Kaash Paige has teenage fever, and so will anyone who listens to her debut album.
"Living life is fun as hell," 19-year-old Kaash Paige exclaimed as we chatted about all things life and energy, as well as the process of releasing her debut full-length studio album Teenage Fever. The proud Dallas native – whose name is an acronym for Kill All Arrogance, Stop Hatred – has an incredible way of staying centered and real while manifesting big things. "I try to protect my peace and my energy, cause a lot of bad energy's out in this world and I don't want that to stick to me. You’re gonna have people that show you fake love 'til the day you die, people that speak on you til the day you die. Not everybody is gonna like your music! Just keep doing you!" Still, songs like “London” and “Soul Ties” make her latest project difficult not to like. Infused with vibey synths and honest lyrics, it illustrates teenage feelings in a self-aware but hopeful tone.
Kaash, wearing a George Floyd T-shirt, shared that reading the room was instrumental for this release. The timing felt organic – Teenage Fever drew inspiration from "timeless 2am summer nights" and is definitely a summer kind of album. Still, no one could have anticipated the climate with which this body of work would be met. "Dropping an album during a pandemic and the stuff with Breonna Taylor and George Floyd – I had to read the room and know when to drop. And, first off, the majority of the situation is my culture, you feel me?" Some of her lyrics are incredibly relevant to the state of the world, like in “SOS” where she sings "give us time to heal." Still, Teenage Fever does not feel like a heavy, reality-centered body of work. It transports you into a peaceful and dreamy state, where all feelings are acknowledged but the narrative surrounds love and positive feelings that are incredibly precious right now. "It makes me feel like I'm about to jump into a field of flowers or something," Kaash articulated. Paired with astral production, Kaash walks the listener through the timeless hopefulness of being young. "Teenage fever lasts forever, anyone can have teenage fever."
When it comes to pursuing her musical goals, the singer is the furthest thing from her song “Jaded.” Recently gaining TikTok momentum with her track “Love Songs,” she reflected on hitting #1 on the Spotify viral chart, surpassing over 725 million streams, over 15 million TikTok clips, and over 6.3 million views on YouTube. "I hate social media but it gets you where you need to be." Her candidness was a refreshing reminder that, although followers and likes have become an integral part of an artist getting signed or gaining momentum, it's not necessarily where their interest lies. Being an artist now comes with a whole new set of requirements that can be a lot to take on. Still, she is grateful for it all. "I appreciate those influencers and kids for getting on there and doing that for me."
"I just wanna be successful," Kaash sings on her track “Grammy Week.” Needless to say, she's reached some incredible milestones, but she's just getting started. When asked about how she defines success, she shared that she makes sure to acknowledge all her achievements – both big and small. "Any accomplishment that you're trying to achieve. Any dream, any desire, and it happens for you, that's success to me. If it's little or big, like finishing a song or getting a job, that's success to me. I feel like we focus on success like "I need to be the biggest artist in the world." That's success, but this song you just recorded and submitted is success too. Little things. It's a marathon, little steps with everything." I hope Kaash Paige continues to find as much joy in her life and music as she currently does, and I'm excited to see what's next from this rising star.
