EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
There are some to whom partying is a way of life. To others, it’s an art form. To Cakes Da Killa, it’s both.
A fixture of the New York club scene from his early days as a party promoter for PAPER mag, Cakes Da Killa is a rapper, songwriter, and lyricist whose house-infused sound presaged the Renaissance-era club-rap craze more than a decade ago. His new album Black Sheep—a staggering collection of ballroom-meets-neojazz-meets-90s-rap tracks at the center of which are Cakes’ clever and carnal flows—has received critical acclaim.
Openly and unabashedly queer since his beginnings on the underground NY borough circuit, this New Jersey-born artist is, as he’ll tell me, always on the go—bus, club, another club. From Sydney to Berlin to Nashville, Cakes’ music has taken him around the world several times over, most recently for the Cakes Fest tour, which included a stop at Toronto’s Drake Underground.
When I caught that show earlier this summer, what struck me most about Cakes’ performance was his ability to curate an at-once exclusive and inclusive space that rang authentically queer. Be it through tangential banter while battling technical difficulties or a fearless audience plunge to open a dance circle, Cakes is, quite simply put, a great time.
Connecting with me over the phone later that week for a quick conversation, Cakes shared his thoughts on Pride, detailed his creative process with producer Sam Katz, and talked about the inspiration behind his most recent album, Black Sheep.
Nexus Radio: Hi Cakes, how are you? Or, I guess, where are you?
Cakes Da Killa: I’m good, I’m in Minneapolis!
NR: You’re still in the middle of your tour, right?
CDK: Yeah, I just wrapped the first leg of the North American tour. I’m kicking off the European tour later this month.
NR: Amazing, how have you felt bringing your show, Cakes Fest, to North America?
CDK: I haven’t done a North American tour in a while, so I was kind of on the fence about it. But it was really good to be out and see a lot of people that I haven’t seen in a long time. I usually tour internationally.
NR: Did you enjoy coming back to and performing in Toronto?
CDK: Yes, it was good! I was kind of nervous because I hadn’t been there in a long time, but it was nice that so many people came. They seemed excited for the show.
NR: Yeah, I mean I was really blown away by your performance, especially because it wasn’t necessarily what I was expecting!
CDK: Really? What were you expecting?
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NR: Given your music, I’d envisioned a more traditional rap performance, but it was almost more like a ball. The vibes were truly immaculate, I was obsessed.
CDK: Oh cute! Yeah, I try to make my shows more party-centric. I could do a typical rap moment, but that wouldn’t be as fun for me. I like to set my shows up as a communal place for everyone to come together and let their hair down.
NR: Given that it’s June, I have to ask: how’s your Pride been so far?
CDK: Well, Pride is a lifestyle. It seems like I’m always set for Pride, like “Bus, club, another club.”
NR: I can imagine. Has your relationship with Pride changed at all as you’ve evolved as an artist?
CDK: I think it has. As someone who’s been such a visible queer person for so long, I think I get a lot more love and appreciation when I do pop out in these queer spaces because a lot of the younger generation have been familiar with me for a long time. So, their treatment is very different. I’d say overall that Pride today has become a lot more queer-centric, whereas a lot of the booked talent wasn’t always queer. But now the younger kids want to see queer acts.
NR: That’s amazing. And, by the way, congratulations on your new album, Black Sheep. It feels so different from Svengali, your last album. Can you tell me a little about the musical inspiration behind it?
CDK: Well, I wanted to keep exploring the same genres that Sam [Katz] and I have been working with—there’ll always be those dance elements, whether we’re talking club music or dance music. I also wanted to have the common thread of jazz that I listen to. Overall, I was looking to have more of a cinematic experience for the listener because I watch a lot of movies, and I want my albums to feel more like movies.
NR: It definitely feels cinematic. Are there any movies that you watched recently that you really enjoyed?
CDK: I just watched Paprika for the first time. It was really good and was actually one of the things that helped me lay out the album.
NR: I’ll check it out. How important do you think it is for artists to curate interests in other art forms that they might or might not be working in?
CDK: It’s everything. I think that as an artist, you need to have that taste because it adds texture and dimension to what you do. I feel that that’s what’s missing now. A lot of people are making art by imitating what’s popular, and it’s not coming from any informed place. Though that can be hard, because that kind of art can be harder to market.
NR: How do you approach creating a balance between developing your craft and marketing?
CDK: I let labels do all that. I’m just happy to be able to work with enough people who allow me to do what I want to do and support me.
NR: You’ve had such a journey throughout the last decade working in music. How do you feel you’ve navigated your way through it?
CDK: I feel a lot more comfortable in what I’m doing, which is reflected in my work. I’m kind of getting more comfortable with my artistry.
NR: Tell me a little more about your relationship with Sam Katz. Was the process with Black Sheep any different than previous projects?
CDK: It was the same, which is why I was so happy to work with him again on another body of work. Sometimes, he’ll send me a beat or he’ll construct a beat around a demo that I send him. It’s really seamless. With him being in Mexico, we do a lot of Zoom calls, just to make sure we’re on the same page.
NR: Do you approach writing a hook differently than your lyrics?
CDK: The lyrics require a bit more hustle. Sometimes, the hooks and melodies come easier to me, like when I’m walking home from the bar in Berlin or Sydney. They just come to me.
With this album’s hooks, I had to lay my shitty singing down on demos for the vocalists and send them out to people like Dawn Richard. [laughs] I was just happy to work with people who can bring my lyrics to life.
NR: Do you have a favorite city to party in?
CDK: I like partying in general. I was in Nashville recently and that was pretty cute.
NR: What’s the party vibe there?
CDK: Nashville gave me black excellence in a way that I haven’t seen in a minute.
NR: That sounds incredible. You know, when I first listened to your album, I felt like it was both something I’d put on at the club and at the pre. And it got me wondering, what albums do you put on before you go out?
CDK: It depends on my vibe, but we’re obviously always revisiting Britney Spears’ Blackout. We’re definitely always going back to that.
NR: Iconic. Thanks so much for your time, Cakes.
CDK: Thank you!
This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
