Becoming the Rosetta Stone of Rap ft. KasOnTheMic

Obviously, you can do anything you set your mind to, but there's a certain thing you're gonna master and be great at. You know what I'm saying? And for me, I feel like that was music. The One More Time Music Podcast. Genuine conversations with genuine people about music. Hosted by Henry with a three and playback Ben. We're from being more cool to piss off. So part there one more time. Part it one more time. They find that one more time. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome, welcome to the very first inaugural episode of the One More Time Music Podcast. I'm your host, Playback Ben with my co-host, Henry with a three The E was already taken. Welcome, my friend. Welcome. Yes, yeah. Henry, who do we have in the podcast today? Some guy we found outside. I'm glad y'all let me in. Real shit. I knew I had opportunities behind that door.

No, this is uh this is Kaz on the mic in the flesh with us right here for our inaugural episode. Thank you so much for coming in. It's a fucking honor, man. Couldn't have chose a better first guest. Oh, yes. No, we really appreciate you, man. So the one more time podcast, just for everyone that's listening, um, really our goal, our vision, the mission behind it is to let artists and creatives in the music industry, as well as business people in the industry tell their stories. I mean, we want to have genuine conversations with genuine people like you, Cats. So we really appreciate you coming on. Uh Henry, thank you for co-hosting. Uh, really excited about this. This is a new thing we're doing. Um, just trying to give people a platform to really tell their story of where they've come from, where they're at today, and where they're going, right? So, real simple. Uh, hopefully we'll have some fun along the way, and we'll um, you know, get some get some good stories out of this. So appreciate you, Cats, for joining. So let's just dive right in. Let's do it. Um, so you know, uh, I like to start with kind of your your childhood and background, right? So when I noticed your Instagram bio had a Colombian flag on it, um, you know, I just want to know are you from Colombia?

You know, where were you born? Where were you raised? Kind of tell the people uh, you know, where you're from. So I was born in the year 1995. We can make this a whole like movie thing, you know what I'm saying? 95. But no, I was born in uh Cali, Colombia in 1995. Um I came to America at the age of like um, I was probably like four, I would say around that time. Um I first moved to New York. I live I probably lived there from the age of like four to seven, I would say. And then I Which borough? Queens. Uh, Queens. Shout out Queens. Shout out Queens. Shout out a lot of dope people come out from Queens. A lot of dope people come from New York in general. In general, yeah, yeah. That uh you being one of them. There's a lot of people, so the odds are higher. No, no uh this to New York. All right, Debbie dot downer. But no, yeah. Um, and then I moved. Well, I would say, well, since I moved to um Atlanta, Georgia, at the age of like seven, I would say my culture and I was raised here. So it's like so you so you don't really attribute much to like your times in either Columbia, obviously you were super young or New York?

Yeah, I mean, no, I always show love. I mean, I wouldn't visit New York every every summer. So still family up there? Yeah, yeah. Family still in Queens, you know. Um, so I would be there, you know, every other summer, if not every summer. But your formative years. But my formative, like who I was around and what created, you know what I'm saying? It's I'll give it to Atlanta, you know what I'm saying? Like, I'm from Columbia, but as Drake says, Atlanta adopted me. There you go. Yeah, yep. I know I was gonna use that one time. So so has Hispanic culture impacted you either from a personal perspective or an artistry perspective? Like, you know, would you say that you're you're, you know, Hispanic, Latino through and through, or like what what kind of parts you think have really been? Undeniably, I was um, you know, I grew up around it, you know. It was played, you know, at house parties, salsa, bachata, like all that was always an influence in my life. So it's like undeniably I am like so. It's like I'm a mixture, I'm a balance of both, you know what I'm saying?

So I got that root in me, but I still got the American culture in me, so I could like find that balance between both. Okay. So you moved to Atlanta at the age of seven, right? Um, you know, had you been into music yet, or are you into music since you moved to Atlanta? Like what you know, where does music come into play? Well, for me, I feel like music honestly has been a part of my life since I was born. Like, if you believe in destiny or not, you know what I'm saying? Like, sometimes life leads you or the universe or God, whatever your perspective is on the whole situation. It's like life leads you towards a certain direction. And I feel like that direction, you know, obviously you can do anything you set your mind to, but there's a certain thing you're gonna master and be great at. You know what I'm saying? And for me, I feel like that was music. Like my mom would show me pictures to this day, like of me when I was three, just picking up a toy guitar and playing and singing and looking at people at the TV, mimicking them and just doing what they're doing. You know what I'm saying?

So it was like for me, it was something I always aspired to do. You know, I always took down and was like, yo, like that's cool, like sound and instruments, and you know. So what's the first instrument you picked up? Well, the toy guitar. Yeah. Uh second instrument. He quit right after that. No, but see, funny thing is the first instrument I ever took lessons for and tried to learn. My mom was like, you should learn the violin. And I'm like eight years old. And I'm like, ah, I mean, that's you know, you're eight and you're like looking at stuff and you just like G.I. Joes and stuff that's very loud. So I'm just like, the violin. Like, uh it was too elegant for you. Yeah, it was just like, ah, it was kind of corny, but I'm an eight-year-old, so what the hell do I know? You know what I'm saying? But now I'm like, damn, I wish I wish I took violin. Yeah, I took that. I took those lessons because right now I'd be going crazy with that shit. You know what I'm saying? But I didn't learn the violin, unfortunately. Instead of Cats on the mic, you'd be Cats on the violin.

