian talent, while gaining television exposure.
He also worked with Halifax producer Trobiz and recorded mixtapes with the groups N.E.P and Triple Threat. In 2007, Croucher he began to work with producer and Classified who produced Croucher’s debut album No Dress Code in 2007.
The 13-track record featured singles and videos for "Selfish Times", "Feelin’ Fine", "So Addicted", "Won't Let Go" and "It’s Raining". It earned Croucher the CBC Galaxie Rising Star prize at the 2007 African Nova Scotian Music Awards show,[4][5] a nomination for Best Urban Single at the 2008 East Coast Music Awards[6] and an appearance on the CBC Television special, Barenaked East Coast Music.[7] He toured across Canada with Classified and Maestro and opened for Ne-Yo, Snoop Dogg, Rihanna, Nas and Juelz Santana.
Shortening his name to JRDN, Croucher worked with Toronto's Kuya Productions and the songwriting and production team of Sammy Blues and Bobby Brass, who've worked with Nelly, Mase, Ginuwine, Jesse McCartney, Nicole Scherzinger and Akon. JRDN signed to Kuya Productions in 2009.
IAMJRDN is the official debut album by JRDN and was released on November 9, 2010.[8][9][10] Since its release the album debuted at number 13 on the Canadian R&B Albums Chart.
Off his debut album, the first single "U Can Have It All" brought him to mainstream success by reaching number 20 on the Canadian Hot 100 and the music video reached number 5 on the MuchMusic Countdown.[11] The second "Like Magic" reached number 24 on the Canadian Hot 100 with its music video topping the MuchMusic Countdown.
Kuya Productions/Fontana North
| Year | Title | Peak | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| CAN[12] | |||
| 2007 | "Selfish Times" | — | No Dress Code |
| "Feelin' Fine" | — | ||
| "So Addicted" | — | ||
| "Won't Let Go" | — | ||
| "It's Raining" | — | ||
| 2010 | "U Can Have It All" | 20 | IAMJRDN |
| 2011 | "Like Magic" | 24 | |
| "I Don't Care" | 38 |