How Chris Cassius Mastered Infinity ♾
Infinity awaits on the other side of fear.
We are over one year into the pandemic in the United States, in what DMV-Baltimore Scene rapper Joey Brick$ described alternatively as the “hyperbolic time chamber” for creatives (especially musicians). Hundreds of thousands of people have died due to state and federal negligence, small businesses have been ravaged, and people across the board of every demographic have lost it all whilst the evils of this country’s biggest stakeholders become more apparent in the open by every passing day. It is not exaggeration or hyperbole to say the world is on fire. It’s hard for many of the working class to retain hope or motivation, no matter what profession they are in. With the “new normal” setting in, people began to look for something more what they were used to, even if they didn’t know what that transformative mindset, concept or thing looked like.
I, like other creatives and entrepreneurs, saw the beginning stages of quarantine and the pandemic as a growth opportunity for my business and skill sets. However, like others, I quickly experienced burnout trying to master everything and grow in too many directions at one time. What do you do when everything you can do is not good enough? I decided to recalibrate and pivot within myself to find that answer, searching for something more, on how to be infinite so I wouldn’t have to worry about that problem. I read Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz, a book giving the secrets of how to conquer any fear in the mind, and achieve anything you desire in this world through the ways of mastering the mind.
As I achieved my lofty goals shortly after finishing my read of the book, I began viewing Gurren Lagann for the first time, Baltimore journalist-activist Speed on the Beat’s personal favorite anime. Amongst revolution, conquering depression, and the cliché ass power of friendship, it focused on the concept of the Infinity Spiral and humanity’s infinite potential to evolve to conquer any challenge — wordly or otherworldly. The anime was a healing and motivating classic as described to me by fans.
The last media that I indulged in teaching me about infinity was a manga, completely important to the context of the main subject of this piece, called Blue Lock, a soccer story about over a hundred young soccer players from the nation of Japan competing to be the future best striker of the nation and the world after training within a locked facility.
The ego was emphasized as the most essential tool for each striker to develop to be the best. An antagonist named Baro who was a candidate in Blue Lock, declared himself “The King” from early on in the story, scoring impossible goals aggressively. It was at a point in which “The King” was defeated and recruited by the protagonist, but still fell behind in team matches because of his ego and inability to pass. The protagonist of the story would eclipse his teammate Baro in real time during a pivotal 3-on-3 match with another team, with Baro given a rude awakening that he was not only not the King of the court he envisioned himself to be, but that he was a loser who would take the backseat in watching the protagonist and his peer Isagi become the best future striker in the world.
Baro would languish on the court crushed, his dream fading in front of his eyes, and him losing all hope of what his ultimate dream was. In a moment flashing back to his past while on the court, Baro would declare himself to be The Villain if he couldn’t be The King. In fact, Baro would aim to be both because he deserved victory by any means necessary more than the feeling of like a loser, which was asymmetrical to the optimal fate had envisioned for himself. Baro would develop a revolutionary technique that helped his team win the match, putting him back on par with the protagonist he previously saw himself serving under the heel of. When the cameras would show the replay, Jinpachi Ego, the leader of Blue Lock’s training facility, would speak in detail about how it is not just enough to lose when becoming a true victor, you have to be broken down to the core and have your dream crushed right in front you as a real possibility and not just a fruitless simulation in order for you to realize how much your dream means to you.
After absorbing the lessons from Psycho-Cybernetics, Gurren Lagann, and Blue Lock, I saw them all reflected in the saga of a Baltimore City artist with a story that has been in my heart to write for a long time.
Flashback to late 2019 — which seems like a dream ago — Baltimore rapper, music writer, and community vanguard Chris Cassius was the inaugural entry for my Toonami Top 5 series on Speedonthebeat.com. Chris Cassius revealed to me and his followers on social media in confidence during that time that he wanted to retire from the music business and scene; that he didn’t feel like doing any of this shit anymore. With the streaming numbers, algorithms, archaic record labels and frivolously fugazi community gatekeepers (that shouldn’t even be having the platforms in the first place) all against the progression of the modern independent artist, Chris Cassius feeling daunted was a natural reaction.
How Much Money I Was Paid For 8 Million Streams on Spotify & Apple Music — YouTube
However, around this time, something awakened in Chris Cassius that would change himself, the entire Baltimore Music Community and a plethora of more people even outside the city in his second wind — no, second fire rather. Whether it was the Toonami Top 5 article, the prodigal revamping stratagem headed by Tew World Order mastermind and new manager Que Pequeno of Baltimore, commitment to victory, or a clever hybrid of all three and more factors, Chris Cassius’ blazing run from 2020 to present day earned him a victory lap and accolades deserving of the self he envisioned himself to be.
Chris Cassius, in the midst of a pandemic, would release music projects, a crazy slew of features, performed innovative digital concerts with unreleased music that shook the stage with its brolic vibrations as projected through his elite rap prowess, trailblazed the Bandcamp Revolution for Baltimore and the DMV music scenes, and more that crushed the shadow of himself that once was.
