CASisDEAD

CASisDEAD
Also known as CAS, Castro, Castro Saint
Origin Tottenham, London, England
Genres Grime, Rap, Electro, Synthpop
Occupation(s) MC, Producer, Director, Entrepreneur
Years active 2005–2007, 2012–present
Labels IMREALLYDEAD
Associated acts JME, Merky ACE, Skywlkr,The Purist, Fatal Assassins

CASisDEAD, also known as CAS and formerly Castro, is an English Grime/Rap MC, producer, visual director, entrepreneur from Tottenham, London.[1]

CASisDEAD is the owner of the label imreallydead, through which he releases his own music. He began rapping in 2005 under the name Castro Saint,[2] a moniker he kept until 2007. He resumed a music career in 2012 under the name CASisDEAD.[3] In his first spell in music, Castro made no music videos and since returning to music in 2012 he has worn a mask during all public appearances and videos, this has led to speculation over his true identity and intentions in protecting it. In his music videos, merchandise, promotional materials, and during performances, CASisDEAD is typically seen wearing a skull mask, a Dead Team 'Face' hoodie, red beanie, and red Vans.[2] He has described his persona as a symbol of his personal struggles and his disillusionment with the social and political mainstream.[4]

In 2013 he released his mixtape The Number 23, a compilation of tracks from the previous two years featuring new remixes. In 2015 he released Commercial 2 - a sequel to the unreleased Commercial - as a cassette only release.

Musical career

Early career

CASisDEAD began rapping under the name of Castro Saint in 2005, when he was 18 years old. During this period he tracks such as "Adolescence", "C from T", and "Drugs", which he based on his experiences growing up in the streets of Tottenham and selling drugs.[3] CASisDEAD stopped rapping in 2007 to pursue business ventures and run his pharmaceuticals business.[3] During this period he also recorded some songs with South London based grime crew Fatal Assassins. A bootleg collection of tracks recorded during this period was distributed on the internet and prevented Castro from fading into obscurity.

Return to music

In 2012 CASisDEAD returned to music using the name CAS before switching to CASisDEAD approximately 18 months later. In March 2012 CASisDEAD released the video to a track called "T.R.O.N.", which was shortly followed by Leon Best and numerous other tracks throughout the rest of the year and into 2013. CASisDEAD later released these tracks and various remixes as part of the compilation mixtape The Number 23, the mixtape was also thought to contain some material previously intended for the unreleased Commercial album.[3]

In September 2015 he issued a limited release of the Commercial 2 EP, which was sold in cassette tape format via his website.[5] CASisDEAD stated that he chose to release the mixtape in limited quantities and on cassette, as he felt that this suited the material and would make listeners appreciate it more, as they would have to work harder to get a copy.[4]

Music videos

CASisDEAD has released several music videos and is involved throughout the process. He has stated that "I'm a director before I'm a rapper. A lot of times, I have an idea for a video, and I'll shoot the video before I've even recorded the tune. I see the video, hear the beat and then write the song. The video is so important. A lot of people go outside with a shitty camera and shit lights and film a shit video, but you see it once and forget it. I'm trying to make short films. Music's just the soundtrack."[1]

Critical Reception

Critical reception for CASisDEAD's work has been positive and Loud and Quiet praised his 2015 mixtape Commercial 2 as being fresh.[4] WordPlay Magazine praised The Number 23, stating that they felt that it was "in the top 3 UK releases" for 2013 and praised CASisDEAD as being "Exceptionally intelligent, great delivery and a mastery of story telling."[3]

In May 2015, the English producer The Purist stated in the Passion of the Weiss magazine, "I genuinely rate Cas as the best rapper to ever come out of England. Ever. I rate him that highly. I literally can’t speak any higher of his talent. To me, he’s a combination of Nas, Big L, Mobb Deep, and Dizzee Rascal."[6]

In December 2015 Mixmag compared the artist favorably to Mike Skinner, Giggs and Chuckie and stated that he was "quite possibly one of the best things to ever happen in British rap music".[7] Dizzee Rascal on a radio show said Cas was the best lyricist and "pristine" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yT-2ObHQVV0).

In March 2016, Tricky announced the release of an EP over the summer 2016 featuring underground artists such as Casisdead in the Global Rockstar Magazine.

Select Discography

Mixtapes

EPs

External links

References

  1. 1 2 "casisdead, the mysterious masked rapper emerging from the shadows of British music | read | i-D". i-D. Retrieved 2015-12-22.
  2. 1 2 "Pourquoi vous devriez vous intéresser à Casisdead". BBoyKonsian - Webzine - Shop - Boutique - Webradio - Productions - Hip-Hop - Reggae. Retrieved 2015-12-30.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "CASisDead : The Number 23". Wordplay Magazine. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
  4. 1 2 3 "Loud And Quiet 73 (Vol. 3)". Issuu. Retrieved 2015-12-22.
  5. ↑ "Exclusive: CASISDEAD talks ‘Commercial 2′, releasing his debut album and more". www.sbtv.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
  6. ↑ "A Pyrex Scholar: An Interview with UK Producer The Purist...". Passion of the Weiss. Retrieved 2016-02-07.
  7. ↑ "- - Mixmag". Mixmag. Retrieved 2015-12-31.
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