CASSOW: Artist Portrait

Interview by: E&E music contributor, Julian Granade
Photos: GAGE

Gods of the Young. GOTY. Cassow.

Recently, we sat down to pass the blunt and shoot the shit with the irreverently austere hip-hop artist, Cassow. (Pre COVID-19 of course—we’re mindfully practicing social distancing and safe toking in the current climate. PUFF PUFF PUFF—ya own.) PNW born and bred—nationally known—Cassow, got his artist start in 2010. (He is known for bluntly penning lines with the artistic gusto of a painter. Picasso anyone?) But enough intro smoke. Stream his recent music on all major platforms, and read below for the latest on this very dope individual and music maker.

EYES & EDGE: Where are you from?
Cassow: I’m from Portland, Oregon. Let’s get it.

E&E: We’re in LA right now—what brought your career out here?
C: I would say my management & shit you know? It was easier for them to work with me, and make certain plays with me physically being in Los Angeles, since they’re based out of LA. I just put myself in a better position to take advantage of the management I got, and try to further my career out here in the West.

E&E: We saw in 2017, that you performed at Rolling Loud, and toured with Post Malone. How did those experiences come to fruition?

C: I had a strong record coming into 2017, then I caught wind with the management of Post Malone. I was able to jump into a couple Rolling Louds, and that first one was pretty lit. It was one of the earlier Rolling Louds, so it was a lot of fresh talent. It was a dope experience.

Then I was able to jump onto the West Coast leg of the “Stoney” tour. It was dope, I got to perform in front of my family & in many cities. It was a dope experience since I hadn’t toured before. You know jumping onto a big tour like that is like jumping into the deep end, but I was prepared. And you know, I took advantage of it bro.

E&E: Your fans always make nicknames for artists. What does GOTY stand for, and was it developed by fans or yourself?

C: GOTY stands for “God of The Young”. Which was actually discovered by just a few of the people that I was dealing with, way back in like 2012, when I started taking music a little seriously. Gods of The Young, just stands for, reaching our highest potential & being the leaders of the youth. Setting the example, and raising the bar. We always strive for excellence, we just looked at ourselves as godly. We approached the music that way, our daily living that way. That’s how it came to fruition. We just ran with it, the fans know me by it.

E&E: We see that lately you’ve been dropping snippets, and album covers on your IG. When can we expect the “Serpent” project?

C: Pretty soon here, it’s March right now, so a couple months with the marketing, and all the songs getting mixed how I want them. I don’t want to put a specific date on it, because creatively it never works out like that. But just be expecting it soon. It’s in the works, it’s getting all doctored and prettied up. 2020.

““My greatest achievement in life, is being solid at all angles.” -Cassow”

E&E: What else can we expect from Cassow in 2020?

C: A lot of music. More visuals, more releases, more drops. Multiple projects, this won’t be the only one. I just want to get more music out there during 2020, and get the ball rolling, set the pace a little faster for myself. Be expecting a lot more of everything as an artist. 

While Cassow is a respected artist and favorite for listening and streaming—he’s over all just a solid dude. He can be quoted as saying, “My greatest achievement in life, is being solid at all angles.” All we can really add is, well. We agree.