Name: Hayden Cashion
Home Base: Ottawa, Canada
Industry/Creative Discipline: Write, record, mix, and master Hip-Hop music
Biggest Accomplishment So Far: The growth in support over the last eight months, and the clarity of my vision for 2017.
What Creativity Means to Me: Creativity allows me to look at the world and go, “Hey, you see your perspective, but take a second to check out mine.” For me it’s about shedding new light on a situation and showing people that you can look at the world from different angles, without either side being right or wrong. I could’ve done this in many different ways but Hip-Hop is just the medium I chose because I am super passionate about it.
Past and Present Creative Icons: Musically my biggest creative icons from past to present would have to be Eminem, Lil’ Wayne, Drake, and Russ all in that order. Eminem is the reason I fell in love with Hip-Hop. I remember at nine years old becoming obsessed with him and listening to every song from the Slim Shady LP to The Eminem Show. Those were his golden albums in my opinion. After that I was really into Lil’ Wayne for his authenticity and creativity. I found Drake through Lil’ Wayne and followed his career closely since 2009. I really gravitated to Drake’s sound, meshing melodies with raps so effortlessly. I swear that shit talked to me. These days Russ is being played 90% of the time in my headphones. He’s the future of Hip-Hop, bet on it.
Where I Feel Most Creative: The car. It’s actually quiet dangerous. Ha! Ha! I’ll put on a beat while I’m driving and I’ll just think of my dopest shit. I’ll legit drive two blocks, pull over, type down two bars, drive another few blocks, pull over, scratch down some more, and just repeat. I think it’s because I’m not fully paying attention to what I’m saying because I’m focused on driving so the words just come more naturally. I find when I sit down and focus on a beat I tend to overthink but in the car it’s different.
Favorite Creative Outlet: Writing a flawless 16 is one of the best feelings in the world. For me personally, I write my songs really slow. Like, I can sometimes take 3-4 weeks to finish a verse just because I want to say exactly how I feel and sometimes it’s difficult to put feelings into words. So when I finally finish that 16, and the flow’s perfect, and the bars are written exactly how I pictured them, there’s nothing that can top it.
What Inspires Me To Create: Aside from my parents and a few other mentors, music has hands down been the biggest factor that has shaped the guy you’re talking to. Lyrics in music have spoken to me my whole life, teaching me so much and creating the person I am today. This inspires me to share my knowledge, wisdom, whatever you want to call it, with the next generation and help shape them. I find inspiration in the challenge to accurately write a song that depicts a situation that others are facing, and if that song can connect with them and help them get through that time then I’m satisfied.
If Money Wasn’t An Option I would: Build a state of the art studio, get my favorite producers, and go full-out with my personal career and vision. Money is one of the only things limiting my sound currently. There’s a lot of equipment I’m trying to get to take my sound to the next level and I’m trying to do it ASAP.
Bio: I’m a 21 year-old independent artist. I do it all except the beat-making side. 2017 will be my year, nobody will stop me, you can join me or you can watch me. I’ll be releasing a song every 2-3 weeks all year and I will be improving each time. I never rest. I’m always learning and always working because the only way to guarantee success is hard work. Music is all I love and this is all I want to do with the rest of my life. Keep your eyes
peeled, find me on all streaming services, Instagram, and Snapchat for updates.
Click below to listen to Hayden Cashion’s latest single Cold Town.