Kashcpt Forges A New Path With The Release of Cape Town Radio 2
The first installment of Kashcpt’s Cape Town Radio saw the young artist introduce himself to South Africa’s growing hip-hop scene. The 12-track project was a strong debut, light on features, and pulled together by some incredible production. Now, almost two years later, he returns with a vengeance-presenting a less polite sophomore project which doesn’t ask for a place in the scene but rather demands it. Cape Town Radio 2 is as much a reminder as it is a declaration: Kashcpt is here to stay.
Always believing that Cape Town had so much more to offer the world, Kash has made it his mission to champion his hometown (and the artists that emerge from it) in everything that he does.
Cape Town Radio 2 sees Kash become more experimental with his music, and it’s about to pay off. Expanding his sound from melodic raps to include touches of afrobeats in “WHAT I LIKE” and even leaning into amapiano on “POUR UP”, this is the most versatile offering to come from the NeverBroke artist. He features some of the continent’s heavy hitters through his collaborations with Blxckie, YoungstaCPT, J Molley, and Savage on the tape.
One of Kash’s main objectives with the release of this project was to make sure that the world would take notice of the music coming out of Cape Town. He always wanted his music to resonate with people from all walks of life. For that to happen the music had to have a global sound. Finally coming into his own as an artist and taking control of his narrative, Kash makes tremendous strides towards that with the release of Cape Town Radio 2.
In our interview, Kash reveals that things haven’t always been easy. He reflects on being the odd one out at school while practicing poetry at a very young age to combat his feelings of loneliness. Those emotional hardships and battles would lead Kash to find comfort and purpose through his music later in life.
For more on the winding road that has led Kash to where we find him today, as well as a glimpse into the artists future, have a look at our full interview below.
This interview has been lightly edited for the purpose of clarity and context.
Daniel: I heard that you have a new single out that you have been promoting called “POUR UP” Can you talk to me about how that song came to be and the production behind it?
Kashcpt: The production and how it came about? Alright bet. When we did pour up Baker and I were just chilling in my room and I had this idea, I wanted us to try a new genre. Obviously you know that Amapiano is popping off right now, we played a few reference songs and Baker is actually more on the production side I just added a few things here and there in terms of the bounce of the beat. He came up with the beat in about 2 hours and then I just freestyled over the beat. What I came up with it took some time to get use to the sound, I had to listen back to it a few times in order for my ears to adjust to the sound. Eventually we made minor changes to the hook and the song just came together I would say the song took about one day to create and with the adjustments it took another two days before we had the final product. In all the verses I’m trying to do cadences of people that inspire me. So in the first verse that’s me trying to do my own take on it. The second verse is a cadence of Jesse (J Molley). There is just a way that he comes in that I’m trying to mimic and that’s basically how the song got created.
Having released Cape Town Radio in 2020 do you think that it got the support that it deserved?
Firstly, I think for my fans they have been supporting me. Everyone who has been supporting me more or less knows how I want my music to be received by my fans. I am really encouraged by them more than anyone else. I didn’t expect radio stations to play any songs from Cape Town radio but there were a few that got playlisted and it was so unexpected. It wasn’t those songs that were your traditional radio songs. I am happy with my niche audience that I have developed over years. From the people that supported me, they most certainly pushed the album and wanted to see what’s next. And there’s those that just heard about me, they have gotten to know who I am and this idea of me or they put me in a box and don’t really know what to expect from me next. I think that is really dope because in a way there is this element of mystery. This element of mystery allows me to control the narrative around my career and what I play next or what I choose for people to hear. Sonically, Cape Town Radio 2 is so different for me. There are songs on the project that I thought I would never make. I am so excited for people to hear it because I constantly want to expand my skill as much as I can.
How similar to “POUR UP” is the rest of Cape Town Radio 2?
Quite. In terms of “hard” songs I wouldn’t say that there is a crazy amount of them because those are the type of songs that you want to perform at events and clubs to see the energy of the crowd. The singles that I have released so far tick that box. Those are all hype songs (Rockets, Opps and Feta). I haven’t performed “Feta” just yet because I want people to know the lyrics first. I will try and push the songs that people wouldn’t necessarily want to hear (such as the slower songs). In terms of Cape Town Radio 2 there is a lot of singing and rapping but I infused the two so there is a perfect mix. Even in post-production a lot of the original beats that we had, got changed because Baker and I added a few touches to them. My peers and I are at a level where we are able to compete at an international level. However, there are so many artists all over South Africa that I’ve met and we’ve maintained genuine friendships and I can truly say that they are solid people in that regard. I believe that one day there will be more light and a larger audience for so many of the artists coming out of South Africa.
Do you think that collaboration between artists in South Africa is important and especially pushing each other’s music?
