# Cakes da Killa

Rashard Bradshaw, better known as Cakes da Killa, is an American rap artist who fuses genres of hip hop, house, and electronic dance music. He came to prominence in the "queer explosion" of hip hop music stemming from New York in 2012 and is among the credited performers for the current trend of acceptance of LGBT people in the rap community. Bradshaw is currently based in Atlanta and his second full-length studio album Svengali was released on October 28, 2022.

## Career
### 2011: Career beginnings and Easy Bake Oven

Rashard Bradshaw started rapping in high school for fun before considering it as a career. He first began writing tracks to instrumentals he found on the internet and posting them to Facebook. In 2011, his homemade demos came to the attention of an executive producer named Stixx, who invited Bradshaw to appear on the mixtape Downtown Mayhem Vol. 1 alongside Rip The Ruler. Bradshaw then went on to release his own debut mixtape Easy Bake Oven, Vol. 1 through Stixx' Downtown Mayhem label.
   "I came out in the third grade. This is just me being me. People make it sound like it's controversial and revolutionary, and that's weird to me, because in hip-hop you have people glorifying negativity like killing people and not taking care of your kids – and that should be scandalous! That should be what we talk about. An openly gay rapper shouldn't be breaking news."
As an emerging artist in the hip hop genre—along with fellow LGBT artists such as Le1f, Mykki Blanco, and House of Ladosha—Bradshaw gained popularity through media interest in LGBT figures and themes in hip hop and rap, having been written about in a Pitchfork article about said "movement".
Bradshaw cites Erykah Badu, Busta Rhymes, Remy Ma, Lil' Kim, Foxy Brown, Cam'ron, Nicki Minaj, and Bette Midler as influences.

### 2012–2015: The Eulogy, Hunger Pangs, and mainstream success

Released for free on Mishka NYC's website, Bradshaw's second mixtape The Eulogy was released to overwhelming popularity when it was reviewed positively by Pitchfork. Miles Raymer of Pitchfork compared his raunchy style to Lil' Kim and praised the production of the mixtape. According to an interview in Paper Magazine, the mixtape's title originally referred to Bradshaw's plan to end his musical career after its release, but he's since changed his mind.
Prior to making his rap career full-time, Bradshaw was an intern at Paper Magazine and worked in the nightlife industry, promoting parties and working doors in New York City. In May 2013, Bradshaw completed his bachelor's degree in fashion studies at Montclair State University. In September 2013, Bradshaw released an EP for his hit single "I Run This Club", which samples M.I.A.'s song by the same name from her 2010 mixtape Vicki Leekx. He later released a Remixes version of this EP which included features from Fat Tony, Siyoung, and Spank Rock on the title track.
   "A lot of people especially in the quote-unquote queer community felt like it was a very awkward interview, but my thing is that I throw a party every Friday and it's not a gay party. It's a straight mixed party. These are the kinds of questions I get asked and I'm not one of those queer people who don't have straight friends, so I'm used to it."
In June 2014, Bradshaw released a nine-track mixtape titled Hunger Pangs. To promote this mixtape, Bradshaw appeared on the Hot 97 radio show Ebro in the Morning where he freestyled live on air. Throughout the interview, Bradshaw's sexuality kept being a topic of discussion, with Ebro calling him a "gay rapper" and Bradshaw correcting him to call himself "a rapper that happens to be gay".
In 2015, Bradshaw released a 5 track EP titled #IMF (In My Feelings), which chronicled a modern-day tale of star crossed lovers from inception to resolution.

### 2016–present: Studio albums

In October 2016, Bradshaw released his highly anticipated debut album Hedonism on Ruffians. In October 2019, Bradshaw appeared on the Netflix reality competition Rhythm + Flow, where he auditioned in front of Cardi B, Jadakiss, and Fat Joe. Following this appearance, Bradshaw has released a handful of singles in 2020, most recently "Don Dada" off his EP Muvaland, which was released in November 2020.
In 2022, Bradshaw released his second studio album, Svengali.

## Discography
### Albums

| Title | Album details |
| Hedonism | Released: October 21, 2016 Label: Ruffians Format: Digital download, CD, LP |
| Svengali | Released: October 28, 2022 Label: Young Art |
| Black Sheep | Released: March 22, 2024 Label: Young Art |

### Extended plays

| Title | EP details |
| I Run This Club | Release: September 16, 2013 Label: Hot Mom USA Format: Digital download |
| I Run This Club (Remixes) | Release: May 12, 2014 Label: Hot Mom USA Format: Digital download |
| #IMF | Release: February 10, 2015 Label: Mishka NYC Format: Digital download |
| Muvaland (with Proper Villains) | Release: November 13, 2020 Label: Classic Music Company Format: Digital download |
| Muvaland, Vol. 2 (with Proper Villains) | Release: July 16, 2021 Label: He.She.They Format: Digital download |

### Mixtapes

| Title | Album details |
| Easy Bake Oven, Vol. 1 | Release: October 21, 2011 Label: Downtown Mayhem, LLC/DTM Records Format: Digital download |
| The Eulogy | Release: January 29, 2013 Label: Mishka NYC Format: Digital download |
| Hunger Pangs | Release: June 18, 2014 Label: Mishka NYC Format: Digital download |

