Photo courtesy of Cakeswagg
The 13th edition of Boston Calling is this weekend and Allston Pudding will have all the artist interviews, pics, live coverage and behind-the-scenes scoop that you need whether you’re dancing alongside us or enjoying from home. Next up in our preview coverage for the weekend, we got to talk with Roxbury native Cakeswagg. Ahead of their performance on Saturday, we chatted about their new single “Bad Bitch Link Up”, balancing a teaching career with being a musician and feeling inspired by their mom.
AP: How did Boston Calling come about? What was the booking process like?
Cakeswagg: They sent me a message on Instagram. I was like “this has to be a scam”. There’s no way this is real. Oftentimes what will happen, they’ll say “oh yeah, you can be a part of this festival… if you pay ‘X’ amount of dollars,” but this turned out to be 100% real. It was insane. I was in complete disbelief, like how would they even know who I am?
AP: How are you feeling ahead of the show?
Cakeswagg: Excited! I’m definitely nervous. We’ve ramped up the dance rehearsals. They’re intense, but I’m excited. I’m making sure that I really just live in that moment of excitement and don’t stress about it too much to the point where I’m not enjoying it.
AP: For those unfamiliar with your sound, what can they expect from a Cakeswagg set?
Cakeswagg: I would say: think of a Boston medley of an artist who is influenced by Missy Elliott & Kendrick Lamar. There’s gonna be lots of vibrant, colorful punchlines. I’m doing a medley of my music, so for people who aren’t familiar with my catalog, it’s going to be upbeat, vibrant and quirky, but also have these moments of some pretty serious bars.
AP: What does it mean to be a Boston area artist playing Boston Calling?
Cakeswagg: It means a lot. I remember when I first heard about Boston Calling and thinking, this is amazing that we have this to begin with, a festival that looks for local artists. It’s almost like a luxury that we get a piece of the pie. Like, “Oh you got a pie that we can fight for a piece for?” Fast-forward to this year and there’s like 10 local artists on every single day, every single genre – it’s powerful and it’s necessary. When you think about the history of pop culture, you get glimpses of Massachusetts: The Pixies, Donna Summer, New Edition, New Kids On The Block. You get little sprinkles of us every now and then, so it’s great to see us be a part of the conversation.
AP: Which other Boston Calling acts are you excited to see?
Cakeswagg: Oh my goodness. Obviously excited to see Megan Thee Stallion and Ed Sheeran, but even Hozier. I mean “Take Me to Church,” that is my gym jam. Like, “OK, you can lift today, you can do it.” [laughs] Also, I’m excited to see Billy Dean Thomas and KEI. They’re two phenomenal Boston artists and I’m excited to see their sets. I’m happy that we’re on different days so I actually get to see them.
AP: For the uncultured, can you explain what an ideal bad bitch link up looks like?
Cakeswagg: An ideal bad bitch link up is where all the bad bitches of every orientation can just get together and just chill and have a blast. You know what I mean, like pool parties. It is bad bitches in the soft life. We’re all linking up to enjoy drama-free fun, you know? We can turn up, listen to good music and take shots. Maybe someone goes for the grill.
AP: Where would your ideal bad bitch link up take place?
Cakeswagg: If I could go anywhere, I would say Mykonos. We would all be in our villas and in the water on the floating daybeds. Like, you can turn up over there, I can turn up over here. We can fall asleep, wake up and do it all over again.
AP: I love this alternate definition of “turning up”. Just floating and drinking.
Cakeswagg: Well now that I’ve turned 30, my idea of a turn up is wanting to turn up, but also wanting a comfortable seat nearby, you know?
AP: Exactly, turning up without having to feel it for the next three days.
Cakeswagg: That part. Like, I still have to teach come Monday morning and act like a regular person.
“Bad Bitch Link Up” Artwork
AP: In your words, what makes a bad bitch such a bad bitch?
Cakeswagg: I think a bad bitch is a person who is completely, unapologetically themselves in any way that is. It doesn’t matter if you’re a techie or you’re dropping 16s, love what you do and do it well. Period. I think that’s what makes a bad bitch, a bad bitch.
AP: What shots are you pouring? What’s your ideal summer drink?
Cakeswagg: I’m back on the tequila tour. I call it that because a couple years ago I went to Mexico and we did a couple of tequila tastings. When we came home, we were strategic about finding tequilas that we had never tried before. I’ve had a couple of favorites. I’ve done the whole Casamigos thing, I’ve tried some brands and stuck with them for a season, but it’s the summer and because I won’t be traveling this season, between teaching and taking classes, I’m gonna have my own at-home tequila tour. That’s the plan.
AP: What/who inspires you to perform? Where/how did you find the confidence to stand out?
Cakeswagg: Probably my biggest inspiration now that I’m getting older is my mom. She’s the reason why I started [performing] in the first place. I played Baby Jesus in Langston Hughes’ Nativity because my mom was a soloist in the production. As far as hip-hop goes; Missy Elliott, Queen Latifah and Kendrick Lamar. I love Queen Latifah because she’s such a real lyricist and unapologetically herself. Just because she did one thing didn’t mean she couldn’t do anything else. She produced TV shows, been on Broadway. Like, I wanna be able to do anything that I enjoy and they inspire me to do that. With Kendrick, I love that he’s bringing poetry back into hip-hop. It makes me feel like I can continue to challenge my pen.
AP: What’s next for you? You just had a new single, Boston Calling is coming up,
Courtesy of Cakeswagg’s IG
what’s after that?
Cakeswagg: I’m finishing up my project that I’m probably gonna drop in August. I am curating a festival called Hip-Hop Immersive in July. It’s gonna be Boston area artists performing, but also exhibits on the side to explore the history of Boston hip-hop. We’ll have DJs, MCs and retired B-boys and B-girls who were doing all of this 50 years ago. I’m also still in school to get my degree in theater education. So that’s my summer!
AP: What’s your go to festival fuel? White Claws and Excedrin? Gold Bond and a prayer?
CS: Definitely Celsius, Lord forgive me. I’ve been saying I’m gonna give it up but if they allow us to have a rider, I’m putting Celsius on there. I love a good Celsius to start my day or I’ll have a second one if it’s a real busy day. That’s my go-to fuel. Hopefully they don’t have commercials for us in 20 years like, “If you drank Celsius from 2020-2024 you may be entitled to compensation.” It ain’t ever steered me wrong, yet!
You can catch Cakeswagg performing at Boston Calling on Saturday, May 25th at 4:05pm on the Orange Stage & later on that night at Aeronaut Allston for the (free!) Bad Bitch Link Up show at 7pm. For more info on Cakeswagg click here and for more info on Boston Calling click here!