Cay Reno is an upcoming vocalist from Chicago who meshes her love for a wide variety of genres, from house to soul to latino influenced sounds, to create an originality that is her. Alongside creating amazing soulful music in a city where the gritty is what’s celebrated the most by women artists right now, Cay Reno holdfasts to her stability as an artist and growing her BUZZ in the city she loves and holds dear to her heart. I got to chop it up with Cay Reno and her vibe was amazing! Check it out below:
Age: I’m 27.
Okay. What music did you grow up listening to? Like what artist specifically
I grew up listening to: well, from those super young years, had to be like a lot of house music. El Debarge, and of course Mike Jackson had a little Prince in there too, cuz of my mama. Some Anthony Hamilton, and always on the O’Jays. Definitely those are like the young days. And then, house music all the time. Every car drive with my dad. Probably the older I got, I had a lot of music in my face just trying to figure it all out. I actually have this thing where I won’t always know the artist, but I’ll know their music. And so when I was growing up, that’s how it was for a lot of Latin music. But the older I got, I realized it was like Mark Anthony, LA India, who are both like Puerto Rican artists and definitely like Don Omar. Then if we go like into Chicago, definitely like all the greats, but then there’s…. I have to say it, Chief Keef for sure. I don’t wanna be cliche, but I definitely like, I thought Chief Keef definitely made his staple for sure. Funny thing is like when I was, when SoundCloud first came out, I was really fucking with Jean Deaux,
I love her. I’m like, who is this? And I don’t even know how I found her, but like she really developed herself over all these years. Mm-hmm. And like now that we’re in our twenties,I love her. She’s doing it. She was a goat when I was a child.
How did you get your buzz? I would honestly say word of mouth helped. Also me being present in a lot of spaces, I’m still like small in stature as far as my career goes. But everywhere I go I, I pick up traction and that’s just off the strength of me being a genuine person. Me being very sure of who I am, even if I’m still learning myself, I know where I’ve been. Um, and that makes a world of a difference when you’re in a room full of people, they can tell.
My style has been compared to: Jhené Aiko. I love her so much. Honestly, that’s the most common comparison that I get because of the vibe. It’s not just the, it’s not specifically about how she sings, but people are just saying like, I wanna put you and her in the same playlist and let it do it’s thing.
I’m going to blow up because: I’m refreshing out of Chicago. Like when you think about who’s really making noise right now, I would honestly say it’s a lot of female drill right now which is excellent. Like they’re killing the game. And honestly, anywhere from Chicago, you kind of have that in your spirit a little bit you kind of can’t avoid it. Which we shouldn’t because it says so much about our toughness, our character, our resilience and all of that. But while there’s that going on, you’ve got me. I’m a lyricist in my own way. I have really intricate melodies, and I have a soothing tone. So when people put that together, it’s like a spritz of cool water on your face when it’s really hot outside.
What’s your most slept-on song, and why?: I don’t have that many now, but, they’re all in the vault, you feel me? They’re coming out soon. I would say my first real single, I dropped probably like four years ago. It’s a little ‘hoopty’ for me, but it sounds really good. However, last year I dropped like my more official single called I’m Not, and I say that song is pretty slept on. It just sounds so good. Like every time I play it. It’s really uplifting too, you feel me?
My standout records to date have been: It’s between At Odds, which is the first song on my EP, and Black Moonstone, which is pretty close to at odds they kind of match up in plays and stuff like that. After that, I would say Save You because it’s all about the vibe people are in. So, with my EP being released, people are choosing those songs most commonly because of the season we’re in. But once we hit fall, I’m very confident like the rest of those songs are gonna hit the vibe for sure.
Most people don’t know: Well, most people don’t know me, you know, 7 billion in the world. But I would honestly say most people don’t know that I believe that I’m an introvert, but I am. To be honest, I really do have to like, recharge in the crib. I’m very good at being in public spaces, but when I get home I’m exhausted.
I’m going to be the next: This is a tough one. It’s a big act to fill, but I think I’ll be the next Bob Marley.
My favorite track: It’s a little interlude called Faithless. It’s on my EP. It’s just a nice little acoustic, you dig? It’s about your soul matter. It’s about literally what you’re comprised of outside of the exterior and realizing that you can, you can dig deep to find that, but you can also find it at any simple moment as well. Just to understand how powerful it is is enough by existing, pretty much is what that song is about. It’s an interlude, so it’s not too long, but the vocals on there are so rich.