Yeah, playing some crazy orchestra band on, yeah. Like that's that's in another timeline. But we'll get it. But um, the first instrument, the first instrument I picked up was the drums. Fellow drummer. Yes, love to hear it. I mean, with hair like that, I would peg you as a drummer versus a violinist, violinist, violinist, violinist. Okay, crazy violin look, but yeah, uh um violinist look. But yeah, um, yeah, I I picked up the drums, I would say, when I was nine. My mom got me the first uh drum kit. Did she get earplugs? No, not yet. Actually, did she hate you? Did she beat you at it? Did the neighbors call? Yeah. Eventually they realized that was too much, so they got me the electric drum set that I used. God, shout out to the electric drum kit inventor. Oh man, that guy's genius. What an innovator. He is. He's like probably a millionaire. He was probably one of those parents that was tired of the shit. He was like, You're right.

Most good ideas come from a pain point that you've experienced on your own. I gotta figure this shit. out. My kid is pissing me off with those drums. I gotta find something. No, yeah. So eventually she got me the uh I got the electric drum kit and I just connected that shit and played that. And but hey, it still did the job, still got the practice. So did you join a band? I mean, what what what was the drum kit? You know, what what was it leading towards? Why why did you play drums? Like, you know, did you join the band or at the time? Um, well, I still I still um still believe in God and all the church stuff, but at the time I was raised in church and we would go to church constantly and stuff. So um I wanted to learn the the drums to become part of the band at church, you know. So I I picked up the drum lessons when I was nine and I first learned it. I never took initiative. But around the time where I was 12, I I went to these drum classes and picked up this just a simple pattern, just boom, boom, boom. And it took me, I remember it took me like an hour to get that shit in the in the drum lessons.

And then that was like a Friday, and then that Sunday, I went to church, and I after the service, I would just go to the drum set while when everything was done, and I would just go take that practice and just boom, you know, get better at it. And then at the time there was a youth band being created at the church. So I was like, all right, let's let's see if you know what I'm saying. Like, let's see, maybe I could become a part of this. You know what I'm saying? I never I never thought nothing of it. And then I'm here playing the drums, and the youth band leaders like, yo, you play the drums. You want to join? You're like, hell yeah, I play the drums. And it's like, yeah, at that point, it's like 50% of me was like, hell yeah. And then 50% of me is like, yo, you just learned this like fucking pattern. Like, do you play the drums? But it's like that moment, I I took it and I was like, you know what? Like, fuck it, let's go. You know, like let's make this happen. And I'm glad I took that step because that made me a very dope musician. You have just activated. a new feature we have on the One More Time podcast. Take that chance, people.

Tell them again. If you never take that chance, you never know who you're gonna become. My my 12-year-old self was there, and and I didn't even know a simple drum pattern. And I said yes, and I became a very dope musician. So it's like take them chances when they're given to you, because that that don't come that often. Opportunity does not always knock. Exactly. So do you still play instruments today? Or yeah, oh yeah, I won't say um right now actually I'm getting back to my roots and playing it consistently. I just got a piano, I just got um, GarageBand, and I'm I'm touching into my roots, and I'm trying to get my uh another electric drum kit. Look at that. Okay, but yeah, bring a whole full studio sometime. Oh yeah, we're definitely gonna get that shit. going. Put an 808. Exactly. Go crazy. But yeah, I'm definitely tapping into my roots. I won't say that I've been constantly playing how I should have, but I feel like playing instruments is like riding a bike, you know what I'm saying? Like, you can't ride, you didn't ride a bike for years. No, I actually, I, I played saxophone growing up, and I mean Henry knows I've

I brought it to the studio before, and I clearly don't have the chops I used to, right? But I can still pick it up, and like it's muscle memory, and if you practice for some time, you'll be there. Like, give me an hour. yeah. I wish that I, you know, put more time into it for sure. Cause it's just so fun to, and it's just creative, right? I mean, I'm assuming it helps with your artistry in general, right? Of course, of course. Even if you just dabble back into that, you know, musicianship, if you will, like actually playing instruments, I feel like that's a really solid way to open up like creative doors, right? Exactly. yeah. And it gives me that core foundation of like being like, how do I say this? Like understanding that music is more than one person or more than one sound. Yeah, you know I'm saying it's collaborative. Exactly. It's like we can do so much individually, but what we can do together is way bigger. That's what paints the bigger picture. Yeah, that is one time.

That is a moment. When we drop gems on the one more time podcast, we have them say it one more time. Let them know for the people in the back. Yeah, should we have a tally about how many one more times we drop throughout an episode? And have an award show. Who gets the most one more time? Gems. Hey man, I'm dropping gems tonight, so y'all better be ready. You're up to a hot start for episode one. The bar will be set very high. Set high, yeah, sorry. So give that to me right now. One more time. One more time. Talking about high shit. So hit the blunt first and then give that that last gem to them one more time. So before I spark this up, people, if you never if you never take that chance and, you know, never take that opportunity and break out of that zone, it's never gonna happen. Man, So take that chance, take that leap, make that shit thrive, people, because you got it inside you. And if you need a team to do it, and if you gotta get collaborative, take it because you can do great things yourself, but together, you'll take over the world. You know what I'm saying?

Yeah, it takes multiple. You know why? Why do you think a puzzle comes with a whole bunch of different pieces? You know what I'm saying? It doesn't one piece is dope, but you put all of them together, you get the whole picture. Rappers have the best analogies. Yeah. No, and I think that you know, building a team is always an interesting topic, right? Um amongst artists, because the creative space, it's not so simple, I would say, to build the right team because creativity is so personal and vulnerable, right? So being able to align yourself with someone that can fuel that, right? And also add value. I mean, that's that's tough, right? It's not a straight, it's not a typical business where can this guy help me sell more product and help me cut my costs, and you know, like is he a business partner, right? Like it's it's part business, don't get me wrong. We're all in this to live. Relationship as well. But yeah, it's that relationship that helps fuel the the creativity that inevitably is what you're trying to do, right?

