April 12, 2005 @ 9:34 am

VIBE Magazine: NEXT >> Cruna - Sweet Dreams

Saptosa Foster

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Ke.Anthony “Cruna” Dilliard, 29, stops in his tracks at The King Center in Atlanta when he spots the 1970 Grammy Award that was presented posthumously to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the spoken word category for his 1967 speech “Why I Oppose the War in Vietnam.” “That’s amazing,” says the Tennessee-born Dilliard (whose moniker means croon

Ke.Anthony "Cruna" Dilliard, 29, stops in his tracks at The King Center in Atlanta when he spots the 1970 Grammy Award that was presented posthumously to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the spoken word category for his 1967 speech "Why I Oppose the War in Vietnam." "That's amazing," says the Tennessee-born Dilliard (whose moniker means crooner). "Maybe one day something I say will touch a lot of people like that. Winning a Grammy is my ultimate dream." The youngest of five children, Cruna's two-parent, Christian upbringing, which included singing in his family's nine-member ensemble, the Gospel True Notes, wasn't enough to stop him from going down a crooked path toward that dream. Within months of being kicked out of Whites Creek Comprehensive High School in 1991 for fighting, a 16-year-old Cruna would be placed in a juvenile facility, then in Turney Center Industrial Prison and Farm to serve an eight-year bid for aggravated robbery. Luckily, his vocal prowess didn't go untapped in jail. "Most of the time, guys were asking me to sing to their girls over the phone," he says. Cruna made more serious career plans with Jasper "Jazz" Howard, a childhood acquaintance and fellow inmate. And upon their release in 1999, Jazz made Cruna the flagship artist on his independent Crosstrax Entertainment label. By 2000, Cruna had recorded an album and hit the road to places like New York and California. The resulting buzz led to a deal with Warner Bros. in December 2003. And Warner exec Cynthia Johnson, who has helped promote the careers of Alicia Keys and Destiny's Child, thinks the label scored a major victory by signing him. "Everyone is extremely excited about Cruna," says Johnson. "He's a raw talent who makes you feel the moods and concepts of a song with his inspirational words." Cruna's major label debut album, A Hustla's Love Story, is stacked with stirring urbane grooves like the uplifting lead single, "Higher," a testament to his resilient will. "I think my music can show people that the impossible is possible," he says. "I went through a lot to humble myself, and my life went from really bad to really good." Now he's hoping his efforts can bring forth some real accolades.

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