Cole James Cash Discusses Making The BBW Album

Cole James Cash proves that being a homeless, recovering drug addict who wears a mask is no obstacle to making rap albums and hanging with XXXL XXX gals.

Robbie: Tell me about the BBW album?

Cole James Cash: I was trying to make the shit sound romantic, as ridiculous as it sounds. I was trying to bring a theme of romance, which is why you hear a lot of soft and very melodic type samples.

Were there many BBW porn stars that you wanted involved on the album that refused?

Not so much refused as ignored. [laughs] When we did the song named after Karla Lane, that’s when Kacey Parker was like, ‘I would like a song!’ That’s when she threw her support completely behind it. Everything from being on the cover to doing the intro. She went out of her way yo help me and she didn’t have to. I asked Sophia Rose and she straight ignored every email I sent.

How did you first develop an interest in big girls?

My first girlfriend was this chubby white girl, she was one of those over-developer 14 year olds and she had some huge tits, man. As I got older, I used to hit up the thumbnail sites, because there were no video sites in ‘98. I’d always pick the ‘big girl’ categories and they’d only be like a few. I used to think that something was fuckin’ wrong with me. I used to date this skinny-ass girl, her name was Laura. I was like, ‘I’m dating a normal girl now, so I don’t need to be looking at chubby girls no more.’ That lasted about a day. From then I willfully wanted to be with girls who were bigger or thicker. In college I dated one skinny girl and I discovered that during sex I just couldn’t get off. That’s when I was like, ‘Fuck it, I’m coming out the BBW closet!’ [laughs]

Do you feel like you’re on the cusp of an exciting new rap genre?

This is the worst time of my life. Recovering from drugs, losing my family, having the mother of my child look at me and be ashamed, being homeless and being a veteran and having no where to go? It sucks. Making this album has been one of the toughest things of my life. The album is fun but my life is not going great right now. These aren’t a bunch of strip club anthems. It’s called a ‘pornographic opera’ because it’s a melding of things, musically. There are a couple of songs that are trashy but there others that are talking about things in a beautiful way. The theme is romance. Every single song matches the woman [it’s named after], I researched every woman extensively. Not just looking at them fuck – I’m talking about I would look at their Twitters, trying to get a feel for how they are. That song ‘Angelina Castro’ has that Cuban folk sample. ‘Sam 38G,’ that song is supposed to sound epic, because she’s epic! She’s been around for the last fourteen years. If she was a rapper, she’d be Jigga or Nas. Still relevant, still at the top of her game.

You’ve managed to get a lot done this year considering your circumstances.

Nobody has an excuse. I went through several halfway houses, I was kicked out of one for fighting. I was in a homeless shelter in March, so if someone’s telling me they can’t do it for various reasons I understand, but it shows me how serious they are if they can get it done. That’s why I set deadlines. If you can’t get me a song in a month and a half then you don’t want it that badly! Once I was off drugs, I could concentrate and I did everything I could to get my name out. I had to beg my mother to buy me a laptop so I could get back into music and she was nice enough to do it.I went to Texas and produced a guy called Dubwerth and he paid me to do 25 songs. I took that money and I went to LA and I met up with Kacey, who lended me a hand. LEX is the one who organized almost all of the MC’s on the album, and he’s been there to give me advice. He’s a great guy.

How did you find yourself in such a bad situation?

I was addicted [to painkillers] for four years. When you finally sober up and you realise everything that you’ve lost and ruined, to the point where nobody will even let you in their home? People are ashamed because you’re a drug addict, and you cheated on the woman you loved with drugs? It’s painful. That shit takes over your mind, and once you let it go, you’re like, ‘What the fuck did I just do?’ It’s hard to deal with. I sustained an injury to my neck and I was having a lot of depression and some personal issues. In 2010 I began taking [medication] for those reasons instead of just for my neck injury. I continued into a downward spiral because I was hopelessly addicted. I never stole from people, but I changed as a person and to this day I still have to deal with the after-effects of people not trusting me. It hurts when you want another chance and you don’t get one. I didn’t start producing music again until I went extensively through the Unkut interviews. I read every single interview and I completely rebooted how I produce. When you read Unkut interviews you get so much knowledge that you end up sounding like a complete genius. It’s like a rap cheat sheet! I am an official Unkut weed carrier. I hunted down that Source magazine for days, all so I could take a picture of the wrong fuckin’ logo!

What’s your next project?

My Street Fighter album, it’s about hanging-in there when things get tough. I use the game just as a premise, the characters and their stories tie-in with the theme of the album. Another album I started is an instrumental album dealing with a lot of noir themes that deal with living in the city of Oakland. Songs about drug sales, prostitution and drug addiction. It’s basically an album about the city.

BBW: A Pornographic Opera is available for download here.