I mean, your your product is creativity. I mean, that's what the business that you're in. Exactly. So that's interesting. Um, so you were exposed to music, played some instruments, right? You still are dabbling there, but but where did you know you consider yourself a hip hop artist and a rapper, first and foremost. So once again, I I know you make other types of music, you have influences from other genres and and you know, uh cultures, if you will, but where did rap, where did hip hop come into play? I mean, how did you so was it New York? Was it when you were here in Atlanta? I mean, what around the time I was probably like 10, 11 years old. Um, I grew up with my bro in church, his name's Junior. Like, I would I'll tell people like Shout out Junior. Yeah, shout out my bro Junior. Um, he's like, I would say I'll tell people he's my cousin. We're not blood, but it's like our relationship is like, you know, people say blood's thicker than water, you know what I'm saying? But sometimes, you know, water keeps you alive.

You feel me? So it's like a lot of times it's like one more time, one more time, one more time. Oh, god, god. It's on fire. Calm down with the gyms. Real shit though. Like, without water, we would all be dead. It's just as important as oxygen. So it's like a lot of times you gotta find that middle line between all those relationships you have. And uh, I would say my bro Junior is like fam to me, you know what I'm saying? So coming to you answering your question about the whole hip hop and where to come, like me and him, um, he was always like a hip hop head. He was a big Lil Wayne Tupac Biggie fan. So around the time I was 11, he was probably like 13, 14. He he was one of the first people before the YouTube thing was big that would always go on YouTube and just searching. Yo, look at this, like observe like different perspectives of how people do shit and all this. So it's like, you know, me being a person, you know, and I was I was young at the time, but music always intrigued me. So me being a person that's like loving music, and then I'm learning about the rap game and people rapping and on beats and how that can affect you if you relate to it, and you know what I'm saying?

It's not and I'm young at that time. It's not that I went through a whole bunch of shit and I'm like, oh yeah, I feel that Tupac. Like, you know what I'm saying? I was there. You know, but it's like it still like made me feel good. Like it inspired me to do something. So it's like that process is was took me from just like a musician to wanting to wanting to become an artist, you know, like speak. And like how old were you at this time? I was 11. I was 11. at the time. Oh shit. Okay. So you know what I'm saying? Mad young. Exactly. Like, it just, I knew even at that age, like, yo, if I do this, and regardless, like if people listen to me or not, um, I'll fucking I could I could speak to people, and people are gonna listen and want to fucking, you know, be a part of whatever I'm doing. Was JR a rapper? Oh, yeah. Yeah, he was definitely a rapper. He's gonna hate this if I say it, but he went by the name of Lil Mex. Lil Mex. Lil Mex. Yeah. Is he of Mexican descent?

Yeah, he's a Mexican descent. He's the first Lil Mex. He's he was Cap G before Cap G was started. Oh wow, I'll say that right now. Okay. I was on the record. I was a witness to that. Okay. You know, and uh I wouldn't just say that to say that, you feel me? Yeah, but so make sure to pass the blunt to our studio guest, our uh audience member. Quentin quote, he's eyeing it like it's uh like it's a trophy. Um shout out Q in the building, appreciate you, man. Um, so so Lil Mex and Cats on the Mic at the time? No, no, no, no. Okay Cats on the mic wasn't even thought of yet. That's fucking funny. so so. What was your did you have an artist name or were you just kind of vibing with what Lil Mex was doing? Like, what was your deal? So my name is Christopher, right? But they they call me Chris. Okay. Well, I would say people call me Chris at that time. So I was like, and and Hurricane Chris was popping at that time. Hey, baby. Shout out Hurricane Chris. hey, baby. Yeah, of course.

I was literally like, what song did he do again? Yeah, thank you for refreshing. Yeah, like that that shit was going crazy at that time, and I was like, damn, like I wish I had the fucking name Hurricane Chris. Like, what can we great value that name? Like, what can we come up with that? The spin-off. And we we thought of Weatherman C. Weatherman C was my first rap name. You know, I think this is the first time I ever got it okay. But yeah, Weatherman C, man. That shit's kind of hard. I I kind of like it. Now I should make it an alter ego. Like that shit with the rap names now. It's like fuck it. it should definitely be an AKA. I mean, that's for sure. It sounds like uh a character. Hell yeah. In a story. Yeah. So Weatherman C. Mm-hmm. Did you start making music with Lil Max? Like, what, what were you doing? Like, were you writing? Were you recording? Did you even know how to record? I mean, what? The first, the first hook I ever made, we were in the mall. I was walking, I was walking with Junior, and Lil Max at the time.

Yeah, I like calling him. Let's go with that. I was like, I like Lil Max more than Junior. Sorry, Junior. We were walking with, I was walking with Max at the time, and I'm I'm telling him, I was like, yo, I thought it was crazy hook. And he's like, nah, bro, we got a lot of music. And I'm like, no, listen to this. And it was Bubba Bubba Benjamins. I got the Benjamins, bubba bubba Benjamins. I ain't never touched a 20. And he was like, oh. And mind you, I'm I'm 12 years old at this time. You know what I'm saying? He's like, oh shit. Okay, fuck all that other stuff we got. Let's go record that. You know what I'm saying? And we we went and recorded that track, and then we're like, this is dope. But he went to a real studio. No, no, no, no, no. You know, when you say record, it's like you're right. You're 11. They're still children. You're 12. No, he actually had a friend that had this dope, like little, he probably had like a computer mic, you know what I'm saying? And he connected it to some software he had.

And no, yeah, and he had a little booth. We went in, he played the beat, and we recorded that shit. Just like that. I never recorded in my life nothing. You know what I'm saying? But I wouldn't say that's the first like legit track we made. When I was when I was around when we were yeah, I was around like 12. Do you have a copy of this uh of this record. Can We get an exclusive, not this one. Is this anywhere on SoundCloud? MySpace? I wish, I wish none of that, none of that was even popping at the time. That's what's crazy. Then the next song we made was called Look at What You Do to Me. And no, I'm not shitting you. It took us a week to write in his room. We were there for a week writing this like girl Justin Bieber before Justin Bieber came out type track. Very different how you would make a track today. Exactly. Exactly. Having been in several sessions. Like, yeah, thinking like I would that's also a that's up for debate, right? Of like how long should a song take to write That's very true. It's kind of just going with the times.

