We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Cali Ash a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Cali , appreciate you joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I started rapping when I was 14 at the lunch table because I was trying to impress a boy. We will just call him J. I remember it like it was yesterday. I was never really popular or well known and at the age I was I wanted to fit in of course. I didn’t have a lot of female friends in school either so I often hung out with the boys having a bit more to relate to being sort of a tom boy. The boys used to sit on staircases in the morning freestyling and I would sit there and hype them up , amazed with their flows. I always thought I would be a singer though. I wrote music all the time and I grew up in church choir. However as I broke away from my families strict religious beliefs I stumbled upon a love for rap music. Rap music was one of those thing people weren’t allowed to listen to aloud in my home growing up. When I met J he was so passionate about his music and young and passionate at that. I think his drive inspired me. As we grew closer because of our similar interests, I would eventually start to fall in love. Did I mention J had a long time girlfriend?
So fast foward… It’s a group of kids at the lunch table a few of my homegirls, J and his friends. All the boys are taking turns freestyling and I’m like “let me spit something”. The night before I had wrote a little rap to Kreayshawns “Gucci Gucci” single which was hot at the time. So I spit my little bars and I mean the entire lunch room goes crazy! That’s the day J actually seen me. It’s also the day I realized that I was extremely talented. That was how I found my voice and my passion. I’ve been rapping ever since with hopes of making it big one day and I couldn’t feel closer to making that dream come true. Thank you J for helping me find my voice.

Cali , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Cali Ash , I am 26 years old , originally from Long Beach California and raised in Houston Texas most of my life. I started rapping in my early teens .
Living in Houston exposed me to a culture I fell in love with , and gave me a even greater love for music. My upbringing between being in Cali and Houston is what sets me apart from other female rappers. I have a sound and a lingo that cannot be duplicated and I bring nothing but my all to the booth every time. I’m most proud of how long of a way I’ve come and the dedication that I’ve shown because this is not easy despite what people say. I have a long journey ahead of me and I can’t wait for what’s in store for me these next couple of months.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I got my start on YouTube with a cover to Kodak Blacks Roll In Peace. At the time the female rap era was just starting to really pop. I was inspired with Tokyo Jetz rise to fame. So I took to YouTube pouring my heart out on a video that would soon hit almost a million views on a outlet called the Hip Hop Lyrics and over 20K from my channel. My subscribers started rolling in as well as my Instagram followers. I eventually started to brand off of it and started Cali Car flows , where I would sit in the car and rap to other peoples beats I’m which I still do to this day. My advice for upcoming artists is to stay consistent and be spontaneous. It’s worked for me this far, but most importantly have confidence in your craft because you are your biggest supporter.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I thin that the most rewarding aspect of being a creative is when your able to see your visions come to life after a lot of hard work. Most people will never understands the pressure behind being a artist , so it feels good to see you work actually pay off.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @Theonlycaliash
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CaliAsh

Image Credits
@opticaustin