KRU Studios Films

KRU are a Malaysian pop boy band formed in 1992. The group comprises three Abdul Halim brothers, namely Datuk Norman Abdul Halim, Datuk Yusry Abdul Halim and Edry Abdul Halim'. Apart from revolutionising the Malaysian music scene with their blend of pop, R&B and hip hop, Norman heads a successful business empire, KRU Studios, with Yusry specializing in film, media content and live events, whilst Edry is a successful composer/producer.

On 18 April 2018, the group announced that they would disband after 25 years being together after their last concert, Konsert Gergasi KRU 25, held from 4 to 6 May. In addition to the band, the KRU group of companies include KRU Masterclass (formerly known as KRU Academy), KRU Music, KRU Media, KRU Entertainment, KRU Singapore, KRU International, Prodigital Lab, Kartun Studios, KRU Arena, and United Studios.

In 2024, the group reformed after 6 years of hiatus and released a new album, titled ''Kaset''.

Early history

Their interest in musicmaking was sparked when they were very young, when one of their aunts bought Norman a keyboard which also attracted his other brothers. They spent their teenage years in London where they were exposed to various genres of music, in contrast to the Malay music scene at that time which was dominated by classic rock and ballads.

They continued to write original songs and were unaware that one of Norman's college friends sent a demo to EMI. Calvin Wong, International Label Manager and now vice-president at Warner Music Asia Pacific, was very impressed by the song and called the brothers to audition. KRU was formed on 19 May 1992. KRU (addressed by the initials "K.R.U." and not the pronunciation ''"kroo"'') stands for ''Kumpulan Rap Utama'' or "Major Rap Group", but it is also the Malay word for "crew", borrowed from English.

Projects

In 1993, KRU started their ReKRUed Rap Tour, followed by the Awas Da' Concert tour two years later. In 1997, they released the album ''Viva Selangor'' as a tribute to Selangor F.C. and ''Everest'' for Everest project and commenced their KRU Mega Tour, sponsored by Peter Stuyvesant. The following year, their song "Never Let The Spirit Die" was used as the theme song for the 16th Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur; they also collaborated with Sharifah Aini, Zainal Abidin, Amy Search, Ning Baizura, Ella and Sheila Majid to create the soundtrack for ''Silat Lagenda''. In 1999, the song "Fiesta" was made the official theme of the Tour De Langkawi and the group started their Jammin the Nation tour.

In 2000, they formed a virtual band named Tyco (meaning “big brother” in Cantonese), whose members consisted of computer-generated alternate versions of themselves, with Norman, Yusry, and Edry as avatars Tylo, Yiko, and Psylo respectively. Although the project was lauded as groundbreaking with its CG music video "With U" and was awarded “Malaysia’s First Virtual Artiste” by the Malaysian Book of Records, Tyco failed to achieve mainstream success and the project was quietly shut down. In 2008, Tyco re-appeared as a solo artiste (Tylo) through the 2008 film Cicakman 2: Planet Hitam’s theme song “Planet Hitam,” making Tyco become the only virtual Hip Hop artiste in Malaysia or perhaps in the world. In 2020, Tyco re-emerged through the collaboration with Dato’ Ustaz Kazim Elias (DUKE) and Tuju from K-Clique in a song entitled “Salawat 1442” released by Imaan Music.

On 26 October 2002, they kicked off their fifth major tour at Independence Square in Kuala Lumpur. In 2005, Artis Bersatu—made up of Anita Sarawak, Raihan, Ning Baizura, Misha Omar, and Erra Fazira—performed KRU's song "Suluhkan Sinar" in dedication to the victims of the 2004 tsunami.

In 2011, "Gemuruh Suara" was used for the Malaysian contingent participating in the 26th Southeast Asian Games and KRU re-produced "Di Manakan Ku Cari Ganti" by P. Ramlee as part of the Tribute to P. Ramlee Project. The Konsert Ulang Tahun Ke-20 started in 2012. "Kuasa Juara" was used at the 2015 Southeast Asian Games for the Malaysian contingent. KRU toured Singapore and Kuala Lumpur from 2016 to 2018 for Konsert 24 Tahun Gergasi, after which they disbanded.

They also diversified their ventures into producing large-scale and high budgeted films such as the ''Cicak Man'' series, '' Duyung'', ''Magika'', ''Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa'', Vikingdom and animation movies - Ribbit and Wheely.

Songs KRU has composed have been performed by a number of artists: Cyndi Wang, Az Yet and Jaclyn Victor, Caliph Buskers, Yuki Sharifah Aini, Anita Sarawak, Ezlynn, Alex To, Erra Fazira, Ella, Tiara Jacquelina, The Indigo, Anuar Zain, Zainal Abidin, Amy Mastura, Ning Baizura, Rabbani, Feminin, Imam Muda, Shahir, Elite, Adam AF2, Forteen, Adira, Mawi

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