Everything, I think is happening faster, quicker these days. That's very true. instant gratification. You gotta make more beats. Producer have to make more beats. I just have to make more songs. Definitely a week writing a song in this day and age. I'm not saying it, you know, it happens, right? But I would say people would be shocked that that is, you know, I think there's value in the timeline, right? You know, I think there's value in getting good at knocking out quick vibes, but also taking some time to master. Exactly. I remember I was watching a big Sean interview, and he's like, Yeah, man, I had this song from like 2011, and I just dropped it in my album in 2016. Like, I was just working on it from then to there. So it's like, and then again, there's other people like, yo, I made this song here in 30 seconds, and you know what I'm saying? So it also depends on the vibe. But I would say at that time, we weren't into like the song creating process, so we were so like, how do we make this catchy? How would this work?

You know, and at the and for even me being 12 and him being 14, like we were like really thinking, how can this pop? And at that time, 106 in park was the big thing. And they were having like artists come in every Friday to show out their performance, and the winning artist would get like a shot of a label uh deal or some shit like that. So we were like, yo, if we make this catchy girl song and we go on 106 in park, we could fucking win and you know make some shit happen. You know what I'm saying? But taking opportunities. Yeah, and and so you and you know, you and Max, you and Junior are writing songs together, you're recording some together. Like, did you know that you wanted to be an artist? Like, did you always have that in you? Did he inspire you to be an artist? Like, were your parents supportive about you being an artist? Or did they like you know? No, what's funny is how did your artistry actually like start? He he was in the whole rap thing, and I was like, I'm I'm younger, so of course I'm gonna be like, Well, fuck it, I want to do the whole rap thing, you know what I'm saying? And I always love music, so it's like fuck it, like, why not?

You know? So um, we made this, we made this song, and what's funny is we bought like 20 CDs and just put one song on all 20 CDs. Got CDs. Remember those days? Ooh. Like another time. For real. That's that's how long it makes me feel old. I don't think I've seen a CD or held a CD in about years. So I had a session about a month ago, and the guy wanted me to mix his record, and he had the track outs. He had the stems on a CD. And somehow I actually have still a little peripheral thing that plugs into my laptop. That's why He takes a CD. He's like, I got that. Or he just has old ass clients. I'm like he was not of the younger generation. Hey, we'll say that. I'm sure some of the artists that come through the studio would not even know what they're looking at with a CD. I mean, quite literally. For sure. They don't know DVDs. They don't they don't know CDs. They don't know physical.

What is a product? What are physical things? At a point, that's what was running everything. You know what I'm saying? Oh, yeah. But I remember being like the coolest kid in your group of friends if you had a CD burner, and there was like some CD burners that were better than others, right? Like they could do more, or I don't even remember, right? But having that and having gum, you were the most popular kid. If you had a CD burner and gum, you was popping. You was popping. Yeah, now it's like if you have weed and booze or something. Or Ferrari, you're the most popular kid. Or a yacht. Yeah. Simpler times, man. Simpler times. So Weatherman C, then Cass on the mic. Or no, no, no. not even close. We're not there yet. I wish. So Pump the brakes, pump the brakes. When I was at Weatherman C and we created Look at What You Do to Me. I didn't say that's the first song legit after Bubba Bubba Benjamins. Was that what it was called? No, no. Benjamins was the first one I was telling y'all. I know.

We didn't really see that. That's a crucial part of it is the it was all a uh I'm thinking of the title. Buh, buh, buh, buh, buh, Benjamins. At the time it sounded like a hit. Soulja Boy was popping, like it, you know what I'm saying? I can see that in that area. We should have went with it. That was Soulja Boy. But yeah, after Look At what you do to me, that was the song, the girl song we wanted to put on 106 in Park and shit. But it was it was time time had passed before we really put out another song. Cause you know, I was young, I didn't know really if I wanted to go with this making music stuff or being an artist, you know what I'm saying? But around the age of 16, I was still rapping. So I was like, Weatherman C is kind of corny. Like this was the time where like the J. Coles and the Kendricks and you know Kanye was doing the 808 and Heartbreak. So it was like hip hop was on this like lyrical and like very vibey tone, and I didn't feel like a person like a name like Weatherman C didn't fit in the landscape. Exactly.

So I was like, okay, like what other what other name can I develop or to become, you know, a dope, but just a dope artist name. And uh the name Casanova always like resonated with me. And I and not because I was like this pimp or this player when I was 16. It was just the name, the name itself, because Casanova, there's obviously story behind the person, but the name itself always resonated with me. It's elegant. Exactly. It's elegant as fuck. And it went with my name Chris Christopher. So I was like Chris Casanova. I was like, that's dope. Like that'll that'll work, you know what I'm saying? Chris Casanova. Yeah, like we'll go with that. And that was my second artist name, Chris Casanova. I probably had that name. That is smooth. Yeah, it it did work. The only I still like Weatherman C personally. Kind of kind of with you on that one, but yeah, now honestly, Weatherman C is a motherfucking hit. Like, I might create like an alter ego or some shit. Yo, I'm I'm trying to think, you know, I I manage Henry, right?

