iamcj3

Born into a musical family, Cornal Cruickshank (aka CJ3) learned to love music at a very young age. His mother was a choir teacher and his father had a huge record collection that he listened to regularly. At the tender age of 13, he entered talent shows for fun and discovered that he could actually sing. Starting at 14, CJ3 danced on MuchMusic's Electric Circus and continued to dance for 6 more years. As well, he wrote poetry, put his monologues to music, and showcased his performing abiliti...

Born into a musical family, Cornal Cruickshank (aka CJ3) learned to love music at a very young age. His mother was a choir teacher and his father had a huge record collection that he listened to regularly. At the tender age of 13, he entered talent shows for fun and discovered that he could actually sing. Starting at 14, CJ3 danced on MuchMusic's Electric Circus and continued to dance for 6 more years. As well, he wrote poetry, put his monologues to music, and showcased his performing abilities at Open Mike in coffee houses throughout Toronto. "I'm consistently a work in progress. I personally think that there is always room for improvement. I always set my goals higher, bettering self by reading, improving my writing craft, dance steps, and voice - all to make the package tighter and come up with something fresh and new."Now at 25, CJ3 has honed his multiple talents and joined Duane Chong of DKC Entertainment to take the Canadian music industry by storm. His debut album 'At Last' effortlessly blends together elements of R&B, hip hop and soul. "It's an experimental mixture of all the music artists I love. I try to fuse it together. The lyrics and beats that I have are like a concrete rose. It can be hard and have raw emotion like hip hop, but then it can be delicate as a rose, like R&B. All this represents different sides of me." Performing great shows and sharing his positive outlook on life is a priority for this young artist. CJ3 believes that music can change your mood and in some cases change your life. The musicians that influence him are "artists who aren't afraid to do something different, to dress a certain way, voice their opinions, or be who they are." He cites artists such as Marvin Gaye, Usher, Stevie Wonder, Prince, Teddy P, Ready for the World, Janet Jackson and Omarion as his musical influences. "At the end of the day," he says "I don't like to listen to music and not learn anything from it. I like music that has substance." CJ3's ultimate goal is to make his fans listen and feel the emotions that he conveys. "I want my fans to get something from me - either a message or be affected by a song in some way. I want them to follow me in my journey. Everything you want to know about me is in my music.