Chase N. Cashe is arguably one of the most successful producers to come out of New Orleans in the last 20 years.
The work that he has put in can’t be measured. Chase cares about New Orleans and makes sure that he doesn’t forget the city even after seeing mainstream success. Chase has produced songs for stars like: Beyonce, Kendrick Lamar, Lil Wayne, Nipsey Hussle, Eminem, and Mac Miller just to name a few. His story is nothing short of inspiring for more reasons than one.
Born Jesse Woodard, Chase’s story didn’t start to blossom until after Katrina when he moved to California. During this time New Orleans culture was spreading throughout the country and labels were eager to build with the creative people of New Orleans. Chase didn’t always have it all together. His wisdom developed through a lot of hard experiences and he’d be the first to tell you that. When he moved to California in 2006 he didn’t know what to expect. He just knew that he wanted to pursue music.
After a few run-ins with the law, Chase had to do some time. It wasn’t soon after he got out that he met a young producer by the name of Hit Boy. Chase N. Cashe and Hit Boy would go on to be one of the biggest producer duos of the decade. Going by the name, Surf Club notable industry professionals referred to them as the next Neptunes. They specialized in a newer production software called Frooty Loops that was looked at as amateur in the industry at the time. They were so talented at producing beats that FL Studio’s credibility skyrocketed.
After a year of grinding with Hit Boy and Chase met Polow Da Don, a producer with a large name in the industry. That’s when they decided to take their talents to Atlanta in 2007 under Polow’s Zone 4 label. Chase stayed in Atlanta for two years and ran into Lil Wayne again in 2009. This was the encounter put him and Drake in the same room. He met Drake after Don Cannon flaked on a meeting. Chase and Drake became good friends and they made great music together. This was during the time that Drake was evolving as an artist and making the transition into superstardom.
Zone 4 moved to Los Angeles in 2010 and that’s when Chase started fraternizing with P. Diddy. Puff showed Chase a completely different side of the music game. They would sit in Diddy’s home studio and make music for hours at a time. Shortly after the label relocated Chase left to pursue a solo rap career while still working with the Surf Club. He dropped his first album Gumbeaux and it was received well. Shortly after his album dropped he started making music with Drake and even went on the Club Paradise Tour. Chase’s name started buzzing after Drake shouted him out on his song 9 am in Dallas. Chase inspired Drake to make the song saying that he needed something with straight bars. Chase was also featured on Drake’s quadruple-platinum Take Care album by producing Look What You’ve Done. Another big record for Chase was Lil Wayne and Eminem’s Drop The World anthem that also went platinum 4x. He also introduced Future and Drake while helping mastermind their Tony Montana collab.
Chase returned to Atlanta in 2012 where he met Rocko. This is also the time that he started pursuing his career as an indie artist. He started his own label Crown Bearer Records (CBR) and a few years later started the Can’t Buy Respect Agency sticking to the CBR initials. Since then he’s returned to New Orleans to help springboard local talent using the skills and knowledge he learned throughout the years.
Chase met G4 formally known as Negus and put out three installments of the We Never Close Album series with him. He’s also been dropped independent projects and singles like 3 Point Star and Go Off featuring Hit Boy, Travis Scott, and Quentin Miller. Chase is very adaptable, being able to change with the times to ensure continued progress. In 2019 his most successful venture is by far the Can’t Buy Respect movement. He’s been putting a lot of energy into it and his seeds are growing. Chase is a great example of how you can harvest information from the pros and bring it back home to help grow the culture.