I I work with Henry on the regular. I'm trying to remember his first name. H I know. That was before Henry with a three. I know you had to have a name before Henry with a three. Yeah, I had a before the E was took a few. I had a name for about uh for about a year, I would say, maybe a year and a half. Um, have y'all seen the movie Holes? Oh, yeah. Of course. And read the book. I read the book first. The book's really good too. Fucking classic. I was Mr. Sir. I think it was one of those where I didn't read the book and I only watched the movie. I hate those people. Read the book. I hate those people, but I think I'm that guy with this. Either way, you remember Mr. Sir. Of course. So I was producing under the name Mr. Sir. I had the tag was Jon Voight's actual voice from the movie saying, My name is Mr. Sir. That's hard. It was a cool tag, I'm not gonna lie, but it was kind of it was kind of goofy, you know. And I I always I think goofy, is part of my brand for sure. And that's exactly how I felt about the weatherman thing. Yeah, we might have to do a duo tape with our like other artists. Weatherman C produced by Mr. Sir.

Shit we could. That's just got a ring to it. It does. It does. We can think of a whole concept behind that thing. I can only I can only imagine the records that would be made under those monikers. Not even talking about the videos. Oh my god. So Chris Casanova, and then you stuck with that for what? You said a year, year, two years. I would say a year and a half. And then um, I'm very I'm like a going back to the whole cousin, like my cousin Junior. God, Junior is a big part of your story. Shout out Junior one more time. That's that's that's love, that's my brother. You know what I'm saying? Like, he really showed me the whole like yo, perspective of like formula, you know what I'm saying? Like every artist had a formula, every artist did a niche, every artist, you know, like look at what they're doing. And like I said, before the whole YouTube thing, like going on YouTube to see what the fuck is popping and this and that, he was one of the first people I ever saw. Like, yo, shit, YouTube could teach you a lot of shit. You know what I'm saying? It's all you need to learn.

anything. I'm definitely a student of YouTube University. I'm pretty sure I learned how to. Well, we'll see how this goes, but I think I learned how to set up this podcast, of course, via YouTube University. Great. Henry, I know is not only a teacher on YouTube University. Shout out his YouTube channel, but he he definitely has learned, I mean, countless things from YouTube. So yeah. How to do anything. Yeah, exactly. So Junior was doing that, and then you know, how did you come up with cast on the mic? So when I was doing research, I always became this person of like going on the web, seeing who's coming up, who's next. I'm like, let me do some research on if there's any other Chris Casanova. Like if you're an artist or creative or you're trying to start a business, you gotta see if a name's available, or you gotta see One more time. You have activated one more time. Yeah, like gem drop, repeat. If you're doing anything, like you gotta do your research on that shit. You know what I'm saying?

You know, when they say like the lack of learning or the lack of discipline and something like will make you succeed or fail. That's some real ass shit. It's gonna be very hard to succeed if your rap name is John. Exactly. There's a lot of Johns, and the only one I recognize is Cena. Hey, shout out John Cena, man. That's that's a childhood hero growing up, man. Shout out, John Cena. And he's about to be in the next Fast and the Furious. I'm excited. Yo, random story, man. John, we'd love to have you on the podcast. Random story. Don't mean to interject, but lived in an apartment complex. The guy with the uh pool side apartment, right? So one of the apartments whose balconies was facing the pool, he had a giant wooden cutout of John Cena on his balcony. So John Cena was always overlooking our pool sessions and shenanigans. It's like You couldn't even see him. It was like a legendary thing, though. So much like a handcrafted wooden sculpture.

Yes. No, not that intense. Calm down. But that would have been awesome. But what's so great is the apartment complex has pictures on their website of like, you know, rent here, come sign a lease. They're using it for advertisement. No, they didn't mean to, I don't think, but it's literally in the web or on the website. That's good there's the picture of John Cena. Because they they had to get they had to get pool pictures, right? You can't pay for That type of promotion. And they know it's there. They're like yeah, John Cena's big, put him in there. Yeah. Enough about John Cena. Okay. So Cas on the mic. Yeah. Okay. So I was doing my research, right? And I was like, damn, there's I ran into an artist named Chris Casanova. And at the time, he already had like 20,000 followers. Like he was doing stuff. So I was like, damn. I guess I mean I can't compete with this guy. You know, I'm like 17. I'm like, fuck it. Like, I gotta change my name. What do I change my name to? And um, shout out my cousin Junior again.

Junior. God bless. I really I remember and in the intro of every song. I at the time I was recording when my boy Zayno Carr. Right now, he's a part of I Love Friday. They're very dope artists, too. Like, they got some dope shit going on. Um, we were making music, and it when every time I would record a track, I would be like, yo, it's Cas on the mic, but just saying it as like an intro, you know what I'm saying? Like just be like, Okay, you know, cut it was your ad lib. Exactly. It was like an ad lib. Like, I would just be like, It's Cas on the mic. And so he was like, Yo, you say that before every track. Why don't you go by the name of Cas on the mic? And the exactly Twilight moment, like, bling. genius. Light went off. You know what I'm saying? Like, let's do that. And then we got it and we put it together. And you know, perfect time to say this to the audience and people that don't know me. It's not Cas on the mic, Cas on on the mic. It's Cas on the mic. I know it's different, one word.

but we mashed it up into one word. But you have the capitals. Exactly. The capitals too. It's very obvious which word is which. Exactly. People are just dumb, I guess. You know, it is it is what it is. It's part of the process. That's a topic for a different discussion, Henry. We'll leave that one. We'll table that. Yeah. We're gonna need way more than the allotted time that we have for this. For real, bro. But yeah, and then Cas on the mic, since then it's stuck. Now we're here, you know what I'm saying? Okay, and so you know, you've mentioned not only Lil Mex as a collaborator, but I love Friday, right? So I love the collaborative nature of music. I think you even talked about it before, right? Like, how do you find collaborators? Like, what do you love about collaborating in general, right? Like, you know, music in my mind is definitely a team sport, right? Um, not only from the creative side, but no artist makes it to any successful part of their career by themselves, right? So that's hands hands down, I think a fact, right? So activated one more time.

