It’s a Wednesday afternoon and Kaash Paige just got to her studio session in Miami – she’s searching for the WiFi and it’s clear that her energy is in good spirits and she’s excited to get in the booth and start recording.
“I’m in here going crazy working on the project,” Paige tells Billboard as she gets settled on the Zoom call.
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Fresh off the heels of her newest singles “Girlfriend,” and “24 Hours,” featuring Lil Tjay, Kaash Paige is as excited as ever to be gearing up for her newest upcoming project The Fall Off, which will serve as her first full-length body of work in two years. “This project is going to show growth, and it’s going to show why motherf—ers can’t play with me,” Paige says, laughing.
Although Paige hasn’t put out any solo releases since Teenage Fever in 2020 – for those who have been paying attention – she’s still been active in the music scene and making moves. In the interim, fans have seen the R&B singer/songwriter collaborate with artists such as Moneybagg Yo (“Memphganistan”), SAFE (“By My Side”), and Strick (“Bad Girl”). Now the Dallas-bred recording artist is here to prove that she’s no one to underestimate.
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Below, Billboard catches up with Kaash Paige — where she discusses what audiences can expect from her forthcoming project The Fall Off, moving back to her hometown, taking new risks musically, and what she’s learned about herself over the last couple years.
First and foremost, how are you? What has Kaash been up to lately?
I’ve been feeling amazing. I’m feeling really excited and I’ve been tapping in with a lot of people that are teaching me how to expand. Expand in a sense of like, getting put in uncomfortable situations, but it feels good. I started making pop records and it’s crazy, you know? I was never used to [making pop records] but I’ve always wanted to tap into it. The music I’ve been making lately has just been an experience. You can tell how joyful the memories are as we’re creating [the music].
You dropped two new singles recently, “Girlfriend” and “24 Hours” with Lil Tjay. How does it feel to be back releasing your own music for the first time in two years?
With “24 Hours” and “Girlfriend,” it was like getting my feet wet, you know? I haven’t dropped in a minute, so it’s like coming back to it. Now it’s like, “She’s here, she’s back, and it’s about to get crazy.”
You have a new project on the way. What’s been different about your mentality and creative process this time around?
I would say just feeling more comfortable. Being in L.A., you’re a star amongst so many more stars and you kind of get lost in it. I really like to protect my energy and I feel as if these past two years have been about living in the moment and being more present. I always focused on the future and I never got to really stay in the moment and be a part of the memories that I’m making right now.
I was overworking myself and I feel like that took a toll on me mentally. You start to think you’re not good enough. You start to think why am I not seeing progress? And it’s like no, you’ve been seeing progress, you’re just so stuck in your mind and so stuck in trying to get to this so-called destination that you’re losing the real journey.
What’s the vibe and overall theme of the album?
The project is called The Fall Off and it’s going to drop in the fall. The vibe is just kind of just like … when you haven’t dropped your own art in two years, you hear a lot of comments like, “She fell off” or “What’s she doing?” “When’s she dropping music?” And it’s just like… I didn’t fall off. I just had to get myself ready for what God had prepared for me. I feel as if people don’t allow artists to take the time out to get to know themselves, to get to know the people around them, or to understand what they actually want to do and what kind of sound they want to make.
But life’s been great. My team is amazing and I’m really excited to even just be on this journey with them. This project is going to show growth and it’s going to show why motherf–kers can’t play with me. [Laughs.]
That’s an interesting project name. What does The Fall Off symbolize to you?
Well, the cover art is going to be me, kind of just sitting on top of the ledge and looking over my city. It’s like, “You’ve gotta take this big risk in your life.” We all go through challenges every single day and I feel like a lot of people don’t know how to take risks or jump off. It means a lot to me, because I feel like risks are the biggest things of success. Moving out to L.A. was a big success for me. Moving back to Dallas, I feel like that’s going to be a huge success for me as well. So I think right now, my whole life is about doing the unthinkable.
You mentioned you’re moving back to your hometown Dallas, Texas. After living in L.A. for three years now, what makes you want to move back now?
When I first moved to L.A. [at 18 years old], I felt like I had to keep up with the Joneses. You know what I’m saying? Like trying to put my money on these rentals and these cars to look fly. I’m really honest with myself. I wanted to impress these girls. I wanted to impress the people I’m around. But all you’re doing is draining yourself. That’s not really happiness, that’s pleasure. And it’s exciting for the moment, but like, what are you doing? Who are you trying to impress? Why are you such a people pleaser? And I feel like whenever I started to learn that about myself, I was like, ‘yeah, I’m just gonna move how I wanna move. ‘That’s when I really started attracting what I wanted because I was being myself. And I feel like when you come to L.A, you’re around so many different energies that you don’t know what part to play.
Now that I’m 21, I’m giving myself a peace of mind. I need to go back and be with my family. I need to create a whole new chapter, I need to go take over my city.
Are there any artists that you’ve worked recently with who have given you any advice or words to live by?
6LACK. One thing about 6LACK, he’ll have a heart-to-heart conversation with you with his phone in a whole different room. He likes to be in the moment. He was telling me that sometimes he can’t be on his phone before shows or when he’s working, because it feels like it takes him out of what he’s really trying to create. And whenever I heard that, I was like, “You’re right.” We focus so much on social media or this text that’s coming in from somebody, and trying to do everything at once that we don’t get to actually just live. And I think that’s what I spent my two years doing, — more living.
Who’s going to be on the project?
6LACK, Blxst, and I’m still figuring it out. I’m trying to stray away from a lot of features.
What goes into your tracklist selection and the overall curation of the project?
I remember my first time hearing Bryson Tiller’s Trapsoul — and at the end of his songs, the transition would go on to the next song. You’ll be like, “Damn, this isn’t the same song?” So when I learned that technique, I was like I got to listen to the ending of every song and see if it matches the top of another song. I’m really into that, because [Trapsoul] is a no-skips project. When everything sounds cohesive and can flow right into each other.
Lastly, when you look into your crystal ball, where does Kaash Paige see herself 5 years from now?
In five years, I see myself for sure receiving a humanitarian award. I want to really tap into this nonprofit that I have going on, and just philanthropy in general. I see myself showing people that they can know me from this, and they can love my music — but also you’re going to see me in TV shows, movies, see me traveling the world and making a change. I really love to educate myself on what’s going on in the world and see how I can make a change. I have this non-profit called Kaash Closet Box, and we give back [new and gently used clothes] to the less fortunate.