Black Sheep, the title of Rashard Bradshaw’s third full-length album released in 2024, pays tribute to club life and the spaces of Manhattan and Brooklyn. It was there, in the early 2010s, that a queer cultural explosion flourished, bringing together the then still largely separate worlds of hip hop and electronic music. The title also reflects Bradshaw’s own experience, as he never felt fully at home in any single genre-defined scene. Perhaps that is why his music combines sharp rap with house, rave, jazz and club electronics. Thanks to its eclecticism, energy and relentless drive, Cakes da Killa could easily become one of the festival’s dark horses.
Originally from New Jersey but long based in New York, Cakes da Killa helped spark the explosive and vibrant queer rap scene that reshaped the rules of the game in the early 2010s. He has collaborated with artists such as LSDXOXO, Clipping, Peaches, Mykki Blanco, Injury Reserve and Dawn Richard. Across three studio albums and countless live performances, he moves effortlessly between genres without ever losing his narrative focus or the rapid-fire precision of his flow. Black Sheep is widely regarded as the pinnacle of his career so far. While much of the music industry focused more on his identity than his talent, he responded with a bold and self-assured artistic statement: an explosive fusion of genres that not only keeps people dancing, but also offers new ways to escape, not into comfort, but towards healing and continuing the fight. Black sheep? Dark horse. Still da bitch!