Eminem's Protege Ca$his Warns The Competition

After being thrust into the spotlight with his noteworthy appearances on the compilation CD Eminem Presents: The Re-Up, Shady Records' newest rhyme-spitter Ca$his recently spoke exclusively with SOHH about his relationship with Eminem, the definition of a "County Hound" and his upcoming solo project.

The Chicago-born/Orange County, CA transplant has been the benefactor of a mixture of both natural talent and being in the right place at the right time. After a chance listen to the young upstart's material as part of a group called The Renegades, Eminem immediately wanted to sign him to his Shady imprint.

"I sent over a demo to the label and I was offered a demo deal with my group The Renegades. Em heard some of the songs by accident and was like 'what's this? We don't need to develop anything, let's sign him.' It was basically a wrap from there."

Shedding his group ambitions landed Ca$his a place on the label and a spot on the Re-Up album, which featured the relatively unknown MC on the record's lead single, "You Don't Know." After receiving positive feedback from the project, Ca$his is now poised to drop his limited edition debut EP The County Hound, next month in an attempt to "grab the streets." With Eminem producing four tracks as well as beats from the Block Boys and Ron Browz, Ca$his is ready to show the world what he can do on his own.

"We wanted to keep the buzz going that The Re-Up had built. The people were calling for me," he said. "We thought about hitting them with a mixtape, but everybody's doing mixtapes now. I wanted to put out some music that the fans could relate to. I keep hearing that hip-hop is dead, but it ain't dead because I'm hip-hop."

Having studied under the tutelage of one of the best MC's around, Ca$his feels that he has a leg up on the competition and is eager to make his mentor, as well as his growing fan base, proud of his accomplishments.

"Em calls me Roy Jones in his prime. I've learned so much being around Em. He's like my best friend," Ca$his explains. "I love him and he loves me too, no homo. Our backgrounds are just so similar, from the baby mama drama, to family stuff. We understand each other." He continues, "Also, kicking it with Fif and Banks and them is really helping me to learn how to be successful."

Understanding the importance of such a prominent co-sign, Ca$his is understandably grateful for the position that he's in. Using his current situation as a springboard, Ca$his is hoping to step out of the shadow of his friend Eminem and eventually leave a legacy of his own.

"I want to be known as the dude who always kept it real. I want people to get that I'm honest. This is a real dude who puts his passion into the music and bears the truth with no holds barred," he stated. "The music is going to be different from the norm, it's going to be Chicago-ed out. Real people are going to relate to it, but it's all gangsta at the same time. And to the MC's out there, quit lying to yourselves. Ya'll know I can spit, and I'll eat your asses up."