Craig Smart

Craig Scott Smart (b. May. 1, 1972) is a Canadian singer songwriter from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He was part of D-Cru and their lead vocalist and in the early 2000s, he joined The Underdog Project, a German-Belgian dance group as a vocalist and songwriter. He has written and co-written a number of songs that have become international hits. He also used the alter ego name Yardi Don for some releases particularly with Belgian producer DJ F.R.A.N.K., a co-member in The Underdog Project.

Early Life

Craig Smart was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, but spent most of his childhood growing up in Vancouver, British Columbia. He was born to a White Mother (of English descent) and a Black Father (of Jamaican descent). He started his music career as a rapper in the late-1980s, going by the stage name Craig Krush, but by the early 1990s he developed a love for singing and transitioned musically to singing R&B and Pop throughout the remainder of the decade.

Career

In D-Cru

In 1996, he joined the Vancouver-based R&B band/collective, D-Cru as their lead vocalist. The group also included Tanessa Tompkins, Tito Chipman, Damien Kyles, Troy Samson aka Golden Child (later Hipjoint) and Aimee Mackenzie, with the group achieving the height of their success during the late-1990s and collectively still active until the early 2000s with changing line-ups, Craig leaving the group by 2001. Their initial album The Outer World was released in 1998. The band was signed to Electra Records. D-Cru had two notable charting hits in Canada,"I Will Be Waiting" released in 1998, produced by John Dexter, with the accompanying music video achieving heavy rotation on music stations, such as MuchMusic and YTV's Hitlist, followed by the second single "Show Me" in 1999. Another single "Never Never" was also released with seldom airplay on radio and TV, with vocals provided by singer, Aileen de la Cruz. "I'll Be Waiting" was nominated for Best Song at the Canadian Juno Awards in 2000 and was named second most played song in Canada during the West Coast Music Awards.

In The Underdog Project

However his most lucrative period came when included in the early 2000s in the band The Underdog Project. The 4-member band based in Belgium and Germany included Craig Smart and Vic Krishna on vocals, DJ Frank on remixes and AJ Duncan on keyboards. It released the commercially successful album It Doesn't Matter that reached number 2 in both German and Australian albums charts.

The project enjoyed big hits like "Summer Jam", "Saturday Night", "Tonight", "Girls of Summer" amongst many others. "Summer Jam' was certified gold in France and Germany, and double platinum in Belgium and the Netherlands. "Saturday Night" became a pan-European hit charting in Belgium, Finland, France, Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

Solo, songwriting and collaborations

Under his alter ego Yardi Don, he penned hits like "Unity", "Boom, Boom, Boom", and "It's da Music" in collaboration with Belgian DJ F.R.A.N.K. and was featured in the latter's recordings. His hit "One Love, World Love" credited as Frank Ti-Aya vs. Yardi Don (alternative names for DJ F.R.A.N.K. and Smart) appeared in more than 100 compilations. Smart was also featured on vocals of DJ F.R.A.N.K.'s charting hits "Blu Sky Holiday" and "Burning It Up".

His songwriting credits include "What Went On" and "Baby It's I" with Hipjoint Records, and "Faded" for soulDecision. Other collaborations includes acts like NBG (Natural Born Groove) where "Candy on the Dance Floor" became a pan-European hit on the dance charts in UK, France, Belgium, Netherlands. He also collaborated with Master P with "Pluto Nash", "Back on Top", "More than a Woman", with Longo in "One Life Stand" featuring Smart and Wainwright and with Tristan Garner (France) in the single "Freedom", with the House Keepers (Italy) in "Hanging On", with the Taiwanese f4 also known as JVKV in "No Escape" and with Fentura aka The Sunloverz (Germany). In 2014, he had a hit "Last Girl on Earth" featuring Ashley MacIsaac.

Discography

Albums

as part of D-Cru

• 1998: The Outer World

as part of The Underdog Project

• 2000/2001: It Doesn't Matter

Singles

Solo

as part of D-Cru

• 1999: "Show Me"
• 2000: "I Will Be Waiting"

as part of The Underdog Project

• 2000: "Summer Jam"
• 2000: "Tonight"
• 2002: "Saturday Night"
• 2003: "Summer Jam (2003)"

See more details and chart positions in discography of The Underdog Project article

Featured in

Featured in as Yardi Don

Songwriting

• 2000: soulDecision - "Faded"
• 2004: The Underdog Project - "Summer Jam"
• 2004: The Underdog Project - "Saturday Night"
• 2006: Frank Ti-Aya vs. Yardi Don - "One Love, World Love"
• 2013: R.I.O. - "Megamix"