How did you get into music and what made you choose rap over other genres?
My mom. I grew up on artists like Erykah Badu, Teena Marie (RIP), and Ghostface Killah. My mom was heavily into that Method Man and Mobb Deep type shit. When I was 9, I had a Ghostface album named Fishscale blasting in my mother's pink Cadillac while she paid her taxes. I also love rock. Don't judge me but I was DEEPLY into old Linkin Park, Three Days Grace and Green Day. I loved metal, too. I was the only black kid walking around my school rocking out to Asking Alexandria on my phone. I'm a wild card.
How did you choose Cabbage as your rap name and what were some of the runners up?
My old rap name was Jay Clever but that seemed too worn-out. Too many Js out here. Jay Z, J. Cole, Jay Electronica. The list goes on. I thought of Clyde first and brainstormed from there. I thought it sounded like "glide" and it's smooth. I thought of Cabbage last. I chose it because it's slang for money, marijuana and your mind. I also considered Clyde Static but I respect Statik Selektah too much for that.
You announced that you're performing with Dead Prez? How'd that come about?
Yes, this is true. Once again, my biological mother hooked that up with whatever witchery she used to make it happen. If all goes right, I'll be opening up for Dead Prez and X-Clan, two heavyweights in the underground hip-hop scheme with major longevity. There's flyers with my name on them soon-to-be posted all across Indiana. The show is in Indianapolis on February 11th. More details to come.
After that event, what is the future for C-Squared?
I'm releasing a song named "Eleventeen" that same day which will be the last single from my mixtape. Speaking of which, my debut project is Cleverlasting and I want to release it February 21st which is my 18th birthday. God-willing. After that, I'ma try to get more shows and get my name out there with the help of my fans as well as the haters. My rap group is The Pineal Clan. We need to establish ourselves as a dope hip-hop collective. I'm looking to release some dope trap music in June 2016. Displaying a wide-range of my lyrical content is also a goal this year. I write raps about consciousness, religion, education, etc. all the time yet I'm criticized for being a shallow rapper who only spits braggy shit. I dropped Heist Conscious in 2014, nobody heard that. The second rap I ever posted to Rappad was about religion. Nobody heard that but I almost performed it at a church. It's time I show people how versatile of an artist I am. I'm going to impress a lot of people and hopefully, I'm still modest about it. But there's nothing wrong with joking around sometimes. I'm the best rapper on this website.
If you could collab with anyone, who would it be and why?
Lil B "The BASEDGOD"
