Wednesday 8/26: Kasher Quon—"The 80's"
Today, we share our thoughts on a new song by the Detroit scam rapper Kasher Qon.
Welcome to Endless Scroll, the brainchild of Eli Enis (he/him) and Eric Bennett (they/them). Since Feb. 2019, we’ve been a weekly podcast about music, the internet, and where those two things intersect. Now we’re, also a M-F newsletter about songs. Our format is simple: a link to a song and a short take from each of us about what we think of it. Each day of the week has a corresponding genre: Monday is indie, Tuesday is punk, Wednesday is hip-hop, Thursday is pop, and Friday is misc.
Today, we share our thoughts on a new song by the Detroit scam rapper Kasher Qon. We’re joined by official Endless Scroll hip-hop contributor Michael Brooks.
Kasher Quon—“The 80’s”
Michael Brooks:
Although Teejayx6 wasn’t the first scam rapper to pop out on the scene (most people credit Bossman Rich’s 2017 track “Juggin Ain’t Dead” as the start of the genre), there’s no denying that his 2019 projects Fraudulent Activity and Black Air Force Activity 1 helped push scam rap into the mainstream. I was immediately drawn to Teejayx6’s offbeat flow and one-dimensional subject matter (dude really loves to rap about scamming) and I spent most of the year sharing his music with anybody that would listen. When I think back to December of last year, a time where many of us join together with friends and family, the first thing that comes to mind is how completely obsessed I was with “Dynamic Duo 2,” Teejayx6’s outrageous collaboration with fellow Detroit MC Kasher Quon, and how at that moment in time it made everything else sound so boring in comparison.
“Dynamic Duo 2” is more akin to The Godfather Part II than, let’s say, Blues Brothers 2000 (sick reference), the rare sequel where the people involved just get it right. The track finds the pair constantly one-upping each other with immature and occasionally offensive bars with the sole intent of trying to crack the other person up. This song lived in my head rent free for months, but to be completely honest with you, I can’t really remember the last time I thought about Teejayx6 or Kasher Quon. The way most of us consume music now involves us digesting it as quickly as possible so we can move on to the next batch of new releases the following Friday, and unless you’re somebody like Sada Baby who’s probably dropped three music videos in the time it’s taken me to write this blurb, odds are that I’m moved on and become infatuated with another rapper.
I take that back, I do remember being pretty excited for Teejayx6’s most recent track with NLE Choppa, but after hearing it I just. . .[insert Mean Girls Stop Trying To Make Fetch Happen GIF].
But it turns out that Kasher Quon, on the other hand, has been slowly rolling out some pretty good shit. On “The 80’s,” his most recent loosie, Quon dials back on the scamming without sacrificing the humor that made me such a huge fan. He calls his cousin weird for joining the Navy, gives a quick shoutout to Detroit rapper Icewear Vezzo, and offers parenting advice to Teejayx6 (that’s just in the chorus, fwiw) all the while maintaining the carefree delivery of somebody who sounds like they don’t even want to rap. And the beat is super nice too, it’s got that minimalistic, menacing thump that a lot of music out of Detroit has right now, but there’s also a flickering saxophone that sounds like it was lifted from a record during the golden age of hip-hop.
Eli Enis:
I’m pretty sure I became enamored with “Dynamic Duo 2” the same week Michael did, because that song also feels distinctly “Christmas time” to me. An insane gift that dropped in mid-December with complete disregard (or maybe tactical regard) for the slumbering music industry around them. I remember playing it for my girlfriend (a hip-hop old-head) and hearing her snort, “This is terrible!”. Which, in terms of rap technicality and subject matter, perhaps. But it’s absolutely amazing for the same reasons. I don’t think I’ll be truly invested in a Kasher Quon project until we get a full mixtape from him and teejayx6, but there are enough absurd bars in “The 80’s” to hold me over. “I got a watch and two chains / I be overthinking sometimes, I got two brains,” he raps with the unwavering awe of a stoned guy in a cheesy 90’s comedy. My favorite part about the track is actually its video, where Quon sets a $20 bill on fire and lights a fat stogie with it, purposely sticks the icy watch he’s rapping about under running water just for the flex, and shoots a crumpled up ball of money into a hoop where it explodes and flutters apart. Between his speak-singing rap delivery and his face perpetually stuck like he’s holding back laughter in the classroom, Quon is a goofy character and an undeniable spectacle.