Ca$his — “County Hound 2”, the Most Underrated Hip Hop/Rap Album of the 2010's
In 2006 when Eminem, 50 Cent and Lloyd Banks came out with the hit single “You Don’t Know”, from the “Eminem Presents: The Re-Up” album, many listeners got their first glimpse of the new Shady Records artist, Cashis (now stylized as Ca$his). From his first appearance, fans of the genre were excited to see what the future would bring for the Orange County emcee. Not long after The Re-Up was released, Cashis would have his chance at the limelight with his debut solo commercial project, titled “The County Hound EP”. This project sounded unlike anything that Shady Records had ever released before, the dark, gritty storytelling could paint pictures of cold, dark streets. The artistic sampling featured on “Ms. Jenkins” drew in many listeners with a certain feeling of comforting familiarity, but kept listeners with the intense storytelling that Cashis was able to deliver. “The County Hound EP” sold 6,700 physical copies the first week, and debuted at 106 on the Billboard 200 with nearly no promotion from the label. This project cemented his place as one of the most anticipated artists of the decade. However, the hype was not long-lived. After multiple release delays and ultimately, Cashis leaving Shady Records after only releasing an EP and many mixtapes, many fans of the rapper had grown away from him, causing much of the attention that he should have received on future releases to be missing.
In 2012 Cashis released his debut album, “The Art of Dying” through RBC records, and although it featured artists such as Royce da 5'9, Rick Ross, The Game, and more. It failed to catch him the attention that he once had.
In 2013 Cashis, now going officially by Ca$his, released “The County Hound 2” through his own label, Bogish Brand Ent. This project was the moment that his fans were waiting for, the West Coast emcee brought his old Shady label mates along for the ride, featuring Kuniva, Obie Trice, and Crooked I. The album featured production from his long time producer, Rikanatti, along with Eminem. The album was very feature heavy, but did a great job of not sounding like he was dependent on these other artists to make such a classic album. All of the featured artists fit perfectly on the songs that they appeared on. Demrick, being one of the standout performers that comes to mind, Cashis and Demrick always had great chemistry whenever they have worked together, and “The Pain” on County Hound 2 is no exception.
The album also featured one of his biggest songs that never actually came out, commercially before this, “Serenade My Life”. The album has everything from club bangers such as, “Mind on Money”, “Look at Me”, and both “Imma Hustla” and the “Imma Hustla W.C. Remix”, to intricate looks at the struggles of the artist balancing his work life, personal life, and struggling to carve his own identity while fighting his personal demons, “The Pain”, “Layin in the Cut”, “Serenade My Life”, and “Thru the Glass” being the standout songs to display this.
All in all, if you are a fan of hip hop and you have not checked out this album, you are doing yourself a huge disservice. From the opening track to the end of the album, you will be brought on a journey through the streets of Orange County, and through the mind of Cashis. This album, in my opinion is the most under appreciated album, not only of 2013, but of that entire decade.
