Jeremy McKinley, a Pacific Northwest rapper who performs under the name Cassow, produces recordings defined by a relaxed intensity, a style a friend first highlighted by comparing his painterly method to that of Pablo Picasso. Portland, Oregon, is where McKinley was born and raised, and it was through his uncle that he initially entered music production. Partly to process familial difficulties and other obstacles encountered from an early age, he found himself drawn to rap. At nineteen, McKinley began assembling a substantial collection of mixtapes by releasing Mixtape Off to Mars in 2010. Over the following three years came additional projects including Head of Class, Future Classic, which received support from Fresh Selects, and Cold Winter. His first major-label credit arrived in 2016 via a guest appearance on the Warner Bros. album Never Forget by TYuS. After teaming again with TYuS on the track “Lifted,” McKinley put out the singles “Lit,” “Muddy,” and “Flashback.” The 2018 singles “Ex-Bitch,” which featured Vory, and “Dealership” both found a place on Cassow’s debut full-length, Gods of the Young, issued that same year.
