Rashard Bradshaw, better known as Cakes da Killa, is an American rapper. Bradshaw's debut album, Hedonism, was released in October 2016. He is based in Atlanta.
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 Cakes to appear on the mixtape Downtown Mayhem Vol. 1 alongside Rip The Ruler. Bradshaw then went on to release his debut mixtape Easy Bake Oven, Vol. 1 through Stixx' Downtown Mayhem label. As an emerging artist in the LGBT hip hop genre—along with fellow artists such as Le1f, Mykki Blanco, and House of Ladosha—Bradshaw gained popularity through media interest in LGBT figures and themes in hip hop, having been written about in a Pitchfork article about said "movement". Bradshaw cites Remy Ma, Lil' Kim, Foxy Brown, and Cam'ron as influences.
2012-13: ''The Eulogy'' 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. In May 2013, Bradshaw completed his bachelor's degree in fashion studies at Montclair State University. In September 2013, Bradshaw released a remix 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.
2014-present: ''Hunger Pangs'',''#IMF'' and ''Hedonism''
In June 2014, Bradshaw released a nine-track mixtape titled Hunger Pangs. His most recent project, released in February 2015, is #IMF; a 5 track extended play chronicling a modern-day tale of star crossed lovers from inception to resolution. In 2015 Cakes Da Killa was featured with fellow artist Jupiter Gray as a "Queer Voice Of Color". The artist was interviewed regarding his upcoming music, sexuality and whether or not the industry had been homophobic towards him.
