INTERVIEW::
conducted
by
JiZO Jewles
JIZO: Please tell us
about your age and ethnicity?
Kas-kade: I am
currently a 19 year old Korean-American. ‘Bout
to turn 20 on February 24th, DAMN I’m getting
too old. My real name is Christopher Choi
however I go by the handle of Kas-Kade whenever
I’m behind a mic or freestyling drunk.
JIZO: What do you
call home?
Kas-kade: I guess
you can say my home is in Trumbull, Connecticut
where I’ve lived for the majority of my life.
However, I can’t forget about where I grew up as
a child down in my hometown of Cresskill, New
Jersey.
JIZO: How did
Kas-Kade become your pseudonym?
Kas-kade: Pshh the
Dishwashing detergent of course. HA nah honestly
my alias comes from a more metaphorical
standpoint stemming its roots from the actual
definition. Let’s look up some definitions:
Cascade - A method of
connecting two or more single control devices
together so that the output of one is used as a
set point in another.
Stacked views in numerical
order, with the lowest numbered view entirely
visible and the title bars of all other views
visible.
A series of small steep
drops increasing the velocity of the stream.
I mean. My name depicts how
my style of flow is, it’s straight raw in the
purest form and you cannot deny who I am.
JIZO: Being from
Trumbull, CT. Did any local MCs influence you
and your music?
Kas-kade: I would
have to say no, I mean I live in the burbz,
foreal all I’ve been looking forward to is
working with local artists however there isn’t a
thriving scene for Rap Music in Connecticut. I
mean the only few emcees that I’ve worked with
recently that are remotely close to me are Flow
Sik and Noose. I mean let’s face it, I basically
feel like I’m stuck in a place I don’t want to
be. It’s either NY or CALI. Carl Choi holla
JIZO: When and why
did you to get in the rap game?
Kas-kade: I started
spittin this shit one day when my boy put on a
beat and recorded it using a cheap ass computer
mic. I mean don’t get me wrong I’ve been
battling over on the boards at Aznraps.com when
I was about 14 years old and won the title of a
Tag Team Tournament Champion with my homie D-T-O
AKA D-Town D Emcee. As a matter of a fact I
remember battling J-Spliff and Kevnish from the
Far East Movement a couple years back. However,
battling never challenged me like songwriting
did. Honestly it was a transition I’ve been
working on for quite some time and you don’t
just see a cat who battled for a couple of years
turn into a full out rapper making tracks. I
became extremely motivated throughout the years
witnessing emcees like Flow Sik, Jin, Far East
Movement, Snacky Chan, R.O.O.K, Lyrics Born, and
Southstar blowin up and I’m like damn, I know I
got what it takes and half these cats I’ve been
knowing throughout my entire career as a rapper.
But then again, the question is why I wanted to
become a rapper? I’m not gunna sugarcoat it at
all, I want to get out there and make some
serious moves and make some damn history. I mean
sure you see a bunch of parents with their sons
as lawyers and doctors, but I always wanted to
go down in history as the one who flipped the
game upside down. I mean no one can take that
away from you. That’s what I want.
JIZO: Where do you
draw your inspiration to write your songs?
Kas-kade: My
inspiration truly comes from watching these over
the top commercialized emcees who were born with
a silver spoon in their mouth bragging about how
thug or untouchable they are. Cats like Bow Wow
feed my fuel because all I know is; it’s a wrap
when I’m in the Game. Every single time I look
at how these no talent emcees are making bread,
I strive myself to overcome all of them. Then
again there are certain songs I do for the
ladies and the fellas that like to bump in the
club.
JIZO: What other
businesses are you involved in outside of
dropping records?
Kas-kade: I
currently work at a Grille & Bar restaurant as a
Food Runner. Let me tell you, that’s a life
changing experience right there. It’s like you’d
never expect an occupation where you meet random
people who have no idea who you are and judge
you based upon appearance. I mean anyone who has
worked in a restaurant can feel me on this one,
it’s straight up hard work and the money’s
straight. I figured out I became a bit bi-polar
after working in a place like that. But besides
work, I’m currently attending college full time
and working on earning my associates in science
for general studies and transfer to a four year
university after that. But honestly, I went to
college... just because you need that back up
plan.
JIZO: With such a
vast pool of Asian American talent out there,
what needs to happen in your opinion before we
see more Asian American artists make it
mainstream?
Kas-kade: Oh I had that dream and I know
exactly how to execute it. Place an artist like
me under a well known record label and create a
world-wide buzz, in the spotlight. I’m not
trying to come off as arrogant but my plans are
to first establish myself as an artist in the
mainstream world, gain enough popularity,
prosperity, and connections to open up my own
record label. From there, I would sign the
Asian-American artists that I know would kill
the game and set off a revolution like no other.
Come out packing and make the whole nation as
well as the world witness an Universal Uprising
of Asian American artists from various
backgrounds of music genres.
JIZO: Is there
anything else you would like to tell your
readers?
Kas-kade: Don’t
think I’m just your average Asian-American
emcee. I don’t even consider bringing about
topics like my ethnicity as a means of gaining
an edge or sympathy in the music world. Accept
me as I am, and if you don’t… who cares? If you
don't know where you come from, you just don't
know where you want to go in life.
JIZO: Can you tell
us about your mixtape titled "Luminous"? Is this
your first one?
Kas-kade: Well what
can I say about the mixtape? It’s straight up
manufactured by myself and I haven’t even sold
one, I’ve been handing them out because I
haven’t made moves out in CT yet. I really want
people to hear my music and you know what? If
y’all want to send me $10 bucks and contact me
through either myspace or my E-Mail address I
will personally send you a copy of the mixtape
to your door.
JIZO: What can fans
expect from this mixtape and where can they cop
it?
Kas-kade: They can
cop it directly from me, I manufactured it
myself, the album cover, the CDS, the jewel
cases are all packaged by myself. I guess fans
can expect only the best from me. The mixtape
entitled “Luminous” features artists such as
Flow Sik as well as Noose. Oh and y’all haven’t
heard anything because I have not released any
of my new material. I guess people can honestly
expect quality hip hop and a flow like no other.
JIZO: Do you have a
music video available?
Kas-kade: Ha I
wish. TODD ANGKASUWAN! Where you at? Anyone who
makes music videos where you at? I would be
honored to be in one.
JIZO: Are there any
specific artist(s) & producer(s) you would like
to work with the most?
Kas-kade: Well it’s
been an ongoing uncertainty but I have always
wanted to make a track with Far East Movement. I
also want to work with R.O.O.K on a couple of
tracks as well as Chan. I’m open to any
collaborations as of now; I haven’t had the
chance to reach out to these folks yet. Matter
fact Roscoe Umali should holla @ me. I have
always wanted to work with Mos Def, Kanye West,
and OutKast. Producers? I would say Danger
Mouse. I would love to work with Gnarles Barkley
but you know that aint gunna happen. I want to
hop on a track with Drunken Tiger while we at
it. Southstar has def. got the overall appeal to
him and It’d be ill if we could get down on a
track. Last but not least, I would like to work
with Jin because I can’t deny his skills as a
battle emcee and overall emcee. I mean, I’m
looking for a variety of new innovative rap
music; I would also love to work with the Ken
Oak Band, At Last, Heather Park, and
Jupitersciples. Shout outs to FLOW SIK, Noose,
Lon Star, DYP Tha Goldynchild, Prohgress, and my
homies The Raging Bonheures.