One more time. I might say that once more. No one, you know, you know, creatively or from a business perspective makes it on their own in the music industry. I mean, and that and that's pretty much across the board to all industries. That's what I was about to say. In general, I think anything uh requires a team effort, sure takes a village, you know what I'm saying? Like a lot of times one person is highlighted, sure, but behind that one person was a good team, a good foundation. You know what I'm saying? If you want to do anything in life, you need to have a great foundation. Yep. Because if your foundation is not fucking solid, your building's gonna fucking collapse, my brother. You know what I'm saying? Big gem. Wrong sound effect. Not to me. So I know what I'm doing with the hype squad over here. So how do you choose collaborators? Like, like what makes a good collaborator for you? See, like me. Because I know you have a few regulars. We got one in the building here. Actually, we got two in the building here. We got Henry here, who I know you guys have worked together. We'll, you know, we'll get into that in a minute.

Sorry. Um, you know, we got Quentin Quo, shout out Q, he's been builder. And so, so you know, not how do you pick collaborators, right? But in essence, how do you pick collaborators, right? Like, like what do you look for? You know, what what makes a good uh teammate, I guess. in the music space? That's Actually, oh great question, man. And I'm glad you asked me that. Because I'm not just like a person that you hit me up online, like, yo, I love your style, like let's work. Like, I'm a person that shout out to all those people hitting people up. Yeah, I mean, that's work. DM me, let's work. But it's like me, I'm like a person, like, all right. If I do want to work with you, I want to create a personal relationship. You know what I'm saying? Because at the end of the day, I feel like that's what takes the song from oh, I have a verse and you put a verse to like a genuine, like, yo, we made this together. So it's so it's more so that like you do have to personally connect with the person. Of course.

So it I mean, to some degree, you have to like the person. Yes, yes, a hundred percent. They could be the most talented musician in the world or the most talented artist, producer, what have you got to do? But if you don't, do you do you feel the same way? I mean, yeah, and to me, I think it's very important that you be open to everything initially and just and just collaborating with as many people as possible. So I think you'll find out pretty quick if it's not working, of course. And there's no real hurt in that. And you might find something that you didn't expect to work is your best stuff. For sure. You know? For sure. Being open to collaborating with even people you that aren't in your genre or people you wouldn't expect. And that's one thing I'm always about. Like not saying that I'm not gonna collaborate with people that hit me up, like yo, send me a verse. It's more like if they hit me up and saying that, I'm like, okay, I'll pull up to you, or you'll pull up to me. It's not like I'm willing to work with you, but it's like I want to build that relationship. Like you don't want it to be transactional Exactly. in nature, right? Exactly.

Like, here's this beat, here's this verse, I do this, you do that. Exactly. I'm not saying it can't work that way. Yeah, I mean, I'm pretty sure a lot of hits are done that way. That's just like the way I like working into collaborating things, you know what I'm saying? Like perfect example of Q. Like the first time we met, we made a tape in a week. Like a whole tape. Jeez, a whole tape, a whole seven-song tape. Do we have access to those songs? It's on SoundCloud right now. Exclusive SoundCloud drop. It's called casting call. You know what I'm saying? Casting call. Yeah, and it and it represents it. It sounds like a different language. I'm not gonna lie. Yeah, it's like cast as the casting and call with the Q as Q, you know what I'm saying? So the whole tape represents the nature of all the different styles that we have. And this is mind you, the first time we ever met each other. You know what I'm saying? We made this happen. So it's like it shows that when you find a genuine relationship and a genuine connection with anybody. Q's crying in the corner, by the way.

He's loving this. No, no, he's just shed a tear at least. No, but that's real shit, though. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, no, no, for sure. It goes to show like what you can create with somebody if you genuinely connect. And when was that? Because you guys are still rocking, you know, rocking with each other, obviously. today. That was probably like 2016. Okay. So we're five years deep. Five years deep. All right. I told Q in 16, just give me some 16s. Oh, all right. Hell yeah. Speaking of 16s. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. So so I think you know where I'm going. I know where you're going. That's a perfect segue, I guess. So you and Q recently collaborated with our guy Henry here. Oh, man. We got a record called 16 shots. 16 with a blicky. Yep, yep. So, first, I I don't even know if I know the specific story. How did you meet Henry? Oh man. So, and what was it? I would like to say 2019. Uh, my boy Colgate. shout out Colgate.

Yeah, yeah. Shout out Colgate, man, another great artist, another great friend, man. He's family. Um, he like Nick Fury'd a group of like Atlanta artists. I'm not gonna lie, he came to me after his show when I met him. He's like, yo, I'm trying to start a team of the greatest artist. You're one of them. Yeah, that's how I came in, Henry. Hey, real shit. So it's an epic moment. Real, I was like, all right. So um, we started this whole thing called the collective, and we linked up. And in the collective, I met a dope artist called Trader Plug. Shout out, Trader Plug. Shout out Trader Plug, man. He's a very dope artist. And just a good individual. Yeah, just a great person. Great person, I love him. Kind of goes back to what you said as far as genuinely connecting with someone on a personal level. Exactly. Like, it's not only business. Like, I genuinely fuck with you. You know what I'm saying? So Trey would always mention, like, yo, y'all gotta meet my boy Henry. Like, he's dope.

