Rapper Cassidy Talks About New Deal, Why He’s Not Working With Swizz And Explains Why He Doesn’t Battle Anymore
Following a three-year hiatus from the game, Philadelphia heavy spitter Cassidy has the hunger for more. After following up his 2004 certified gold debut Split Personality with the platinum ringtone yielding I’m A Hustler, Cassidy’s life and career were in jeopardy when a manslaughter charge got him six months in prison and a car accident after his release almost cost him his life.
After recovering in 2007, Cass dropped B.A.R.S. The Barry Adrian Reese Story, which contained the club anthem “Drink and My Two-Step” before stepping out of the limelight. Other than a couple of scathing viral freestyles released via the net, Cass was keeping it low key. Not anymore.
Now back with a new EP Face 2 Face, a new LP C.A.S.H, and a new business partnership with basketball superstar Carmelo Anthony, Cassidy is ready to take his seat at the table once again. This time he plans to eat his fill.
Hip-Hop Wired sat down with the freestyle king (no Lil Flip) and he revealed info on his new album, his business partnership with Melo and why you will never catch him dougieing.
Hip-Hop Wired: You been quiet for a little minute as far as dropping studio LPs. Now you are back in a new label situation. Tell me how you linked up with Melo?
Cassidy: Well, when I got free from my old situation I wanted to become an independent artist, put together my own production company and executive produce my own projects. But I knew going independent, I wasn’t going to have the same budgets that I’m used to. So I needed an investor. Someone to invest in my project that believed in my project. So I started reaching out to people that I knew that had money and Melo was one of them.
He believed in my album ideas. I started executing short-term goals to show him that it was going to really be affective and that’s how I made him an investor. So, I’m not signed to Carmelo’s production company, Kross Over Entertainment. I’m not signed to Carmelo. Carmelo and me just have a partnership inside of my production company with E One Distribution.
Hip-Hop Wired: Does he have any input in your music? Do you guys talk or is it strictly a business relationship?
Cassidy: Oh yeah, we talk. We definitely communicate. We go out together. We’re seen together. We got footage together. And we have a lot of other things that we put together aside of music too. But at the end of the day, I really do this music and he really ball. That’s like me getting on the court and trying to tell him how to shoot a jump shot or something like that. He don’t really do this music. So for the main part, I do most of the idea making.
Hip-Hop Wired: You were in Iraq at the beginning of the year, or late last year performing for the troops?
Cassidy: Yes sir, I was in Iraq and I was in Kuwait. I did five different military bases for the soldiers. It was a beautiful experience. I actually was the first rapper to go out there and do something like that. I’m happy I did it cause I got to learn a lot. I got to see a lot. I got to experience a lot. It was a good experience. I got a lot of video footage.
A lot of photos and things like that I’m about to get my editors to edit up. I’m going to get my publicist to go hard with it online real so people can see more. We did bring a little bit of the footage up but we about to bring more where I can narrate it and let you know what was going on while I was out there.
