In the fast-paced world of battle rap, staying on your toes is a must.
This uniquely structured and pressurized form of hip-hop pits rappers against one another as they cut an opponent down to size with words as weapons and crowd reaction as an indicator of impact. Hesitation isn’t an option, and there’s nowhere to hide.
Yet how could Richmond-based emcee Cane have known that his most prominent challengers were living inside his own house?
“It’s something that I couldn’t have imagined,” Cane says of finding lyrical inspiration at home, where he lives with his wife, 3-year-old daughter and infant son, and where he often prepares for battles and other performances. The self-described perfectionist has turned workshopping material with family members into viral success on TikTok, amassing thousands of views — millions, in some cases — and turning the heads of his hip-hop idols in the process.
Cane was born in Washington, D.C., grew up in Fredericksburg, and lived in Alexandria for a 7-year stint before moving to Richmond in 2021. He’s made quick work establishing himself as part of the city’s hip-hop community. He’s excelled in events sponsored by the Southpaw Battle Coalition and RVA Rap Elite. He helped commemorate the 50th anniversary of hip-hop by joining last summer’s RVA Rapper’s Delight bill at the Hippodrome. He released a full-length album in 2023 titled “H20,” and in January, he dropped a single called “Daddy Daycare” that focuses on the “grown man sh-t” that he understands as a father.
Style Weekly spoke with Cane about how his everyday family interactions intersected with battle rap, which he calls “the highest form of linguistics,” and how that combination has resulted in increased attention from fans and peers.
Style Weekly: How did you get started in the world of battle rap?
Cane: I’m a ’90s kid. If you were a rapper coming up at that time, there wasn’t really an option. If you said that you were a rapper, you had to rap. At the school lunchroom, different social settings, barber shops or being out with people, if you said that you rapped, then likely somebody [would] say, “Well, I got a homie that can rap too.” Boom, you guys gotta battle …
When I started, that was my whole motivation: to impress my friends, to impress my peers and to do well in these cyphers and battles. You prepare for those moments … In 2011 or so, I started putting out music and focusing on that part of it, and then when my good friend Radio B started his battle league Southpaw Battle Coalition, he recruited me into that world … I think it was around 2017 or 2018.
Can you remember any moments of validation when you were getting started?
I was confident that I had something pretty early — probably in high school. In the beginning, it’s a nerve-wracking thing. I had to battle that internally. “I have to do this.” Once you do it for the first few times and you execute, it’s like, “Yeah, I can do this.” But then on a bigger scale, doing live radio freestyles — those are on-the-spot things where you really get one shot to do it, and if you flub your verse, then that’s what happens, and it’s the same in battle rap. Doing those kinds of things prepared me as well to get into the battle ring, because if you mess up, you mess up. You really gotta prepare.
What does that preparation look like?
It’s important to physically say it out loud. With the Southpaw Battle Coalition … we call it sparring. If another guy is preparing for a battle, we will practice our material to each other, even though we’re preparing for two different opponents, and we’ll workshop stuff. “Maybe take this out, maybe this won’t hit.”
Then there’s also practicing around the house. I would practice against my wife or against my kids, just to be doing it in front of people and to be hearing myself. I do that if I’m practicing my sets for a show, too. I’ll put on little concerts for my kids. They’re a part of it all anyway. But then I thought, “What if I actually battled my daughter with material towards her?” So in my head, I wrote a couple bars, rapped them, and I did it in sections — four eight-bar sections — and each reaction was pretty good. I threw that up on TikTok and it went viral right away.
What has it been like finding artistic inspiration at home, given that it’s often a concern among new parents that creative pursuits may not survive parenthood?
It’s so dope … I was real skeptical about having kids, getting married, all of that. I thought that would derail me as an artist. And it has proven to do the opposite. It’s motivated me. It’s inspired me. I get to share all of this with them.
Part of that is also because there’s a lot of ego and competitive nature in hip-hop. You gotta walk a fine line so it’s not corny, and [so] it’s real. That’s been a big lesson that I’ve learned over my years as an artist in general. Every time that I’m doing something that is from my heart — that is genuine, authentic — that’s always what people gravitate towards. I guess I’ve reached a point where I’m like, “Whatever. I’m just going to talk about what my life is from my perspective, and if people like it, then cool.”
Who were you especially excited to see take notice?
Probably the biggest one was Bun B, because he posted it and wrote a little thing about it in his story, which was super-cool. I remember being in high school and listening to old UGK albums. I messaged him and completely fanned out: “Yo, you had one of the best verses of all time on this, blah blah.” I had an opportunity to talk to him and went into full stan mode for a second. A$AP Rocky — that was cool, too. He’s a new father, so I’m sure he related to some of that. Those were two big ones. Benny the Butcher — he has been interacting with my content since doing this. That was cool. And Chad Ochocinco — that was a cool one. That was random. I was a football player, [and] come from a football family, so [I’m] a huge fan of him. It’s been wild to see… I always thought I would get this moment from a song that I made, or a music video or an actual battle that I’m in, or something like that. For it to be a funny video with my kids makes it pretty cool.
Are there any types of videos you haven’t made yet that you’re looking forward to?
Really what I’m trying to do at this point is continue world-building with this… [In] the comment section, they’re all challenging me to battle different things. I have a new one where I battle my dishwasher, and I battle the smoke detector, so now I’m battling inanimate objects. I wanted to keep it almost like a WWE storyline, where things [are] unfolding and different battles arise, then obviously continue to supplement the content with my actual music and freestyles.
What has the reaction from Richmond’s hip-hop community been like?
It’s been all love, for the most part. It’s great. I think a lot of my friends in the community are proud and happy to see this happening. I think they truly believe that I deserve all this stuff, especially my friends who actually know me, my personality, my music and everything. I feel like this has brought more eyes on me now… There’s ups and downs, and when it’s hot, it’s like the law of attraction, almost. More things are coming my way, which is cool because of how we got here — just having a good time with my kids at the house doing stuff I would do anyway.
What’s on the horizon for 2024 that you’re excited about?
I’m focusing on continuing to grow my brand and continuing to be consistent with social media. Last year I did an album, did a tour with that, and this year I’m focusing on releasing singles and doing more one-off things instead of focusing on a body of work. Same with shows. I’m going to do spot dates here and there where they make sense. My next show is March 16 at Ember Music Hall with Asher Roth for a Saint Patrick’s Day show… Just hoping to continue the momentum and excited about more new music and visuals and more battles.
Cane is scheduled to perform as part of Asher Roth’s St. Patty’s Day Celebration, which starts at 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 16 at Ember Music Hall. Tickets range from $20 to $100 and can be purchased at embermusichall.com.
