Published: Thursday - June 22, 2006
Words by Shaun "Scheme" Redwood
Ray Cash (Photo: Columbia)
"Bumpin My Music" featuring Scarface is a track that defines a habitual practice of hip-hop fans, which is playing their favorite artists at obscenely and nearly intolerable noise levels, much to the chagrin of neighbors, old folks, and most reasonable people. This however, is a practice that we as hip-hop fans revel in, and therefore appreciate when a new artist can capture it so acutely on wax. With music that instantly and authentically relates to his potential audience, Ray Cash is poised to become the next in what is now a substantial list of stars from the state of Ohio.
Ray Cash took time out of what seems to be a very hectic promotional schedule (writers note: Cash pulled over to the side of a road in the middle of nowhere and used a pay phone -- that's hustle!) to wax industry, politics, his Hov-like writing process, and much more with the good folks of BallerStatus.com. You might just be witnessing the birth of Ohio's next big artist.
BallerStatus.com: Take us from Ray Cash, the kid who freestyled occasionally at lunchtime in school, to Ray Cash, the new artist on Sony.
Ray Cash: I grew up on the east side of Cleveland and my older sister was the one who introduced me to it (hip-hop). I used to listen to everything thing, my moms was constantly saying "turn that sh-- off!" But, it got embedded in me early, you know what I mean? Then growing up in high school and sh--, rapping, bullsh--ting with it, not really wanting to take it seriously. Then I graduated school and it got to the point where, "What you gon' do with yourself?" I mean, you gonna work, you gonna go to school? School wasn't an option for me, I hate school dog, that wasn't me. So, it was either get a job or hustle. At times I did one or the other, at times I did both. This rapping thing was kind of like, right place, right time. My peoples was like, "Yo, let's try to see what happen. We catch a train from Cleveland, a greyhound from Cleveland...grind the sh-- out, see what the come up is." Happened to be right place, right time. Fell on the right ears, f---ed with it and wanted to sign me up. Finally got the deal done, now I'm here man, on my grind, it don't stop.
BallerStatus.com: What was it like working with a legend like Scarface?
Ray Cash: It was an honor man. Like, I had met Face before. We had did the song or whatever, this is like a real cool dude. He sat there and told me what's going on, not dealing with the music, but with himself. He's a real humble dude and I always looked up to Face. Coming from where I come from, he's a f---ing legend. For him to hear my song, and to be impressed with it -- first of all, because ain't a lot of sh-- that impress people like that -- and want to get on it and pay homage to the people he grew up to, that's a great feeling. To see somebody of that stature to be like "Yo, I f---s with you," and at the same time to give me real advice on other sh-- that aint got nothing to do with music, that's real sh-- right there. So, to work with him was an honor man, a real honor.
BallerStatus.com: What do you think of a lot of the music that's out there today, and what kind of content can we expect from your album?
Ray Cash: I'ma give you everything. I can't be pigeonholed. A lot of people be like, "I thought you was from the South?" And then they hear something else and be like, "I thought you was from out East somewhere, oh you from Cleveland?" I get that reaction all the time, so that's a good reaction to me because it shows everything that I can do. As far as the music that's out right now, I f--- with a lot of it, [but] at the same time, there's not a lot of substance to it.
BallerStatus.com: Take us through your creative process. Are you the type that goes to the studio, hears the track and writes on the spot? Do you have to let a beat simmer for quite some time, or is it something completely different?
Ray Cash: I don't even have a process. N----s think I sit around -- and I got so many songs -- they think I sit around and rap, rap, rap all day, or I go f---ing crazy if I go more than three days without rapping. The sh-- kills me. A lot of my sh-- is already done before I even hear a beat.
I stopped writing [on paper] because when you're stuck on paper, you're looking at it, you know what you want the song to sound like, but you looking at that last word you just wrote, and the next one you write gon' have to rhyme with that. You get caught up in the paper, and not what you want to get off your chest. You get caught up in making that sh-- rhyme, making it sound good, then you start giving the people the bullsh--. A lot, I just come up with just thinking in my room. I be in the car doing my "1,2's", I just smoke one (laughs), and my mind gets to going. Then later on, I might hear a beat...give me about an hour, I'll be straight. It really don't take too long at all. To be honest, I never wanted to do this, but it came easy to me.
BallerStatus.com: John Legend recently appeared on an HBO show and said that there was a lot of corruption in the last election as far as suppressing the black vote in Ohio. Being an Ohio native yourself, did you hear anything about this?
Ray Cash: He in it. John knows Ohio's f---ed up. He's from more southern Ohio, so down there is really f---ed up. There's lot of racial tension. I'm from up top, I'm from Cleveland. We got a whole different swag than the rest of them. There is racial tension, but it isn't as bad as southern Ohio. But...I never voted until the first Bush election, [and] only reason I did is because my mother would constantly tell me you need to take your ass to vote, it's serious. And then, blatantly see the n---- cheat, it's like "Damn." Then you go back the second time and do it, and see it happen again -- knowing when you were in that last vote you seen n----s you know ain't never voted a day in their life -- and he still won? F---ing corruption man. We one of the worst cities as far as employment, education, all that sh--. People in Ohio hate Bush, that sh-- was rigged.
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