McCraven was born in
Paris, France, to jazz drummer
Stephen McCraven [
fr] and Hungarian singer Ágnes Zsigmondi (of the band Kolinda
[1]), and from the age of three was raised in and around
Amherst and
Northampton, Massachusetts.[1][2] At the age of five he played in his father's drum ensemble, the CMSS Bashers, along with some of his father's students. In middle school, he and friends formed a band to accompany his mother's folk singing. In high school, McCraven formed the
jazz-hip hopCold Duck Complex. He studied music at the
University of Massachusetts Amherst, becoming part of the university's jazz orchestra and receiving various
DownBeat student awards, but did not graduate.[3]
In 2007 McCraven moved to
Chicago, where he performed in the bands of
Bobby Broom,
Corey Wilkes [
de],
Willie Pickens, and with the
Occidental Brothers,
Marquis Hill, and
Jeff Parker.[3] He also worked as a studio musician for
Apollo Sunshine and
Kris Delmhorst. In 2012 he released his debut album, Split Decision, through Chicago Sessions, leading a trio.[4] In the following years he appeared weekly with other musicians, from which he developed concepts for his 2015 album, In the Moment.[citation needed] He also performed with
Kamasi Washington. In 2016 he toured mostly in
Europe. After several mix tapes, in 2018 he released the double album Universal Beings, on which he was joined by musicians from
New York City,
London, and
Los Angeles; the album was nominated for the
Jazz Journalists Association Awards in 2019.[citation needed] In DownBeat's 2020 Critics Poll, he was the winner in the "Rising Star" categories of best producer and best drummer of the year.[5] In September, 2022, McCraven released In These Times, a full-length album that had been in development since 2015, through
International Anthem.[6]