Editor’s note: With live music and concert reviews on hold due to COVID-19, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is focusing on how Georgia musicians are spending their time in our feature, Mic Check.
Since the August arrival of “Throat Baby (Go Baby),” BRS Kash has racked up nearly 9 million YouTube views of the video for the song, landed on Billboard’s Top Triller U.S. chart — a measure of the top content on social video app Triller — and inked a deal with LVRN/Interscope Records.
The loping song — its sexually explicit lyrical matter can be inferred from the title — was created as a joke by the East Atlanta rapper formerly known as Kash Kash. But the ongoing popularity of “Throat Baby,” buoyed by a viral dance craze on TikTok, has established it as his breakout hit.
A couple of weeks ago, Kash garnered attention after his performance for U.S. Senate Democratic candidates Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock prompted the unearthing of a 2012 social media post that referenced sexual assault.
This interview was conducted earlier in December, a few days before Kash was slated to head to Mississippi and Florida for concerts (“I figured if I work while I’m young, I can chill when I’m old,” he said). The burgeoning hip-hop star talked about the success of his raunchy hit, the upcoming remix with DaBaby and his affection for the music of artists such as Elton John and Lady Gaga.
Q: “Throat Baby” became such a huge hit, but obviously radio couldn’t play it in the original form. When did you realize you needed a “clean” version if you wanted it to go mainstream?
A: When I made the song, I didn’t really expect it to do what it did. I was at my house one day, and my little sister was playing it, and she’s, like, 11, and her being the age that she is and her knowing about (the content of the song), it made me feel a certain type of way. At that point there wasn’t a clean version out, so I made it my duty to do a clean version because my little sister is listening to it. I ended up finding out that she was listening to (the original version) anyway because I went on her computer and saw she had “liked” the video on YouTube. I asked her if she had watched it, and she said she “liked” it because she thought it would help me.
Q: What has it been like trying to promote the song during the pandemic?
A: Social media became a big part and with my friends in management, once we got online, we had to figure out another way to do it, like on Instagram Live. People were dancing to it (on social media) because they had nothing else to do.
Q: How important is it to work with some of the big names in Atlanta? Have you gotten to meet or know any of them?
A: It’s really important because it’s the Atlanta culture. I got to meet Andre 3000 at a studio here, and I had met Migos one time at a club. The Atlanta culture is very important because we kinda create the change in music. If you want the songs, you have to come to Atlanta. It’s keeping the culture alive.
Q: Who among the Atlanta rap superstars do you really admire?
A: Future. We’re from the same side (of town). I haven’t met him yet, but I’m hoping to get a feature.
Q: What other music have you been listening to?
A: I don’t really like to listen to music because it messes up my creativity; I trap myself into my own box. If I do listen to stuff, it’s from way, way back, like old school. All different genres — it depends on my vibe. My mom, she used to do music back in the day (as rapper TKTKT). She kinda influenced a lot of the music that I like. People never understood how I knew all of these songs, and I was like, my mom! Everything from Elton John to James Brown, U2, Maroon 5, Lady Gaga. I like to listen to it because it gave me the inspiration to do music but in my own way.
Q: You signed with (Atlanta-based label) LVRN (distributed through Interscope) last summer. What’s the plan going forward?
A: We got a lot on the way. We’re gonna start the year off the right way. I’m dropping a whole project in (late) January, “Sex Ed” — four different videos, the main one being the remix of “Throat Baby” with DaBaby. Everything is all geared up. Quarantine gave me a lot of time to write and perfect my craft. I’m always ready to work.
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