Rashard Bradshaw, better known as Cakes da Killa, is an American

rap artist Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing b ...

who fuses genres of

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

, and

electronic dance music Electronic dance music (EDM), also referred to as dance music or club music, is a broad range of percussive electronic music genres originally made for nightclubs, raves, and List of electronic dance music festivals, festivals. It is generally ...

. He came to prominence in the "

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...

explosion" of hip hop music stemming from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

in 2012 and is among the credited performers for the current trend of acceptance of LGBT people in the rap community. Bradshaw is currently based in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

and his second full-length studio album ''

Svengali Svengali () is a character in the novel ''Trilby'' which was first published in 1894 by George du Maurier. Svengali is a Jewish man who seduces, dominates and exploits Trilby, a young half-Irish girl, and makes her into a famous singer. Defini ...

'' was released on October 28, 2022.

Career

2011: Career beginnings and ''Easy Bake Oven''

Rashard Bradshaw started rapping in high school for fun before considering it as a career. He first began writing tracks to

instrumentals An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to ...

he found on the internet and posting them to Facebook. In 2011, his homemade demos came to the attention of an executive producer named Stixx, who invited Bradshaw to appear on the mixtape ''Downtown Mayhem Vol. 1'' alongside Rip The Ruler. Bradshaw then went on to release his own debut mixtape ''Easy Bake Oven, Vol. 1'' through Stixx' Downtown Mayhem label. As an emerging artist in the

genre—along with fellow

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

artists such as

Le1f Khalif Libasse Diouf, known by the stage name Kalifa (born April 6, 1989), formerly known by the stage name Le1f (), is an American rapper and producer. Diouf also founded the record label Camp & Street, with Boody, DonChristian, and Chaz Requi ...

, Mykki Blanco, and

House of Ladosha House of Ladosha is a New York City-based artistic collective and LGBT rap duo including Antonio Blair ("Dosha Devastation aka La Fem LaDosha") and Adam Radakovich ("Cunty Crawford"). Other members include Neon Christina Ladosha (Christopher Udem ...

—Bradshaw gained popularity through media interest in LGBT figures and themes in hip hop and rap, having been written about in a Pitchfork article about said "movement". Bradshaw cites

Erykah Badu Erica Abi Wright (born February 26, 1971), known professionally as Erykah Badu, is an American singer and songwriter. Influenced by rhythm and blues, R&B, Soul music, soul, and hip hop, Badu rose to prominence in the late 1990s when her debut al ...

Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after National Football League, NFL and Canadian Football Lea ...

Remy Ma Reminisce Kioni Mackie ( Smith; born May 30, 1980), known professionally as Remy Ma, is an American rapper and songwriter. Discovered by the late rapper Big Pun, she came to prominence for her work as a member of Fat Joe's group, Terror Squad ...

Lil' Kim Kimberly Denise Jones (born July 11, 1974), Those giving 1974 include: * * * * * better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper. She was born and raised in New York City and lived much of her adolescent life on the streets after ...

, Foxy Brown,

Cam'ron Cameron Ezike Giles (born February 4, 1976), known Mononym, mononymously as Cam'ron, is an American rapper. Beginning his career in the early 1990s as Killa Cam, Giles signed with Lance Rivera, Lance "Un" Rivera's Lance Rivera, Untertainment, a ...

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is noted for her ...

, and

Bette Midler Bette Midler ( ;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and author. Throughout her five-decade career Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Bette Midler, numero ...

as influences.

2012–2015: ''The Eulogy'', ''Hunger Pangs'', and mainstream success

Released for free on Mishka NYC's website, Bradshaw's second mixtape ''The Eulogy'' was released to overwhelming popularity when it was reviewed positively by

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

. Miles Raymer of Pitchfork compared his raunchy style to

and praised the production of the mixtape. According to an interview in

Paper Magazine ''Paper'' (also known as ''Paper Mag'') is a New York City-based independent magazine focusing on fashion, popular culture, nightlife, music, art, and film. Initially produced monthly, the magazine eventually became a quarterly publication, and ...

