“People always ask, ‘What the fuck is in Cleveland?’ But I’m about to show them,” Cash says as he strolls into the city’s music hub, Nikky’s, for a meet-and-greet with fans. “My music is going to make enough noise to bring some attention back to Cleveland.” Furthermore, the 25-year-old local celebrity insists, he’s not bringing the thuggish ruggish stuff you’re used to hearing from the Buckeye State. “I got all the respect in the world for Bone, but we’re passed that. We’ve got something different going on.”
Dubbed Ray Cash because of his love for the dough, Wardell Ray Cheeks grew up in Cleveland’s Cliffview Gardens housing project, where he idolized a diverse set of hip hop luminaries. “I came up listening to the Notorious B.I.G., UGK, 8Ball & MJG, and Nas,” he says. “I get my style from them.” That would explain why, as a teenager, Cash kept his simple, straightforward rhyme pattern under wraps during the fast-spitting, sing-songy, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony era. “A lot of people tried to sound like Bone instead of coming out with their own niche,” he says. “That wasn’t me.”
By 2001, his hometown’s relevance in hip hop had faded to practically zero. That’s when a determined Cash stepped up. Under the tutelage of comanagers Kevin Buruss and Shaleek Berry, the green MC went from making amateurish demos to seasoned material that was good enough to impress Sony Urban Music A&R; Kawan “KP” Prather. Credited with launching T.I.’s career, Prather offered Cash a deal with Columbia Records in March 2004.
His eclectic debut, C.O.D.: Cash on Delivery, stretches across regions with its catchy beats and bright lyricism. From the street-stomping, screw-influenced “P.A.N.,” featuring Bun B, to the East Coast–tinged “Fiends, Fiends, Fiends” to the dirty South trunk rattler “Bumpin My Music,” featuring T.I., and the Midwest-style pimpish lead single “Sex Appeal,” Cash is sure to redeem his promise to change the perception of local hip hop. “The world is ready for a new sound out of Cleveland,” agrees radio jock Eddie Bauer. “Ray’s about to show everyone the evolution of MCs coming out of this area.”
“I used to bullshit with rap,” Cash says as he signs headshots for his growing number of fans. Then, with a cool air of confidence, he adds, “Now I’ve got the weight of the city on my back.” That’s a responsibility not to be taken lightly.
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Alvin Blanco. Ray Cash - Ohio Player. Copyright 2005 Vibe.com.