### Singles

List of singles, showing year released and album name :
| Title | Year | Album |
| "Streets Talkin" (Bobby Lyte$ featuring Cakes da Killa) | 2013 | Non-album single |
| "Give It to Me" (Astrolith featuring Cakes da Killa) | 2014 | Muscle Memories |
| "Mirror Mirror" (Moonbase Commander featuring Cakes da Killa) | 2015 | Southpaw |
| "Drop Top" (DJ Shiftee featuring Cakes da Killa) | 2015 | Non-album single |
| "Serve It Up" (with Moonbase Commander) | 2015 | Non-album single |
| "Carry On" (Astrolith featuring Cakes da Killa) | 2016 | Non-album single |
| "Up Out My Face" (featuring Peaches) | 2016 | Hedonism |
| "New Phone (Who Dis)" | 2016 | Hedonism |
| "Shots Fired" | 2017 | Shots Fired X Thirst Trap |
| "Thirst Trap" | 2017 | Shots Fired X Thirst Trap |
| "Catch the Beat" (Honey Dijon featuring Cakes da Killa) | 2017 | The Best of Both Worlds |
| "Talkin' Greezy (Remix)" (with Injury Reserve) | 2018 | Non-album single |
| "Don't Make Cents" (with Proper Villains) | 2018 | Non-album single |
| "Bed Rest" (with LSDXOXO) | 2018 | Non-album single |
| "Luv Me Nots" | 2019 | Non-album single |
| "You Could Neva" (with Astrolith & Ripparachie) | 2019 | Non-album single |
| "Pop Shit" (Rafia featuring Cakes da Killa) | 2020 | Non-album single |
| "Free to Be" (with davOmakesbeats) | 2020 | Non-album single |
| "Don Dada" | 2020 | Muvaland |
| "What's the Word" (with Proper Villains) | 2021 | Muvaland, Vol. 2 |
| "Taste Test" (with Proper Villains) | 2021 | Muvaland, Vol. 2 |

### Guest appearances

List of guest appearances, with other performing artists, showing year released and album name :
| Title | Year | Original artist(s) | Album |
| "MayDay" | 2011 | Rip The Ruler | Downtown Mayhem Vol. 1 |
| "Black Madonna" | 2012 | Big Momma | Batteries Not Included |
| "380" | 2013 | Big Momma | Mommie Dearest |
| "Whistle" (remix) | 2013 | DJ Kilbourne | The Club Giant Squid |
| "Menea" | 2013 | P3culiar | Role Play |
| "Truth Tella" | 2013 | LSDXOXO | Softcore |
| "Saki Bomb" | 2014 | Saint | Muscle Memories |
| "A Minute with Cakes" | 2014 | Mykki Blanco | Gay Dog Food |
| "Bind That Bitch" | 2014 | L S D X O X O | W H O R E C O R E |
| "Cold Wintour" | 2015 | L S D X O X O | sacanagem |
| "Hot F*ck No Love" | 2016 | Clipping. | Wriggle |
| "What's Goodie" | 2016 | Injury Reserve | Floss |
| "Look at Me" | 2018 | Madeaux | Burn |
| "Catch the Beat" (Derrick's Black Catcher Vocal) | 2018 | Honey Dijon | Xtra |
| "Catch the Beat" (Honey Dijon's I'm Carrying Remix) | 2018 | Honey Dijon | Xtra |
| "GTFU" | 2019 | Injury Reserve | Injury Reserve |
| "Ultimate One" (Remix) | 2023 | Urias | Her Mind (Blossom Edition) |

## Filmography
### Television

List of television appearances, showing year released, role, and director :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
| 2014 | Cakes Da Killa: No Homo | Himself | Short film, directed by Ja'Tovia Gary | |
| 2019 | Rhythm + Flow | Himself | Episode 2 | |

### Music videos

List of music videos, showing year released and director :
| Title | Year | Director(s) |
| "Whistle (Beat It Up)" | 2012 | Alana Peters |
| "Cuntspiracy" | 2013 | Sean Anthony |
| "Goodie Goodies" | 2013 | Ja'Tovia Gary |
| "I Run This Club" | 2014 | ZU |
| "Truth Tella" | 2014 | Minister Akins |
| "Give It To Me" (Astrolith featuring Cakes da Killa) | 2014 | Mark Lovato & Gella Zefira |
| "Living Gud, Eating Gud" | 2014 | Jason Ano |
| "Mixed Messages" | 2015 | Mark Lovato & Gella Zefira |
| "Get 2 Werk Remix" (feat. Rye Rye) | 2015 | Unknown |
| "New Phone, Who Dis?" | 2016 | Noah Breakfast |
| "Talkin Greezy" | 2016 | Nico Bovat |
| "Been Dat Did That (360 VR)" | 2016 | Mark Lovato & Gella Zefira |
| "Gon Blow" (featuring Rye Rye) | 2017 | Unknown |
| "Luv Me Nots" | 2020 | Ohoto NYC |
| "DON DADA" | 2020 | dayday |