Cakes Da Killa

Rapper Cakes Da Killa channels searing lyrics and fluid delivery through a persona marked by bold self-assurance, riding tracks that fuse rap with house, ballroom, and additional dance-music strains. Emerging in the early 2010s amid a circle of creators who merged queer-liberation themes with electronic dance and hip-hop hybrids, he progressed from the blunt edge of early mixtapes such as 2013’s The Eulogy toward the polished sound and occasional introspective passages of the 2022 album Svengali. Black Sheep, which underscores the rapper’s challenges aligning with any single style or community, followed in 2024.

Born Rashard Bradshaw in New Jersey, he took up rapping near 2011 and issued his debut mixtape, Easy Bake Oven, Vol. 1, that same year. At the outset he belonged to a New York-centered collective of LGBTQ artists including Mykki Blanco and Le1f, all testing combinations of house and hip-hop. Recognition mounted across the decade through both critical notice and loyal listeners, prompting a steady output of EPs and mixtapes that culminated in his first studio album, Hedonism, released in 2016 on the Ruffians label. After moving to Atlanta, his second LP, Svengali, appeared six years later and featured Sevndeep on the single “Sip of My Sip.” The 2023 tracks “Sex Drive” and “Cakewalk” preceded his third album, Black Sheep, which reached listeners in 2024 with contributions from Dawn Richard, Wuhryn Dumas, and STOUT.