In middle school, he and friends formed a band to accompany his mother's folk singing.

In high school, McCraven formed the jazz-hip hop Cold Duck Complex.

[5] 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.

[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.

[8] McCraven is married to Nitasha Tamar Sharma, a professor of African-American and Asian-American Studies at Northwestern University as of 2018.