FOREFRONT: The Come Up Of CMDWN

With the new wave of rappers entering the scene one by one, Ca$tro Guapo and Fiji decided to make its entrance as a duo.

The collective known as CMDWN (The Comedown), is a group formed out of both Atlanta (Ca$tro) and Toronto (Fiji). The dynamic duo has been putting out music together since 2015 and have continued to do so till last month when they dropped Atlanada 2 with key-features from drill legend Chief Keef and Toronto rappers Killy and Pressa while also having DJ Danny Phantom producing almost all of the tracks on the album.

But this was not the overnight blow-up many rappers have today. Instead it was a long journey for Fiji and Ca$tro.

The journey began when Ca$tro decided to put all his cards on the table and flew to Toronto in 2014 to start his acting career. Originally Ca$tro was coming to the Northside for an acting gig at 16, but his dreams of rapping became a reality when he met Fiji and the bars started hitting the mic.

The two met at a party in 2014 and soon after they created the name ‘CMDWN’ which was inspired by the after-party effects the drugs were having on Fiji. Fiji posted a pic on Instagram with a bottle of fiji captioned “Fiji 4 the Comedown” and as he says in an interview on HighSnobiety, the rest was history.

From that point onward CMDWN produced 3 EPs to date: Atlanada, Ca$tro vs Fiji, and Atlanada 2 that released in August this year.

Ca$tro has also credited metal-music with being a huge influence in their early projects as growing up he was a huge Slipknot fan and loved the vibe of the loud and obnoxious genre it was in the early 2000s. This draws comparisons to the infamous Soundcloud rapperl, Lil Uzi Vert, who has stated on multiple occasions that Marlyn Manson is his sole inspiration in music.

It’s been a long grind from 2014 but CMDWN is starting to take off with its new hits ‘Roxanne’ featuring Keef and ‘Diamond Test’ featuring Pressa appearing on Spotify’s ‘Get Turnt’ and ‘Most Necessary’ playlists while also making a statement by arriving on Apple Music’s top Hip Hop charts.

The group has recently been inactive on social media with a friend of theirs, Kimbo, passing away on August 30. Expect them to be back from their hiatus with a bang.