Cap 1 has a battery in his back. Actually, after the year the Street Execs have had, it’s safe to assume the same of the entire squad. Last month, the Chicago MC hit a small, unassuming bar in Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward—filling it to capacity.
The Caviar Dreamz creator was there to promote his Bird Bath EP, set to be released one day before his birthday on January 13. That night, Cap danced between spitfire bars, ran through a couple of older crowd favorites and introduced a few new ones. Two weeks later, the Street Execs returned to the nightspot to debut their T.R.U. Jack City project from 2 Chainz’s T.R.U. imprint.
“Thank y’all for coming out and supporting us… And bringing your cameras,” 2 Chainz quipped before bringing Cap-1 to the stage. “This my brother,” he said. “Y’all know. We’ve been rocking forever.”
He’s right too.
Cap is the guy that brought Shawnna and “What’s Your Fantasy?” to Disturbing the Peace, around the time Ludacris was transitioning from radio jock to imprint head. That’s how the two formed a friendship and through all of his ventures over past years—from managing artists to ghostwriting for others—Cap-1 has finally returned to the driver’s seat as a rapper with his smash “Bird Bath” opening new doors. There’s a collaborative effort between he and Young Buck and Caviar Dreamz 3 is in the works. Cap has also launched his Caviar Dreams car service with a small fleet to include a Mercedes Benz Sprinter and S 550. We sat with the MC recently at the Street Execs’ brand new studio space and discovered that his desire for more “caviar,” so to speak, is at the root of it all.
“Me and Young Buck are working on this mixtape called Mudd Music. That’s my brother.”—Cap 1
HipHopWired: So with “Bird Bath,” I know that people have come calling since it hit last fall. Who all have you been dealing with since the track took off?
Cap 1: It’s growing. It’s definitely growing and it’s been a blessing because it’s helping me move into a different bracket as far as the features and just the relationships and the people that are now tied to my name like if you Google search my name now some other artists will come up like me Young Buck and Boosie. There are different records that are able to come to the light and I think that “Bird Bath” made that easier for me to move amongst my peers and people that I listen to, musically.
HHW: Can you say who’s been calling specifically? Who’s in the works to collaborate with?
Cap: Me and Young Buck are working on this mixtape called Mudd Music. That’s my brother. To even be able to have a Buck and Boosie record, that’s going crazy on the internet right now. We’ve got some crazy features on the “Bird Bath“ remix but I can’t really leak that yet but that’s gonna be a real classic. And of course Gotti and Rick Ross. Those two are on my wishlist. Me and Rocko have something in the making. And I need something with The Weeknd, so we can lock stuff down for the females.
HHW: Really?
Cap: I love The Weeknd’s music man! The crazy thing is that I’ve been listening to buddy’s music since two, three years ago. Like, some of my homeboys used to be like, ‘The f— is that?’ [laughs] We riding to the club and I’m singing along and they’re just like, ‘What the f— is that?’ I just listen to so much hip-hop, so many beats so that’s just my escape music. So, The Weeknd, Party Next Door…
HHW: On the media tour of the Street Execs studio the other day, in the A Room, I feel like that was your son in there with us. You put on “1000 Pints” and he was in there dancing.
Cap: Yeah, that’s my son. [laughs] That’s his song. He hits the moves and everything. I feel like that’s another day 1 tester, like, I’ll put it on and you might hear him singing a different adlib or something. That’s dope though when the music can translate to different genres and ages and stuff like that.
HHW: I heard that before: ‘You can tell it’s a hit, if the kids are into it.’ That’s what you believe?
Cap: Definitely because to the kids, I think it’s more about the feeling than what you’re saying, so if it feels good to them, they’re gonna react. That’s why sometimes, babies be in the car and don’t know what the song is talking about but they be in the backseat going crazy.
HHW: A lot of your income has come from ghostwriting in past years. I know you are adamant about keeping the names under wraps but speak on the hardest part of the job.
Cap: Wanting to keep ‘em for yourself. Sometimes, you work on something and figure, “Oh. This one can go. This one has potential.” But this too—it can be hard when the artist is close to you and sometimes you don’t handle the legal parts of it as you should up front or in the stages that they should be handled in. Then the record gets bigger than the situation before can legally be locked down and it’s like, as homies or whatever, it becomes a tug-of-war in the collective input as to whether or not we created this together. So the hardest part would be like when you’re working with the homies and the creative input because you want everybody to eat and you may not always handle business as you should, due to that favoritism you have for that person.
HHW: What would you say each of you over at T.R.U. represent?
Cap: I feel like I bring the Midwest to the table as far as having different flows. Like, even how we rap fast, slow, we kinda have a gumbo of every sound. Being as how we’re in the Midwest, we grew up listening to a bunch of different things. Skooly brings that youthful, new sound that’s coming out with the singing and rapping. Short Dawg is from Houston and he brings the whole Texas market in, that lean culture. It’s a whole different swag over there. Um, whether people deny it or not, lean is a big part of Hip-Hop. That’s our choice of drink, that’s our champagne. So he invites that whole movement that Houston has. And of course, 2 Chainz is what he is — he’s a star. Paved the way and showed us a blueprint.
HHW: Can you relate to your hometown’s drill rap movement, although it more of the kids’ thing?
Cap-1: Definitely because music changes with the times and if you don’t change with the times that’s the moment you become dated and fade out. So for me to say, “I don’t like that music.” Is like me saying: I don’t like the culture or damn near the whole sound of Chicago right now. So you gotta grow with the times. Just like when I was coming up people had to adapt to my time. That drill rap is the face of the music right now. That’s the s— that they’re going through. When I was growing up, there was a little more structure. People feared repercussions of their acts. There was still violence but it wasn’t as crazy as it is now being that there’s no guidance. Their music is a reflection of their lifestyle so you gotta accept.
—
Photo: Instagram
