On Wednesday, Kai Ca$h of the Hip-Hop collective, C.Y.N., stopped by Baller Alert to dish on his latest ventures, including the firm’s week-long activities ahead of Miami’s Rolling Loud festival. Between charity events to give back to the inner city of Miami and private pool parties to play off the group’s party-poppin’ reputation, CYN MOB invaded the Sunshine State, and gave the city a glimpse of how the sons of Hip-Hop legends are making a name for themselves outside of their famous fathers.
In the interview, Kai opened up about the collective, which was founded in 2012 by himself and friend, Niko Brim. From there, the group expanded from two to nearly 10, including Diddy’s son, King Combs.
“C.Y.N as a whole is basically our foundation, it’s where we bring everything back to at the end of the day,” Kai said. “Cause we all have our own individual careers so it’s kind of like a firm, cause everyone does something different.”
“When we first started it, it was – I wouldn’t say it was a joke but you know when you’re young, you start cliques with your family and your friends and you just name it something. It was something that we did that particular summer that just made us want to form a tight-knit group cause every summer our parents made sure we stayed together – like the whole summer. So that one summer like 2012, we just came up with it and we just stuck with it.”
But, unlike many, instead of creating a Hip-Hop rap group, Kai and his friends decided to form a collective, where everyone could flourish in their own respective lanes.
“We just wanted it to be a group that’s just known for business, that’s why the “MOB” in “CYNMOB” stands for “Men of Business,” so we just took that and just ran with it. So if you family and you grew up with us and you got something going for yourself, you bringing something to the table, that’s like a CYN thing. It’s like family thing, rather than just a music thing,” he said, adding that CYN means, “Create your now.”
“Whatever you feel your thing is, whatever you love, this is the moment for it,” Kai said. “Just create your moment now, and live in your moment.”
As the rapper continued, he opened up about his career and explained what pushed him to pursue music. Though he grew up around music mogul Diddy and his father, BK Rube, the driving force behind his decision was his mother.
“My mom was in a singing group with her cousin, but she didn’t like the industry aspect,” Kai said, but her love for music sparked an interest in him and then, his father, who was also heavily involved in the industry, “was the experience.”
“Being with my pops, I was able to go to certain concerts and video shoots and be around Puff because that was his connection. So it was kind of both; they just played two big roles on why I chose to take the music route.”
However, despite the big names in his corner, he is determined to be bigger and better than his parents. “We want to be way better, and everybody has their own unique experience, so I would want to see how mine plays out rather than me trying to fit in someone else shoes or ‘oh, he did this, let me do this,” he said. “But it’s definitely- sometimes it’s difficult cause this is the standard, the bar is already set so high but we kinda setting our own bar now.”
As he continued, Kai also shared that he studied business management at Hampton, set to graduate on Sunday, (May 12). Fresh out of high school, Kai started a clothing line and used his college education in business management to push it, but as anxiety started to take over, he transferred his energy into literature, writing his first book on his struggles with his mental health.
“I would go to google and the internet basically to try to find coping mechanisms,” Kai said, as he revealed he obtained advice from his mother, which then encouraged him to write about it in a book.
“I feel like you should always check in,” Kai said, as he continued about the importance of mental health. “You never know what somebody is going through. The conversation alone is very vital to the young, for one, the adults too, even the older people cause they go through it more than we go through it and they’re kinda stronger, so you don’t really see it. Also, self-awareness is the most important thing, if you need help, if you need to seek help you have to seek help. Even if it’s not professional,” he said. “Whatever way that you can find happiness within yourself mentally is important.”
Elsewhere, Kai opened up about his love for Jay-Z, revealing that Nas, Mase, Biggie and Mary J. Blige are also his greatest musical influences. He also spoke on the Gucci boycott and the importance of the boycott, despite the fact that he wasn’t necessarily purchasing the product. From there, he shared his goals for the next five years and opened up about the importance of buying back the block, as he shared his opinion on what’s Baller and what’s a dub.
Check out the full interview below:
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