Casi worked for this shit. The punk-rap duo consisting of Xay Young and Eli Edwards grew up in the Spanaway suburb of Tacoma, a military-base Washingtonian town with no punk scene to speak of. Finding community in each other, Young and Edwards started making music on their own. “No one told us there were punk shows or taught us how to skate,” says the duo. “We found that on our own.” After Eli joined the emo-rock project Enumclaw and moved to LA, he and Xay would diligently keep on the punk shit, using their separation to fuel their writing processes and making the most of any time Edwards tripped back up to Spanaway.
Now, after 12 years of distillation, Casi’s self-titled debut is ready to soak you in gasoline and spray you with a blowtorch. Ripping through hardcore-rap ragers, nu metal angst, and a touch of emo for good measure, Casi is the rough equivalent of a wildfire burning through your earbuds. The duo take on topics ranging from complex family dynamics to political commentary to paralyzing intrusive thoughts, slipping and striking at the beat like featherweight boxers. Driving home the way they rap is the cover of the record, which features Xay in Casi-branded boxing shorts and gloves, ready to fuck up ICE kidnappers and the beat with a nasty right hook.
Ahead of the LP’s release tomorrow via Carpark Records, we spoke with Eli and Xay about how it feels for their debut to be here, Casi’s sonic inspirations, and the impact of Eli’s time with Enumclaw on their approach. Check out our conversation below.
How does it feel to finally be putting out a project together after all these years?
Xay: Truthfully, it feels great! The idea of finally putting out a project has been on the forefront of our minds for awhile, so for it to finally be happening, I’m nothing more but grateful. Everyday I see that vinyl in my room next to my bed and I just smile. I’m locked in and ready to get the next one going.
Eli: The feeling is mutual over here; now it’s just gotta meet my very high expectations.
Y’all work through so many different soundscapes throughout Casi. What are some of the core influences that informed your process?
Eli: Ye, N.E.R.D., Deftones, Blood Orange, Porches, Paris Texas, Gorillaz—we both associate those artists with some pretty key moments in our lives in the last couple years that made us wanna take our music to another level.
Xay: A big influence on me, personally, is life and allowing myself to experience anything I truly fancy. Sometimes those days when I just run errands all day, or work a long 12 hours, are when I think of the most ideas.
Eli, how did your work with Enumclaw and your time in LA influence how you approach what you and Xay are doing with Casi?
Eli: I joined Enumclaw at 17 without knowing how to play any instrument at all. Throughout those four years I spent playing in an (almost) world-touring band I learned pretty much everything you can about the rock world at a medium level. While Xay and I still worked together during down time, I think that period around the end of Enumclaw while I was in LA is what really made Casi take shape of what it is today. I hadn’t had much time to put what I learned into practice, so once I had it, the rest is history!
Xay, how did your time alone in Tacoma impact your music-making journey and your drive to pursue Casi?
Xay: That time alone made me really think about what the fuck I was gonna do. For a good chunk of us working together, Eli was the sole producer and I was more of the rapper, and once he started touring and stuff I started kinda filling that role myself, just fucking with GarageBand and Logic. I felt like he was doing so much and it inspired me to keep up. Everytime he came back I just wanted to have something to show so he knew we’re still locked in.
For the release of “Jumper,” you told us that “like a punch, Casi is coming full force.” What are y’all hoping for listeners to feel and get out of Casi?
Eli & Xay: Any and everything they need. You’re in the gym grinding and you need that extra push, you’re going crazy trying to nail some new trick at the park—shit, you’re at the crib function tryna get the party jumpin’. Whatever they take away from it is what they needed; we just hope they appreciate and feel that all this is real. We make this music with everything we have and want to share every part of us with all of you!