What artists, creatives and any type of entrepreneur must realize that in order to grow their dream into a full-time living, they need some type of consistent capital. This, however, does not mean people have to intentionally screw other people over to grow their dream. How does one grow their dream financially in an organic way in this day and time? Corporations do not look out for the modern independent artist, community does. As mentioned before, streams do not always provide independent artists a sustainable source of sole income. Back in the day, rap artists such as Master P and T-Pain would fund themselves via music sales by direct sales, selling their tapes literally out of the trunk out of their cards. While cassette tapes and CDs are both obsolete with modern cars as it concerns Bluetooth and auxiliary cord connections, direct sales can thrive through selling entire projects once more.
An analytic man of the highest order in many areas, Tew World Order Manager Que Pequeno came to the same conclusion and prompted Chris Cassius to begin using Bandcamp’s avenue of directly selling projects and discographies by the bundle. A sale is a sale. Bandcamp also allows for patrons to tip or pay more for artist’s projects than originally marked. Soon with his first project roaring back from his hiatus, Chris Cassius made $150 full of sales with 6 Tape Vol.1 in June 2020. Without even saying it, Cassius’ peers took notice of his and Tew World Order’s strategy, replicating the process.
DMV rapper and all-around creative Fonlon received $300 for his solo project released in Fall 2020 via Bandcamp. Producer, rapper curator, mental-health activist, and teacher Corey Laury would gross $2500 with his Preston & Wolfe project package in late 2020 via Bandcamp. Baltimore heavy hitting rappers Miss Kam and Haz2Real respectively would make $1,000 each from their projects in 2020. With these projects alone, that’s over $50 short of $5,000 made from the area’s artists on Bandcamp since Cassius’ innovation with more of the city having significant numbers in the hundreds as well, i.e Randi Withani and Infinity Knives.
There are so many more stories of artists in the Baltimore Music Community and outside that added to the local economy through the power of their community outside of corporate/major record label backing. In short, the community won. While every individual artist does indeed deserve their own separate accolades for how much they cleared with their own platforms and networks, due credit should go through the trailblazer of this new wave: the young East Side Baltimore rap legend who wanted to give up on it all and returned with a vengeance, putting the past persona of doubt to deep rest.
The honor of this story belongs to Chris Cassius, the man and rapper that mastered infinity, the unconditional power of being able to grow and win forever. I asked Chris Cassius the process of how he became infinite and how he is living in that dimension now ahead of the release of his debut album:
MV: “What made you rise out of your slump into realizing the power you knew you carried?”
CC: “I had really accepted the fact…that I wanted to die. That dark place fueled another form of the drive. I never want to get consumed in that black hole again. The only way to get through was to die or get through it.”
Cassius candidly spoke to me about how in April 2020 his mental health was at an all time low, even considering suicide. At this time it was a real possibility and he urged people that if they weren’t paying attention before, they should have started to do so more in that moment. However mid-April, the music found him once more as he bought some music equipment and started recording the 6 Tape Vol 1 out of his home. In his pain and relapse, Chris Cassius found rebirth.
MV: “The Bandcamp Revolution has been the next step in the solidification of the Baltimore Music Community. How does it feel being a pioneer of that pivotal step and standard for Baltimore artists and any modern independent artists going forward?”
CC: “That’s the closest we getting to selling out the trunk again…At least I’m about to get the bread on the spot! People didn’t understand it at first but we had to push it!”
Chris Cassius wanted to declare to myself and anyone reading this that he was indeed not the first Baltimore artist to utilize Bandcamp’s great incentives for the average music maker. However, in the words of Drake “Wu-Tang Forever”, I will say that it’s not about who did it first it’s about who did it right. Once Cassius and his team began to maximize benefits from the service with his 6 Tape Vol 1, others in the city and beyond began to notice as aforementioned, with Bandcamp even continuing their Bandcamp Fridays series nationwide because of Baltimore’s musicians’ success as a key factor. Cassius would also tell a story of how himself and his team would breakdown benefits to those inquiring on social media of why to utilize the platform, with himself and nationally acclaimed Baltimore artist Deetranada collaborating on the platform with their single “Smackdown” to much success.
MV: “Angels Ova East is an accumulation of your relationships, struggles, prayers and a team effort all centering you like Baro had to recenter himself. What do you feel like personally it will represent to the world?”
CC: “It’s me speaking on my internal conflict. It’s another form of transparency. It’ll come off a memoir, a bigger introduction.”
Chris Cassius chose infinity over death, going in 2020 to give live performances, have both a soap and scent line with Imani Grace Skin, and much more. Both The King, The Villain and The Infinite conquer as one being.
You can follow the captivating music and powerful journey of Chris Cassius on Twitter & IG @ chris_cassius . Stay tuned for the future release of Angels Ova East.