, the mixtape's title originally referred to Bradshaw's plan to end his musical career after its release, but he's since changed his mind. Prior to making his rap career full-time, Bradshaw was an intern at Paper Magazine and worked in the nightlife industry, promoting parties and working doors in New York City. In May 2013, Bradshaw completed his bachelor's degree in fashion studies at

Montclair State University Montclair State University (MSU) is a public research university in Montclair, New Jersey, with parts of the campus extending into Clifton and into Little Falls. As of fall 2018, Montclair State was, by enrollment, the second largest public un ...

. In September 2013, Bradshaw released an EP for his hit single "I Run This Club", which samples M.I.A.'s song by the same name from her 2010 mixtape '' Vicki Leekx''. He later released a ''Remixes'' version of this EP which included features from Fat Tony, Siyoung, and Spank Rock on the title track. In June 2014, Bradshaw released a nine-track mixtape titled ''Hunger Pangs''. To promote this mixtape, Bradshaw appeared on the

Hot 97 WQHT (97.1 FM, ''Hot 97'') is a commercial radio station, licensed to New York, New York, which broadcasts an urban contemporary music format. The station is owned by Mediaco Holding, a subsidiary of the Standard General hedge fund. WQHT's st ...

radio show ''

Ebro The Ebro (Spanish and Basque ; , , ) is a river of the north and northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, in Spain. It rises in Cantabria and flows , almost entirely in an east-southeast direction. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea, forming a de ...

in the Morning'' where he freestyled live on air. Throughout the interview, Bradshaw's sexuality kept being a topic of discussion, with Ebro calling him a "gay rapper" and Bradshaw correcting him to call himself "a rapper that happens to be gay". In 2015, Bradshaw released a 5 track EP titled ''#IMF'' (In My Feelings), which chronicled a modern-day tale of star crossed lovers from inception to resolution.

2016–present: Studio albums

In October 2016, Bradshaw released his highly anticipated debut album ''Hedonism'' on Ruffians. In October 2019, Bradshaw appeared on the Netflix reality competition ''Rhythm + Flow'', where he auditioned in front of

Cardi B Belcalis Marlenis Cephus (; born October 11, 1992), known professionally as Cardi B, is an American rapper. Noted for her unfiltered public image and lyrics, Cardi B is one of the most successful female rappers. From 2015 to early 2017, she ga ...

Jadakiss Jason Terrance Phillips (born May 27, 1975), better known by his stage name Jadakiss (, ), is an American rapper who began his career in the 1990s and formed the hip hop trio the Lox alongside Styles P and Sheek Louch in 1994. The group signed w ...

, and

Fat Joe Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper. He began recording as a member of Hip-hop, hip hop group D.I.T.C., Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.) in 1992, and pursued a sol ...

. Following this appearance, Bradshaw has released a handful of singles in 2020, most recently "Don Dada" off his EP ''Muvaland'', which was released in November 2020. In 2022, Bradshaw released his second studio album, ''

''.

Discography

Albums

Extended plays

Mixtapes

Singles

Guest appearances

Filmography

Television

Music videos

References

External links

Cakes da Killa
on

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

Cakes da Killa
on

SoundCloud SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is ...

Cakes da Killa
on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

Cakes da Killa
on

Tumblr Tumblr (pronounced "tumbler") is a microblogging and Social networking service, social networking website founded by David Karp in 2007 and is owned by American company Automattic. The service allows users to post multimedia and other content ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cakes da Killa 21st-century African-American musicians 21st-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American rappers African-American LGBTQ people American gay musicians American LGBTQ rappers Gay rappers 21st-century American male rappers LGBTQ people from New Jersey Living people Musicians from Teaneck, New Jersey Rappers from New Jersey Year of birth missing (living people)

Career

2011: Career beginnings and ''Easy Bake Oven''

2012–2015: ''The Eulogy'', ''Hunger Pangs'', and mainstream success

2016–present: Studio albums

Discography

Albums

Extended plays

Mixtapes

Singles

Guest appearances

Filmography

Television

Music videos

See also

References

External links