Just Got Put On To Kaash Paige… Now I’m Hooked
Intro:
Kaash Paige is one of the buzzing new R&B acts this year. She actually flew under my radar, until a friend of mine recommended her to me. Prior to this, I was only familiar with her feature on Don Toliver’s latest release (which I did enjoy). After checking out her solo discography, it’s safe to say she’s next up and a future star in the making.
Brief History:
Kaash is 19 years old & was raised in Dallas, Texas. Her career started in high school with some releases to her Soundcloud account. Things began to really take off last year however, as her track “Love Songs” started to gain large amounts of streams/traction. Now, she’s signed to Roc Nation. The singer has also cited lots of different influences to her style: Erykah Badu, Isaiah Rashad, SZA, and more.
Themes/Style:
Love seems to be a common theme in her music, but she’s shown to get creative with her song concepts. One of her recent singles “Frank Ocean” (inspired by Frank’s hit song “Thinkin Bout You”) is really dope because of how Kaash cleverly references Frank’s work throughout the song. Another on of my favorites is “Happy Song” which is written as a response/counter to her own depression.
Her vocals are usually soft, subdued & soothing. I’d say it reminds at times of other great R&B artists like SZA, Jhene Aiko and even a little Dej Loaf. She always choose beats that compliment her delivery well, and I love how she doesn’t smother her voice in autotune like other modern R&B artists. “Sobriety” is another favorite of mine as it’s the highest pitch I’ve heard her reach in her music thus far, yet isn’t annoying/nasilly.
Beat Selection:
Un-ironically, the best way I’d describe Kaash’s music is a “vibe”. A lot of that does comes from the spacey/atmospheric/druggy instrumentals she performs over. Outside of this common aesthetic though, she’s proven to be pretty versatile on many different kinds of beats. While songs like the previously mentioned Sobriety are more chill neo soul inspired cuts, other songs like “WMT” & “Orange Sweater” have more modern & psychedelic in nature.
Some common sounds you’ll here are reverbed guitars, trance-inducing synths, electric piano chords, etc. Instruments/sounds like these serve more as a compliment to her vocals as they work in unison. Neither overpower or takeaway from each other, which is what makes the dreamy and atmospheric aesthetic I love about her music.
Overall:
I think Kaash Paige will be the next R&B singer to really blow up within the next year or 2. At the time of me writing this, she’s already being embraced in the music industry through rappers like Travis Scott, Tory Lanez, Future, etc. Her style/sound is perfect for the current music industry mainstream, but is still unique and artistic enough to really standout on its own. She’ll be on your radar eventually (if she isn’t already), so you might as well give her a chance early on now. Thank you for reading and enjoy her discography with the link below.
