In the early 2010s, New Jersey-born rapper Cakes Da Killa started making distinctive hip-hop-meets-house that revelled in the pursuit of pleasure. Back then a rare example of an openly queer rapper, Cakes – real name Rashard Bradshaw – wasn’t exactly operating in the limelight; however, much queer culture has hit the mainstream in recent years.
This summer also saw some of the biggest artists in the world – Drake and Beyoncé – leaning into dance music’s history. And so it makes sense for Bradshaw to step up and refine the club-rap sound he’s been honing for the past decade, with his own testament to the Black, queer pioneers of dance and his self-proclaimed “love for the night”.
Produced with immaculate beats by Sam Katz, Svengali pulses with nods to house and brushes of live instrumentation, making for a sweaty, decadent album. Bradshaw’s assured, slick delivery – sometimes a sultry whisper, elsewhere an elastic bounce – charts a relationship’s breathy highs and quaking lows (“This from me to you, a love letter on wax/Had to block you on the apps, now I’m venting on a track”).
A sleek, enticing record that certifies Cakes Da Killa’s place at the forefront of this sound.
