Cassidy is known for his impressive wordplay and complex bars, and he’s now named some other rappers who he thinks are just as skilful on the mic.
In a recent interview with The Bootleg Kev Podcast, the Philly rapper was asked to name his Top 5 punchline rappers — not including himself. Without hesitation, he listed Lord Finesse, Big L, Canibus, Big Daddy Kane, and Kool G Rap. “I named dudes that kinda came before me, that was my inspiration,” he said.
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Using their inspiration to fuel him, the rapper feels that he’s been able to elevate the artfrom to a new level. “You never heard a artist doing it like back-to-back, line after line, after line, before you can dissect,” he said.
“Before you could dissect one punchline, you already gettting into another one and they connect,” he added. “Like they never really seen rappers doing that. My inspiration is what inspired me to want to create that style.”
Cassidy has also been discussing his own lyrical impact as of late. In a separate clip from the same interview, he stated that his cultural impact can’t be ignored by fans or critics because he’s one of rap’s punchline kings.
He reminisced about the synergy between himself, Lil Wayne, and Fabolous in the studio. All three lyrical giants collaborated on “6 Minutes,” taken from Cassidy’s second album, I’m a Hustla.
When Bootleg Kev asked if the session was competitive, Cassidy confirmed it was while diving more into the makings of the record.
“I was in New York, and Wayne came through,” Cass said. “I was in the studio with Fab a lot back then; so Fab came through the studio. Like, we really locked in. We wasn’t really like sending records or nothing like that. We really locked in and made it happen. I was the one that put that record together. It wasn’t like a label thing or something like that.
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“I knew Wayne was rapping at the time and I knew that Fab was rapping at the time so if all of us came and went crazy like that, no hook, it don’t even gotta be about no hook, tryna make a hit record, I know we can do that. That’s easy. But, just talking about spitting, and I knew that would make a mark, so that’s why I wanted to put that record together.”
He continued: “I think ever since I came out, I just changed the trajectory of how shit was going. I made it more competitive, made you have to be more lyrical, made you have to have more punchlines and lyrics, and piece up more syllables just to sound like you was spittin’. Because before, you ain’t have nothin’ else to compare it to, but when you can listen to me doing it like this, if you supposed to be lyrical, you gotta be doing it to a certain level. So around that time I came out, you started to see a lot of people change.”
