by Jaxson Kaplan-Rudolph (’25)

Today marks the official debut mixtape of IA’s very own “MI CAS TÚ CAS,” an hip-hop group consisting of Okma seniors Jude Andrews, Jackson Otlewski, and Alexander Jojic (all ’25). Many musicians tend to struggle through a few hoops before they get going in their careers, but MI CAS TÚ CAS has started their journey flying through the excellent “Cash Project,” a nuanced, emotional recording that explores the different ways we overcome our struggles – a sentiment that IA students will find very familiar.

You can listen to the album here:

Andrews was in charge of the production, handling a complex set of influences from MF Doom to the Alchemist. Tracks like “Heat Vision” and “Timepiece” really emphasize the local, alt-hip-hop roots of the project with chillhop, jazzy beats. The former is a standout that samples “The Turning Point” by Ishtar to create a backdrop that is somehow both laidback and animated, a tone consistent throughout the album. But Andrews isn’t afraid to switch it up – blasting a trappy, Youngboy-esque production in “808,” then taking the listener back down a notch with the indie pump up hit “Carck,” an album highlight that reminds of excellent indie rappers like Blvck Svm and Saba.

His vocals are also excellent, working together an introspective series of lyrics with a deep register that settles well with the beats. On the aforementioned “Carck,” his storytelling and consistent flow around the hype and hilarious sampled “Perfect!” from Street Fighter is one of the best parts of the album.

Otlewski shines in some lyrical gems that invoke Remble, one of the greats of the articulating, talk-rapping hip-hop game. His best moments are on “Sahara,” an Afrobeats inspired piece that samples “Aicha” by Bayta Ag Bay, where he floats over a beat that takes us straight to the titular desert. Otlewski says that he’s definitely proud of the progress they made from the beginning to the final release, a notion that we can clearly see as the album grows into itself. “We worked for around eight months on this in my basement for several weekends, and sometimes our recording days would go on for five hours,” he explained in a band statement. “But we’re really happy with how it turned out.”

Jojic was instrumental in bringing the traditional hip-hop bravado to the project, exploding with energy in tracks like “808” and “Unmatched”. There’s a level of confidence to his game that you can’t help but smile while listening to, and his competitors clearly need to prepare themselves as he evolves his game and perfects his flow.

Asking Andrews about his influences for planning the project, he quickly shrugged off a specific rapper or group as their sole inspiration. “It was a lot of different stuff honestly,” says Andrews. “We just wanted to talk about real stuff, our dreams and aspirations, our work ethic.”

There’s a lot of negative expectations when turning on an album made by high school seniors, while undergoing the rigor of our IB program. But be sure to give “Cash Project” a listen in between your studying, and I promise you will not be disappointed.