Casedi is unflinchingly human. The 20-year-old sweetheart sat down with me to talk music, the future, and play a little bit of “this or that.” After only releasing one track this past year, the San Diego native is planning for a major 2021. Friendly, funny, and wise, meet the surging singer and songwriter Casedi.

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So I discovered you this past year when “Routine” came across my discovery weekly, and that track is a vibe. Tell me about the making of it!

For most of my songs I’ll write about what I’m going through at that very moment, so its totally a true story and something we can all relate to. "Routine" is just about that time in a relationship when you’re both vibing but you both know its not the right timing. So its just that feeling of knowing you shouldn’t, but you like it, so it keeps going on until it can’t survive anymore.

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How about your creative process?

When I write I like to start off with a beat. I wrote “Routine” with two other artists. We brought a producer in, KRS, and Jermaine Elliot came through too. He did the first verse, I did the hook, and the second verse I wrote when I was cutting it with other artists. Typically I like to go off of the beat first, then melodies, and just basically write from what I’m feeling. It's so much easier for me to write that way.

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Out of the 6 tracks on your Spotify, which is your personal favorite? ‍

I would say either “Hypnosis” or “You On You.” I listen to those a lot. When I make a new song and I love it, I’ll listen to it so much until I can’t anymore. I’ve gotten to a place where I try not to listen to my own music all the time, but I go back and listen to myself every once in a while to make sure I’m staying within the vibe I put out as an artist.

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At what age did you know you wanted to pursue music?

At age seven I thought I could be Beyonce. When I was a child my mom would bring home toys and barbies, and I wouldn’t play with anything. Finally, they brought home Disney Singalong and a toy piano, and I was hooked. I was literally three years old, and music was my favorite thing. I would go to the store with my parents, pick out CDs, come home from school and do karaoke, all of that. I always believed that what you love is what you’re here to do, and that’s what inspires me to keep making music.

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So who were your biggest musical influences growing up?

So I’m half white and half black, so growing up I listened to a lot of pop music. I’d idolize Adele growing up, loved singing her. Once I got to high school, I was dating this basketball player who was listening to PARTYNEXTDOOR, and I was like wow, what is this sound? I knew of R&B, but I didn’t know it was its own whole genre. So, I’d say a mixture of pop at first, but now it’s all R&B. I’m obsessed with R&B.

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Who would be your dream collaboration with in the future?

Number one is definitely Chris Brown. Musically I will always have the most respect for him. He’s one of the only artists that when I listen to him, I literally see different colors, feel things, I’m in a different place. It’s a whole experience in my mind.

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Tell me about your Covid-19 experience and quarantine. Did it stifle your creative juices a bit?

Honestly, I don’t feel like it changed too much for me. I was going through a lot of health issues this year, which is why I didn’t really drop a lot of music in 2020. But still, I have my own setup here at home, I have places to go in LA to work, so I’m lucky enough to still have resources to create. Regardless, everything is way less exciting without shows.

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So you released 3 songs in 2018, 2 songs in 2019, and one in 2020. What are the plans for 2021?

Well I’m doing so much better by the grace of God, and everything is going as planned. So yeah, I’m trying to release a lot of music this year. I don’t plan on stopping any time soon.

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What has been your least favorite part about the industry since you’ve entered?

Social Media. I grew up with an idea of how the industry worked, or at least how it used to work. I feel like I’m an artist, and I want to do musical things, but now you have to do TikToks, Trillers, and all that other stuff.

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On the flip side of that, what’s been your favorite moment in the industry since the start?

Just watching all of the things I used to dream about start to happen. I’m just starting to understand that if you have faith in yourself you can do anything. It’s so wild, but you really can.

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Where do you see yourself 5 years down the road?

When I’m 25 I want to be at my prime. I see global success, becoming mainstream for sure. Just fully there.

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At this point in the interview I wanted to stray away from the music, and learn a little bit about Casedi herself. We decided to embark on a little game of “this or that.”

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Never smoke again or never drink again?

I would say never smoke again, because I’m a vocalist so at one point it’s going to be that anyway.

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Dogs or cats?‍

Definitely a dog person. I’m so sassy and cats are sassy, so we just clash.

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Beach or city?

Beach person. I’m at the beach three times a week. Here in San Diego, I’m like 10 or 15 minutes

away from the beach, so me and my friends are always hitting it.

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Morning or night person?

Kind of both to be honest. Sometimes I get tired at night, sometimes I can’t get up. I’ll usually wakeup around 8 or 9 though.

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Ketchup or mustard?

Ketchup.

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Be able to fly, or invisibility?

I feel like invisibility. Flying seems like a lot.

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Warm weather clothes or cold weather clothes?

Coldweather fit. You can dress it up, dress it down, layers. All that.

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Netflix or YouTube?

YouTube. I’m not a big TV person. It’s hard for me to just sit there, so to get into a show I have

to really be interested. When I am, though, I’ll just binge watch it all at once.

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IG or TikTok

IG. I’m trying to be a TikToker. Kind of. I know that all I need to do is get on the app and figure it

out. It’s just that first step of entering the TikTok world.

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FaceTime or Phone calls?

FaceTime for friends and family, and calls for everyone else. I’d rather talk on the phone rather than text for sure.

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Great! Before I go, give me one last reason for the readers to tap into Casedi. A little elevator pitch.

Everyone should tap into me because I’m bringing real messages in my music that will help you feel vulnerable and human. I really appreciate that type of music, personally, so to think I could be helping someone with my songs is just so amazing.

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Make sure to check out Casedi’s top 10 songs in our Artist Takeover Spotify playlist below, and

tune into our IG today to meet the artist as she takes over our story! 

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