Caye | Top Shelf
Belmont, Massachusetts own Caye is emerging on to the hip-hop scene as a multi-talented instrumentalist that’s looking to make a difference in the world. The 19-year-old rapper first emerged on the scene with his breakthrough single “Coma” in 2016. The single garnered over 4 million streams on Soundcloud and Spotify and it created a loyal fan base for Caye. By late 2016, Caye amassed a huge amount of buzz on the college circuit and it’s only getting bigger.
It’s fitting that Caye isn’t your typical rapper. Starting at the very young age of two years old, Caye started playing the piano and classical music. When the piano wasn’t enough to satisfy Caye, he picked up the drums and steel drums shortly after. “Including my voice, I can play four instruments well enough to get by and play on stage,” Caye tells Chasing The Bag at the popular Hillstone Restaurant in New York City. Amazingly the aforementioned instruments that Caye plays aren’t the only instruments he can pick up.
“I can play a little bit of bass and guitar if I need it for a production and I kind of just picked them and started taking lessons. I don’t take lessons for any of them anymore, I just teach myself now,” says Caye. Along with classical music Caye dipped his artistry into rock, funk, and jazz. But the instrument that really pushed Caye to reach his potential was the steel drums.
Upon hearing the instrument at a party, Caye knew the steel drums were “the sound” on his first listen. “The steel drums were kind of like the main thing that pushed me to become an actual artist because it set me apart musically,” said Caye. “It gave me a different sound to start from and I built my sound around that.”