CAKES DA KILLA
Young Art, USA
Cakes da Killa, una de las figuras de la explosión de hip-hop queer de New York, publicó su tercer LP Svengali a finales de 2022, ahondando en la estrecha relación entre el house y el hip-hop en el contexto de la escena de clubbing norteamericana. En Marzo 2024 publicará su nuevo trabajo.
Disponibilidad: permanentemente
Cakes is a leading figure of the queer hip-hop explosion in New York that took place in 2011. His witty flow and unapologetic delivery helped push him to the forefront of discussion as the media’s interest in LGBTQ+ visibility and themes in hip-hop heightened.
His presence in music and media championed the acceptance of openly gay artists in hip-hop but Cakes’ journey in music began as a fluke. While being enrolled in Montclair State University Cakes would record videos of himself rapping just for fun. The idea of an openly gay artist in rap was still a farfetched concept at the time. His love of rhyming and wordplay was first discovered in High School when he would participate in rap battles in the cafeteria but a career in music never crossed his mind.
It wasn’t until he was asked to appear on the 2011 »Downtown Mayhem Vol. 1« compilation mixtape that he realized his hobby for lyrics could be an easy way to a couple drink tickets and free entry at his favorite bar and clubs in the city. Fast forward to 2013 and Mishka NYC's website releases Cakes' first official mixtape »The Eulogy« to overwhelming popularity when it was reviewed positively by Pitchfork and Anthony Fantano of the Needledrop. Miles Raymer of Pitchfork compared his raunchy style to Lil’ Kim and praised the production of the mixtape. According to an interview in PAPER magazine the mixtape's title originally referred to Cakes’ plan to end his musical career after its release to focus on journalism, but he's since changed his mind.
He remains a staple for alternative voices in music, promoting black excellence as well as LGBTQ+ visibility garnering the MC praise from the likes of Red Bull, Afropunk and The Fader. Mixing 90's grit with high energy club beats Cakes’ unique persona quickly cemented him as one of the most dynamic lyricists to hit airwaves fusing hip-hop, electronic and dance. A string of singles, collaborations with respected producers such as LSDXOXO, Honey Dijon and DJ Shiftee, mixtapes Hunger Pangs (2014) and #IMF (2015), television appearances on VH1’s LHH: Out in Hip Hop Special (2015) VICE’s Gaycation (2016), sponsorships, syncs and tours around the world finally prompted the release of his much anticipated debut album Hedonism in the fall of 2016.
On October 28th 2022 Cakes Da Killa released his long-awaited second album »Svengali«, available via the TOKiMONSTA-owned label Young Art Records. The New Jersey hip-hop/house innovator has brought his hardbody raps together with ecstatic dance beats for over a decade all while bringing the untouchable nightlife culture of New York City to the rest of the world. With »Svengali«, he adds another landmark to his catalog, ushering the long-running relationship between hip-hop and house music into a new chapter.
»Svengali« is a cinematic experience, charting a love affair from hookup to breakup, with all of the highs and lows of romance and attraction in between. Always a brutally (and hilariously) unfiltered voice, the album sees Cakes bringing a new layer of vulnerability and depth to his writing, charting the vicissitudes of love in and out of the club. Coming on the heels of the high-energy cult-favorite »Muvaland« Vol. 1 & 2 mixtapes (but recorded before either of them), »Svengali« dials back the manic, rave-till-dawn energy in favor of beats by producer Sam Katz that offer more subtle moods, as well as a jazz influence that connects Cakes to the early days of queer culture that bubbled up out of New York jazz clubs and the sonically ambitious jazz lovers who pioneered house music.