He got a studio. And he's like, I recorded this with Henry. So I was like, hell yeah. And one day he booked the session and it was here. And he's like, yo, you and Q got to pull up just to meet H. And you know, we would record some shit and we pulled up. It was It was just amazing energy from the minute they walked in. the door. Like, I walked in, we met H. I was like, I was like, yo, can we smoke weed in here? He's like, hell yeah. I was sold that much. And that's all it needed. That's all it needed to be. I was like, we're making hits in this motherfucker. You can roll up in here. So are there a lot of studios that do not allow smoking? Or honestly, I was saying. Yeah, I was like, yeah, and I mean, not saying that. It exists. we make hits anywhere. Right. But it's just like it's it's a bonus, man. A lot of you know, a lot of things that succeed have bonuses. So Henry, you know your value proposition now. is providing an environment that's smoker-friendly. That's all I'm actually good for. Yeah. I'm Not even a good engineer, or producer. Seriously. but you can smoke a blunt. So

y'all met two years ago. Um had you done records before 16 shots, or is this your first time actually collaborating? No, yeah. The day we pulled up with Trey, we made a song called Ice on My Body that hasn't came out yet. That is a hit. two years ago. Still hasn't come out. Do we need to release that soon? It's definitely on the docket. Okay. That's how saucy it is and how much sauce we got in the bag burner. That don't even touch the surface. You know what I'm saying? There's a little vault building up. Oh, yeah. For Sure. Okay. Yeah. Okay. So you have this one in the in the uh in the bank and in the vault. And we gotta, yeah. 16 shots is actually the latest. Latest, yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Like it happened like that. It was it was one of those moments me and Q had pulled up, and um, we always love having those moments where we don't plan anything, you know what I'm saying? Zero prep. No, it's just like to test your ability, you know what I'm saying? I feel like you're tested the most in that moment, you know what I'm saying?

And it shows the true nature of an individual in that moment and sharpens character, even if you fail or succeed. If you tried, yo, that that build character, that build initiative that made you see, but that brings up an interesting point because I think that creativity and the business of creativity is one of the only ones where you can do that. Like every other industry in my mind, like if I showed up to a meeting in a different industry, right? And I'm just like, you know, fuck it. I'm just gonna wing it today, right? Like the result is probably not going to be great. But creativity, I feel you on that. I think you're right that some of the best product, if you will, music can be made with that lack of preparation, and you know what's the greatest? With just genuinely finding inspiration in the moment, right? You know what movie doesn't translate very well to other fields, I would say, right? I mean, I don't know.

Do you guys agree? I completely agree. You know what movie showed me like uh like just do it and fuck it moment, Nike? No, this is one of my favorite movies, Forrest Gump. Shout out Tom Hanks. Like, I love Forrest Gump. No, that's a great one. Shout out Forrest. And I don't know if y'all remember that scene when he's like running and all the people are behind him, and the dude with the t shirts. Of course, it's like, yo, I got this t shirt, and nobody's fucking with it. This and that. And Forrest is like, just give it to me. And he puts his face and it's a smiley face. Like, and then the smiley face ended up being one of the biggest things that ever sold. Like, yeah. That scene alone showed a big like fuck it moment. Like the dude that sold shirts never would have thought that running to Forrest and him putting like his, you know what I'm saying? Even though his real face wouldn't put a smiley face, the symbology behind the whole scene is like, yo, just like fuck it. Like one situation can lead you to another.

Just go do it. You don't fucking know. The fuck it moment. Yeah, like really. That's a gem. One more time. That that shit, and that's why I love that movie. Like, I that movie highlights a lot of like genuine topics, and like it could show you, you know, nothing for something. Just be yourself and you know, highlight that humility inside people. You know what I'm saying? Just be humble. You feel me? Sure. So your bio says the Rosetta Stone of music. Oh shit. What does that mean? Oh so because of course I I have a opinion on it, but uh but no, I I'm curious what you know what inspired that kind of like moniker or you know, whatever that is, description of you. I mean, so I'm I'm gonna take it back. I'm gonna take it back a little bit. So when I changed my name to cast on the mic, I mean, even before that, I was always like a very like hip hop head, like rap bars for bars, you know, fucking Eminem shit, you know, over the top shit. I always thought that was what hip hop, you know, and it it's technical kind of.

Yeah, in a way it is, but it's like a art could be expressed in any way, you know what I'm saying? So out of years of making music, I'm like, yo, I'm fucking Hispanic. Like, I'm, you know, I'm Colombian. I got that culture in me. I grew up listening to Salsa Bachata. Like, I might not can't dance like that, but for for sure I fucking, you know, some sauce gotta be inside this motherfucking blood. You know what I'm saying? So I was like, you know, fuck it. Like, let me try to make some Spanish shit or some Spanglish shit, like some shit right in between. And my bro, 2401, shout out 2401. Shout out 2401. Very, very dope producer, very talented. One day he he hit me up and he's like, yo, um, I have this dope, like Spanish like guitar beat. Like, come through, let's see what we make with it. And I pulled up to his crib and he played the beat, and I was like, oh my gosh, that shit is saucy. I was like, okay.

Stank face. Yeah, like dead ass. Like, you know when you put the stank face. Yeah. Stank face or bust. Exactly. So if the reaction is like, exactly. So he played that shit, and I was like, all right, let's do it, and let me mix both genres. You know what I'm saying? Like, let me merge the best of both worlds, because every every coin got two sides to it. You know what I'm saying? And I feel like nobody has really successfully found that medium. You know what I'm saying? Like the closest person was probably Cardi B, and she still needed like artists like J Balvin and Bad Bunny to hop in a song to make it reach that international level. So it's like, what if I'm a mixture of all three of those artists in one person? You're kind of perfectly split. So exactly. The American people can kind of learn something about the Latin culture. And the Latin people can kind of catch on to some American English things. And you hit the nail on the head, H.

I was, I was really like, yeah, I was like, okay, let's make this first song and let's name it, let's name it Spanglish. You know what I'm saying? So when I created the hook, I made a Spanish hook, and I made an English hook. And the and both hooks were the same exact thing. So uh English uh you know what I'm saying? So uh a listener that only spoke English would understand it, but when they heard the Spanish part, they're subconsciously learning a language without even knowing. Both sides are learning. So to answer Ben's question, that's how I'm the Rosetta Stone of music. I like it. I like it. They ain't ready for that. So great answer. So I know that previously your bio mentioned, you know, actor in it. So, you know, do you do you currently act? Have you been in school plays, movies, TV shows?

