Cash Cobain: “I just want to say something sexy.”

“And this beat from Cash, not from YouTube,” is the omnipresent signature stamp you hear on the introduction of almost every song rapper-producer Cash Cobain graces with his raunchy lyricism and graceful beats. 

Over the last few years, the pulsating sound of sexy drill – pioneered by Cash himself – has been crawling into the eardrums of residence across the five boroughs of New York City and beyond. This new and alluring sub-genre embodies seductive melodies trickling with soul, R&B and smooth undertones entangled with hard-hitting beats. Sexy drill is a party adaptation of its origins, causing waves across NYC, London and Chicago ever since Chief Keef’s insurgence.    

“The music is just sexy, the beat is sexy, the sampling is sexy, how we put it together is sexy,” the 26-year-old rapper confesses over Zoom. His tone is relaxed and moderate, far removed from the party-orientated and manipulated vocals he delivers in his rap songs. “[Sexy Drill] makes you feel sexy, it makes you want to vibe – It doesn’t make you want to kill somebody; I’m coolin’ I’m not trying to be out here shooting all night. I’m trying to get a girl, that was always me anyway. We didn’t put much thought into it [Sexy Drill] we were just doing us, bro.”  

Growing up in the South Bronx, Cash witnessed how the borough helped cultivate a creative sonic vision for his artistic expression that is flourishing today, even despite the continuous critiques and public notions about his community in the Bronx. “The Bronx be having it,” he laughs. “I don’t know what it is about us, we’re the home of hip-hop. We’re where hip-hop started, they call us dirty, but we don’t give a F**k, we are just running it.”  

At its core, Soundcloud has also painted a dynamic landscape where Cash Cobain’s raw talent meets an eager audience, offering a community for his unprecedented reach and immediacy while simultaneously being able to bypass the narrow alley of gatekeeping often found in conventional paths within the music industry. “It was the first platform where me and my friends had the freedom to upload music and see the reach we’ll get, that was our gateway, that was our social media for music,” admits Cash. 

From sampling ‘I swear, I Really Wanted To Make A “Rap” Album But This Is Literally The Way The Wind Blew Me This Time’ by André 3000, creating a risqué drill track on ASSON3000, to transforming Miguel’s ‘Girl With the Tattoo’ into a fast beat and sensual version, Cash has turned his Soundcloud into a bastion of opportunity. “I started SoundCloud and that’s where my fans were built.” 

But it’s the melodious chorus of, “Got an attitude, but you bad as shit, so I ain’t mad at you / And you tatted too, what I gotta do to be having you?,” from Cash and Bay Swag’s ‘Fisherrr’ which has made him a leading musical muse this year. And with Ice Spice jumping on the remix, the single is on its way to becoming the song of the summer. “Shout out to Ice Spice, man,” he says humbly. “She bodied that verse! I didn’t know she was going to use autotune so she kind of surprised me and caught me off guard.” 

What has also helped to propel ‘Fisherrr’ into the mainstream is the Reemski dance trend. In its essence, the trend celebrates individuality and self-expression through rhythmic body motion, confident gestures, fluid footwork and a touch of the individual dancer’s personality. “Reemski did that dance by himself, I saw a video of a guy doing a crazy ass dance,” he says. “It was crazy because it was different, and it started to spread organically. Shout out to Reemski, he played a part in the song going viral.” 

When debriefing about the pressure to censor the explicit content in his music, Cash seems unfazed and tranquil about it. “I don’t censor myself at all,” he chuckles with glee. “I won’t be under pressure; I’ll say what I want to say and I just want to say something sexy.” 

“I love making music, I love creating and I love producing,” he admits jubilantly, expressing his adoration for being both a rapper and a producer. “I just try not to make this stress me out and move at my own pace.” 

His ideal way of maneuvering through his career is to stay unprocessed like a diamond in the rough. “I just want to figure out how to do something differently but keep it simple and always be myself,” he says. “I don’t want to be out here duplicating people.” 

With his sound becoming tasteful for listeners both in the UK and 3,459 miles across the Atlantic Ocean, Cash is almost ready to drop his latest project, Play Cash Cobain, in time for Summer. “I’m trying to drop the project around June or July,” he expresses. “Fans can just expect some slizzy sh**t. It’s even more slizzy than my last stuff. They can expect surprise features on there.” 

“I just want to give them beautiful music quickly. They probably think I’m a one-hit wonder because of ‘Fisherrr’ and people keep saying I’m an industry plant but they don’t know me. I’m trying to drop this EP now; I don’t want to wait too long, for real, but I’ve got to go through a process.” 

Despite attempts by critics to blemish his name with industry plant and one-hit wonder accusations, this year Cash was anointed by the Recording Academy as one of the 2024 #GRAMMYsNextGen Producer Ambassadors. “I’m just trying to get a Grammy by next year, man,” he smiles. “That was a beautiful and unexpected moment, but now I need that Grammy.” 

With his lyrics and melodies being laced with the language of autonomy, harmonised by choruses of self-expression, Cash wants his fans to be “fearless and not boxed in,” he confesses, “I want them to be creative and be themselves knowing that you can do anything in different ways.” For Cash Cobain, the future he sees for himself is just as bold: “I see myself taking over the world and taking care of my people.”