Cedric “Ceddyjay” Preval is a dynamic rapper/artist who has been rapping since he was only four years old. Born in New York, on Jan. 28 1999, and raised in Flatbush, Brooklyn, Ceddyjay comes from a proud Haitian family with an eclectic legacy of musicianship - his great-grandmother is a former opera singer, while his grandmother and great-uncle were members of “Kraze Moonfou” (a ground-breaking house music band in the late 80s) and his mother also achieved a degree of success as a singer in the early 2000’s. Being immersed in music basically from birth, it was Ceddyjay’s destiny to become an artist himself.
Under the tutelage World Music artist, Richard “Earthman” Laurent, and with the help of his father, who also raps, Ceddyjay grew up learning how to “spit bars” and write lyrics with meaning beyond his young years. He also learned very early how to take command of an audience, a skill he would go on to master and wield with astonishing power as a young teen at major venues and festivals.
During his high school years at New York City’s prestigious High School for Art & Design, Ceddyjay honed his skills as a rapper and entertainer by constantly writing and collaborating with his fellow students and performing all over the East Coast.
While creating his signature hard-hitting trap rock genre backed by an explosive live band, Ceddyjay has become a regular on NYC’s underground hip-hop scene, first gaining notoriety as Afro Punk Fest Battle of the Bands winner in 2015, which lead to a performance slot at the 2-day festival attended by over 60K festival goers. Heralded by the press at Afro Punk Fest as “Top 10 Performers Not to Miss” and reviewed as “Top 10 Epic Performances,” Ceddyjay went on to perform at Afro Punk Fest again in 2016 and 2018.
Aside from Afro Punk Fest, Ceddyjay and his band was also invited to perform at America’s premier hip-hop festival, A3C in Atlanta; Summer Stage in Red Hook; Harlem Creates Music Festival, and Fair on the Square Festival in the Bronx. He has also touched the stage at such prominent, landmark NYC venues as SOB’s, Le Poison Rouge, Irving Plaza, Grammercy Theater, Knitting Factory, and Highline Ballroom.
While honing his craft in high school, Ceddyjay also founded Rebellious Against All Ahead (RAAA), a rap-centric movement incorporating a series of RAAA bashes/events drawing in hundreds of NYC’s underground youth who gravitate towards the raw energy of Ceddyjay’s live music and in-your-face style of entertaining. RAAA events are also known for showcasing up and coming artists/acts who are generating major buzz.
By Ceddyjay’s side during all of this growth and development has been his Day 1 producer, Romario “Klipa Beats” Samuels. Currently based in LA, Klipa Beats learned how to create beats at a music workshop at Brooklyn College, where he and Ceddyjay first met and have been collaborating ever since.