I mean, uh, or is acting like an aspiration of yours where you want to be an actor. Like, tell us about like how does that actually play into your your plan here? Acting and music are like yin yin and yang in my life. Okay, like both of those things are very, very like dope to me. Like, I see musicians and I'm like, wow, you can take this sound and make it a body of work and inspire people. And then I see actors, and I'm like, yo, you could be this one person and then see this role and embody it and kill it like if that was you. You know what I'm saying? So who's your favorite actor? Oh man, that's that's that's a list. I I love Will Smith. I love Tom Hanks, of course. I mentioned Forrest Gump. Didn't Will Smith uh play a part in our uh, on the intro to our 16 shots? You know what I'm saying? Like please don't sue us. So was that Cass's idea, or did it just somehow magically No, that's what's crazy.

H just put that on there. I'm like, I fucking love Will Smith. So we don't get sued. I thought I was just mixing the record, and uh, you know, I kind of blacked out, and by the time I was done with it, Will Smith was in the intro. Shit's great. Shout out Big Willie Style. We love you, man. We know you understand, like you inspired us to put that in there. I don't think. Hell yeah. You spoke some real truth. We don't have to get lawyers involved in this. Yeah, yeah. So what's up next for you? Do you have any upcoming releases you want to shout out? Anything you want to, you know, make sure the people are aware of of kind of what you're up to coming up. Um, we got actually a new track coming out that we recorded back when we were doing collective stuff that we about to drop called Um Party Next Door. Okay, produced by Mad Soul, a very dope producer. Shout out Mad Soul. Um and me, Quentin Quo, and Kogay are in that shit, and it's about to go crazy, man. That shit's like the next summer vibe. Now that everything is opening back up, you know what I'm saying?

Like party next door. The party's next door. Yeah, right there. You've we're mingling now. We're back to mingling. Exactly. Walking around the neighborhood, popping in parties next door. Yeah, that's some real ass shit. Everybody stream party next door on 420. Yeah, I mean, I feel like by the time this come out, it'll probably be there. So stream that shit Stream it right now. Stream that shit right now. Good shit. And so I think that we've come to an interesting part of the episode that we're gonna uh try out here. And in our inaugural episode of the One More Time Music Podcast. Oh boy. Something that uh Henry wanted to uh include as part of our uh kind of typical format. So the working title is the rapid fire rampage Rampage! and when you hear the sounds, you know it's time for the rapid fire rampage. I love moments like these. It's gonna be kind of like a rapid fire. I'm gonna ask, it's split in two halves. The first half, I'm gonna ask you some quick questions, give me quick answers.

The less you think the better. Let's do it. It should be very natural. The second half, I'm gonna say one word, and you give me one word back. First one off the top of your head. Let's do it. So give me one project, mixtape EP or album in your top five of all time. J. Cole, Friday Night Lights. Give me a nickname that most people wouldn't know. Tito. That's what my mom calls me. Tito. Tito. What's your favorite ad lib? Your favorite dessert? That's between ice cream and cheesecake. So either or both fantastic choices. I'm not mad at that one at all. Favorite part of a beat? The intro. If you don't got a good intro, you won't never reel me in. Even if the beat is fire. That's really cool because I was thinking like it would be like a part of the beat, but he like the bass. He literally just took it more of like a space. This is going fantastic already.

Give us one of the dumbest things you ever did. Blacking out in Athens in my Sriracha suit. Wow. See when he started that. I was like, okay, we've all blacked out in Athens. If if you're from Atlanta or have lived in Atlanta, you've been to Athens, Georgia. Athens has beat your ass, and you've done some blackout shit. a lot of blackouts in Athens. But I don't think that many people have done it in a Sriracha suit. The Sriracha suit. Yeah, that that takes it to another level. Okay, let's go on the flip side. Let's do it. One of the best decisions you ever made. Pursuing my dream and being an artist. Love that, man. Love that. Tell give it to him one. more. One more time. One more time. One of the best decisions I've ever made is pursuing my dreams and doing what I want to do. You know what I'm saying? And I suggest you do the same thing. I love it. Give us one entry on your bucket list. That was my feature with Michael Jackson, but we all know what happened with that.

Maybe a posthumous. You know what I'm saying? It's gonna cost a lot, but um, you know, I just want to do this music stuff and inspire people to be the best version of themselves. You know what I'm saying? It's awesome. It's usually like skydiving or you know, you go to things go to Machu Picchu in Peru. It's like a harder to prove. bucket list entry, But it's nice. No, and I think that really like speaks volumes about Cass, right? His character, right? It does who says that on their bucket list? I mean, that's incredible, right? Like, you really do, and that's the energy you give off. I mean, you really challenge me to be the best version of myself. I mean, Henry loves working with you because of that same reason, right? Like wholeheartedly. Yeah. So, so anyways, sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt the first half of the rampage. That's some real shit, though. Hell yeah. I'm glad y'all feel that way too, my brothers. On to the second half of Rampage. This is gonna be a one word association. So just give me one word back.

Let's do it. The less you think the better. Here we go. Thinking cap off. Exactly. Removed. Here we go. Music. Artists. Money. Bank account. Children. Don't have them yet. He said fuck the one word answers. Uh bass. Guitar. Sleep. None. Taco. Eat. Kanye. The best. What a rampage. Yes, sir. Shout out, Cass on the mic. We appreciate you coming on. This has been an amazing start to hopefully an amazing journey for the One More Time Music Podcast. For everyone out there streaming, watching, listening. Please like, please subscribe. Please follow us on wherever it is that you're listening to this episode. This will be the first of a weekly series called the One More Time Music Podcast. We're gonna have interesting guests, like cast on the mic every week.

So tune in. Appreciate you guys listening. And until then, we are out. Tap in, bitch.