Collaborating is the key. If people are able to put pride aside for a bigger cause, especially with the segregation in the industry. There are young artists and then there are old artists. The older artists act as gatekeepers and the younger artists feel as if they have to prove themselves. I do see more collaboration coming from Johannesburg where artists are willing to make songs and content together. Here in Cape Town, that is starting to happen as well. The wonderful thing about art is that you can fuse it with other creative elements and create endless possibilities.
I absolutely love your contribution to Youngsta and Shaney Jay’s song “Sidenote”. Talk to me about how that song came to be from your perspective?
Firstly, thank you. The way that song came about started when Youngsta and I started speaking face to face with each other. About a year or two ago I was invited to the ‘block’ to meet everyone from ‘Y?GEN’. Youngsta and I saw each other prior obviously at events, but we didn’t really chop it up like that and I didn’t want to come off in a weird way. If anything I just got over myself one day and approached him. He then invited me over and we would just chill on the block in Wynberg and speak. Most of the encounters that Youngsta and I have had we would ask each other about life and I would ask him for advice or if I needed guidance then I would ask him as he is someone that I look up to. He sent me the beat and told me what the song was going to be for and everything. If there is one person who is big on collaboration in general without even needing to be then it’s Youngsta. He will literally go out of his way to make these things come to life. I have learnt to be opened minded and always to think about the bigger picture from just being around him. As much as we are focusing on making our music there are kids that are looking up to us. The influence that we hold is something that the youth gravitates towards. I didn’t want to just hop on the song for vibes. Once I got the reference, I was listening to a lot of Lauren Hill at the time and I tried to mimic something that she would try and do. I won’t ever say that I don’t get inspired by people because there are elements from everyone and everyday life that you can just take and incorporate it into your art. So I recorded the song at home did the hook and listened to it about twenty times before sending it. Once I sent it he was happy and he did his verse soon after that. Just the way the song came together I am very grateful for the experience and to be able to make music with someone that I’ve looked up to for a very long time. It’s a humbling experiencing and gave me the power to want to do more. At one point this is something that I’ve prayed for and now it’s a reality which is really heart-warming. In order to be successful, you need to have gratitude because we are able to experience things that others can only dream of experiencing. It reminds me that I am in a position to inspire others. The position that I have been given hopefully one day I am able to put someone else that I believe in, in a better place so they can take it to the next level in terms of their career. There is a bigger picture in everything.
Let’s talk about your legacy. What do you hope to leave behind?
In all honesty I would never want to stop making music. Music has changed my life and got me to where I am. There is a lot of factors that play a role in how we do things and how we create things but I would like to be authentic to a point where other people feed off that and be authentic in their own way without compromising their sound for anyone. I’d like to have a presence where people can just admire my work without viewing it as competition and see it as inspiring rather than a threat. As soon as you view things as a threat you are blocking all the inspiration you could take from it. If I ever do stop making music the legacy that I would like to leave behind is to be someone that inspired others to get whatever they wanted to achieve done.
Kash, you’ve been in the music industry for a while now, how does it feel to make music and people instantly gravitate towards it?
When I started I never had this picture where people would view me how they view me now. I would always be on my own. The music for me is poetry and I’ve been writing poems since grade 2 and that was my way of keeping myself busy when no one wanted to spend time with me during breaks. At school wasn’t the kid that everyone wanted to associate with so I would always find myself trying to fit into places. If people were playing soccer I would try and play but it was never my thing. I would feel that people didn’t actually want me there and that’s okay. So I found the next best thing for me and that was being creative.
Poetry was the foundation for me and I came to understand that I am doing this in my own space. The person that was constantly reading my poems would be my mom and she was my number one supporter. For her to say that she was proud of me or to say that this poem is good, it meant a lot.
I am extremely grateful that I am able to do what I love and to make a living from it and share that same love for it with other people. I have to constantly remind myself that not everyone is able to do what they love so I try to make sure that I don’t become entitled. I base my growth off of the amount of people I can touch with my music and not being the best. That’s where it comes back to not treating fans like fans but actually seeing that they are genuinely supporting me. I’m very humbled to be in a position where people would take time out of their day to message me and say how my music impacted them. I really didn’t see it getting this far but the possibilities are endless. I don’t try and limit my thinking anymore because I’ve seen my prayers turn into real life. The power in consistency and working hard towards something has really given me the drive to want to do more.
Any last remarks before we end?
Cape Town Radio 2 is going to be a crazy tape but that’s all I’ll say on that. Most importantly I want people to know that if things aren’t going your way right now and they aren’t making sense but you know that you are doing the right thing (doing what is right within your heart) and you’re consistent with it believing to the point where you know it is possible then don’t stop. If I stopped then I wouldn’t be where I’m at. You will get to a point where you feel like you don’t know what you’re doing and even feel like you’re wasting your time. Don’t get caught up in that because no one is going to tell you that you’re doing the right thing but stick to what you believe in. If you don’t have anyone to look up to then always look to God and have a why. Always ask yourself what’s your why- why are you doing this? What’s your end goal. All of these questions will carry you through if anything. Having faith and having something that you stand for will take you far in life.
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