The meaning of “Nobody Has to Know” is simple: it is a song about a secret affair.
Kranium sings to a woman who visits him in private while she has a partner at home, and the hook keeps promising that no one else will ever find out. Critics treated it as a “creeping” song.
When the remix came out in 2015, LargeUp noted that creeping has been a recurring theme in dancehall and hip-hop lyrics for as long as the genres have existed.
That same year The Fader called the track DL-themed, meaning it is about keeping things on the down low.
The Lyrics Explained
Kranium delivers the song in Jamaican patois. In the chorus he keeps telling the woman that nobody needs to know they are sleeping together or that she comes to his house.
The verses fill in the story. She shows up acting as if she doesn’t really want to be there and says she is sneaking out. The narrator says he can see in her eyes that she wants him anyway.
The verse ends by explaining why she is nervous: “Yuh a worry an yuh man deh a yuh yaad”, meaning her man is waiting at her home.
A later verse is a string of openly sexual boasts. In the original, Kranium even jokes about being a “mawga man,” patois for a skinny man.
Kranium’s own family heard how raw it was. He told DMY in 2015 that his mother called after hearing the song on New York radio.
“She rang and said ‘I heard this song, ‘Nobody Has to Know’, and it’s so dirty!'” He said she found it “so rude but it sound like you”, and only then did he tell her the song was his.
How the Song Was Made and Released
Sources describe the producer as New York-based Jamaican producer Lamar “LMR” Reynolds. The Jamaica Observer reported in 2026 that Reynolds grew up in Havendale and is a past student of Jamaica College.
According to Music Connection in 2015, the song was released originally by Frequent Flyer Records, a label established by Kranium and his managers, in June 2013.
The song caught on through New York radio. LargeUp also credited DJ Kenny Meez’s remix, which blended the “Nobody Has To Know” a capella with the beat from Chris Brown’s “Show Me.”
The Atlantic Records Deal and Ty Dolla $ign Remix
Billboard reported that Kranium signed a multiple album, global 360-deal (excluding the Caribbean) with Atlantic Records on Dec. 22, 2014. In the same report, Billboard said the song sold 29,000 copies in 2014, peaking at no. 32 on the Reggae Digital Songs chart.
Atlantic CEO Craig Kallman told the magazine he was “really excited to be back in the reggae business, working with a brand new, young artist”.
Atlantic then released a new version with an added verse from Ty Dolla $ign. The Fader covered it on May 12, 2015. Music Connection gave the single’s release date as May 19, so the reported dates differ.
Ty Dolla $ign’s verse keeps the secret theme, ending on the idea that nobody haffi know. The music video premiered in late August 2015, according to The Fader.
A Major Lazer and KickRaux remix featuring Ty Dolla $ign was released on October 16, 2015 by Atlantic Records as a part of the album Rumors, Kranium’s debut album.
Chart Performance and Certifications
The Jamaica Observer reported that the song scaled the Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart in 2015, peaking at #44. Its certifications have grown over time:
- United States: DancehallMag reported in 2021 that the song was certified gold by the RIAA in September 2019.
- Canada: DancehallMag reported gold in 2021. The Observer later noted a platinum certification in Canada in 2021.
- United Kingdom: The song was certified silver first. In January 2026 the Observer reported it had reached gold, a milestone marking sales and streaming figures exceeding 400,000 units.
In August 2021, DancehallMag reported that the Ty Dolla $ign video had passed 100 million views on YouTube.
What Kranium Has Said About the Song
Kranium says he knew it would be a hit. “I was 100 per cent sure that it would’ve been a hit,” he told the Observer in an interview it referenced in 2026. “When Nobody Has to Know came out, my dream was to make a song that a dancehall artiste can do from America.”
The song’s success also taught him a lesson. In a 2021 DancehallMag interview, he said he later saw the gap between the song and his follow-up single.
“So I learned the difference between a known song and a hit song. So I just didn’t want anymore known song, I wanted hit songs.”
Success also came at a personal cost. In a 2022 Billboard interview, he said, “I really thought I was going to be a one-hit wonder,” and added, “The first time I knew what anxiety and depression were was when that song came out.”
Why It Still Matters
Released independently in 2013, “Nobody Has to Know” became Kranium’s breakthrough and led to his Atlantic deal. Years later it is still picking up certifications. The song itself is a frank, catchy story about an affair that both people want to keep quiet.
