"I've never seen someone record like Ca$his," says producer Alchemist about the newest rap juggernaut on Shady records. On a non-stop twelve-hour run of studio sessions beginning at Al’s midtown apartment, the restless Orange County MC, by way of Chicago’s gritty Southside never leaves the recording booth once he steps in, and stacks all of his vocals in at least nine takes. Bathroom breaks, kicking it with groupies and surfing YouTube with Prodigy in the living room can wait. Ramone “Ca$his” Johnson, the 26 year-old father of ten kids accidentally caught the ear of Eminem when he overheard his music through A&R Dart Parker. After signing a demo deal on March 7th, 2006, Ca$his pledged his allegiance to his label family in his verse on last year’s “You Don’t Know” from The Re-Up. Since the long night of laying down tracks for Alchemist’s forthcoming album, and a session at Emile’s (Obie Trice, Ghostface Killah), Ca$his has been prepping his limited edition County Hound-EP, a eight-track teaser executive produced by Marshall Mathers. Complex.com grabbed a moment with the West coast prospect to talk about his eerie likeness to 2Pac, obsessive superstition, and being the heir to the Shady throne. Ca$h rules.

Living in Orange County, CA, you don’t have the kind of background that mirrors the O.C.

I’m from the Southside of Chicago. It was fun. It’s ’hood—a mob town built on gangs, wars, slick talkers, fast money, and good ass food!  

If only Adam Brody could say the same.

I grew up gangbangin’. I’m from the bloodline of the leader of the Bogish Boy Gangstas. My connection is by my Uncle Pac-Man. I been Gangsta Disciple since I was seven years-old, so I was in the game my whole life. For 19 years, I been gang bangin’. I don’t think I have to say Chicago is violent, because anywhere is violent. New York is violent. There’s riders and there’s pussies in every city and state, even in small towns.

How are Bogish Boy Gangstas different?

We going against the odds, we cliquin’ up. My hat is to the right. I would never turn my hat to the left. No disrespect, I have a lot of family members who bang to the left, but they wouldn’t respect me if I didn’t rock my shit to the right. I really don’t care about colors or none of that, I just like the color blue, so I rap about it. Gangs are the realest from Chicago and then branched out to California. I respect the Cali gang culture for sure. And I got partners, deep! I’m hella affiliated with the neighborhood ’60s.

Are you as obsessive compulsive with your music?

Fuck yeah! Before I write every verse, I pray, and I have to do the same amount of takes every time I rap. I always wear my belt buckle to the right. I always do certain shit. I feel like they kept me alive. I don’t split poles, and I knock on shit. Like if you say anything about AIDS, HIV, or any diseases you gotta knock. I am really weird!

You’re not the kind of rapper that brags about recording in one take.

Some dude 2Pac used to work with said ‘Pac used to do his vocals like a million times. I’m a big ’Pac fan and had no clue he stacked his vocals like that. I smoke a lot and I got asthma, so I have to do a bunch of takes. With Kanye, you can hear he don’t really do over-dubs. I have to do that to convey the emotion without yelling. I just think screaming into the microphone is unnecessary when you can say it over, and manipulate the ear until it sounds like what you want.

How has been your transition from being in the streets to the music industry?

I don’t know. I’d pay you if you could give me the answer to that. In the streets, the bread don’t come on time. You gotta hustle so you can feel comfortable. I’m still getting adjusted to that. If you stared at me before, I’d be ready to get down on your ass. That’s why I try to stay away from the diss rap circuit.

Why not? It sells records.

People tend to diss you and attack what can hurt. Monique died [Editor’s Note: mother of Ca$his’ oldest daughter], my brother died, and everybody knows how I feel about my children. I try to stay clear of that. I rather see them guys in the street and let them know how I feel face to face, instead of putting it out on wax. On “You Don’t Know” and the “Jimmy Crack Corn” Remix, you know who we was talking to. That’s why I would never be cool with Benzino or gay ass Ja-Rule. He sucks. He was just at a show in Utah saying, “fuck Shady, fuck G-Unit.” When I see that man, it’s a problem.

Like Snoop Dogg and the Game, coming out of the West coast, what’s your outlook on your contribution to rap?

I expect nothing but to be named up there with Snoop. I don’t know about the other dude. I gotta give dude his props as far as selling the most records out of the West. It was really big for Bloods. Before, all you heard was Crippin’. His album outsold Snoop so I can’t be a liar. I’m definitely not a liar. But I can’t give someone credit for being great when I don’t think they are. That’s without being on Shady. I don’t think he’s a great artist. I just think it was the right time, right place.

Given the troubled state of the music industry, Shady’s been playing it safe doing official mixtapes like the Re-Up and now an EP for your debut. Why?

I’m happy that I was an unestablished artist before. Then people can really grow with me and recognize the hard work I put into this. We wanted to put something out that could feature me, 4-5 Eminem beats, and him rapping on it. If I was to put out an eight-song mixtape, people would feel like, I shortchanged them. For the same cost of a mixtape, $5-6 dollars, you get artwork and all that good shit, and it’s a collector’s edition. Then I come in October with the LP, and hit you with 16-18 tracks.

What fuels your hunger to rap?

King Mathers, my man Dart at Interscope records, my ten children and all my dead people. Em believes in me, so that’s motivation in itself. That’s my partner on every level except a homosexual level. Haha. When I first met Em, we kicked it for like 4-5 hours, we ain’t talk shit about music. I thought it was gonna be a quick in and out because he was busy, but we chopped it up, and really bonded. We connect as far as not having a great male role model, getting into beef with your mom, we both got a lot of baby mama drama, and we both feel deeply for our kids. I go out to Detroit a lot and he tells me I give him inspiration to get back in the booth. He honestly feels that I’m gonna do something incredible for music. So I have no choice but to believe the same thing. I got Shady tattooed on me a couple of times and that’s not to do that as a cliché. I put my life on the line for that man because he saved my life.
Who else supplied the beats for County Hound?

The Block Boyz, Rikanatti & Ron Browz.

Though you had a few songs on the Re-Up, and appeared in the video for “You Don’t Know,” you’re still relatively unknown rocking the bandana over your face.

We wanted it to be like Ghostface. I’m still kind of active where I was, but we had to do some networking to cleanup my legal situations so people might see me in the video. A nigga might see me in the street and try to take my head off. But in the video for “Lac Motion” you gonna be able to see me. Now I can show my face, I’m legit right now. Thank God. Fingers crossed, toes crossed, just so don’t nothing else happen.

Like the Notorious B.I.G before you, tell me about your suicidal thoughts on this album.

That was a personal record. 8-9 months out of the year, I celebrate the deaths of somebody I cared about. That don’t make me feel good at all. Like on New Years, one of my man’s got killed. So, I can’t be happy on New Years. Summertime, Monique died, right after 4th of July. So that fucks up my whole summer. So I think of suicide. I don’t think I’m gonna do no shit like that, but that’s just how I was feeling at the moment. You need to know, before you approach someone, you never know what’s on that person’s mind. I could be in one of those moods like, I’m gonna take you with me. People don’t really know the extent of how deep my mind works and how fucked up my life was and how hard it was. Sometimes I just lash out with thoughts of suicide. Those are real questions that no one can answer. Like when you out on tour, if you’re fucking somebody, there’s a 50/50 chance your girl is fucking somebody too. You can’t come back home and can’t fuck her raw. This whole music shit changed up my whole reality. I’m not as trusting as I was and I’m not putting myself in jeopardy for no female, ever. I’m gonna go out like a soldier when I go.

Spoken like a true soldier.


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