Welcome to Heat Check, a biweekly music column where AJC culture reporter DeAsia Paige explores the temperature of Georgia’s buzzing, expansive music scene. The column includes music news, trends and any Georgia-related music that DeAsia is listening to. If you’re a Georgia artist and have music you want to be considered for this column — or if you just want to talk music — feel free to send an email to deasia.paige@ajc.com
Kash Doll’s hustle could be a college course.
She’s only released two albums within the past decade of her career, yet the Detroit-bred, Atlanta-based rapper and actress has remained relevant enough to be a trending topic every month. Whether she’s impressing fans with her latest hairstyle or becoming vulnerable with her 7 million followers about relationship drama, Kash Doll always bets on herself.
Her desire for authenticity fuels her drive.
“When it all makes sense, I just go with the flow,” she told me at the offices for Think It’s a Game Records, staring straight into my eyes. “That’s God.”
The artist, born Arkeisha Knight, dropped her sophomore album “The Last Doll” on Friday. Throughout the project, Kash Doll’s relentless hustle and pretty-girl swagger blooms. She invites listeners into the soul of a woman who’s always known her power. Just listen to her gritty bars on the Go Grizzly-produced track “Nothin New,” (“Still keep the poles around me like I work at the Pynk/ Should’ve knew what I was on when I came through in that mink,” she brags, referencing her former life as a stripper) and you’ll have enough motivation to complete any daunting task.
Ten years into her career, Kash Doll feels like everything is falling in place. In June, she gave birth to her second child, Klarity. She’ll perform in Atlanta in February for her first headlining tour.
But the journey to get here hasn’t been without challenges. Since having her daughter Klarity, she broke up with her children’s father (Atlanta rapper Tracy T) and endured a home invasion (luckily, she and her children weren’t there). And she sits at a delicate spot in her career: she was popular before the female rap renaissance but hasn’t seen the same chart-topping success as the other women who are in it.
Kash Doll doesn’t allow that to get to her, though.
“I can’t say that I don’t care, but I don’t give it too much of my energy because it will all work out. What I do believe in is God and his timing. In divine order, it’ll all roll out the way it needs to.”
She talked to the AJC about her new album, tour and career goals.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Q: With “The Last Doll,” what were you trying to say? What was going through your mind at the time?
A: It was a rollercoaster. I was pregnant with my daughter most of the time. This is just how I was feeling. It just is what it is. There was nothing I was aiming for. I just wanted to make music that was genuine to where I was.
Q: You’ve talked about dropping the “Doll” from your stage name because you’ve outgrown it. Have you thought about a new name?
A: It’s hard. I think of all the greats and people that I like, and they all go by their actual names. Aaliyah. Beyoncé. I have to think about it more. ... I might just go by Keisha. Doll is my daughter’s middle name, so I passed that legacy down to her.
Credit: Will Kennedy
Credit: Will Kennedy
Q: Are you nervous about headlining your first tour?
A: I’m anxious to put together my own show because now all these people are coming to see me. I’ve done shows, but it hasn’t been like this. I’ve done shows where I’m part of a lineup or these people are coming to see someone else, so I’d just perform my straight hits. Now, I can dib and dab and perform songs people may not know. I know these people are coming for me.
Q: You’ve been in the game for a decade. What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned?
A: Don’t sign no papers without a lawyer. I’m just going to keep it simple because if I get to talking about everything I’ve learned in the industry, I would be going all day. I’ve learned so much.
Q: What’s the hardest part about being in the industry?
A: The hardest part right now is leaving my kids. Rapping is very demanding on you, so you got to move around much more.
Q: How do you balance that with motherhood, especially with a newborn and toddler?
A: You got to just stay firm on your boundaries — with work, with your kids, with everybody. With everything, you have to have your boundaries, and you have to live by them so you can be mentally healthy. If I overwork myself mentally, I wouldn’t be healthy because I would be missing my kids. I’m still going through postpartum, and I know how far I can go, so I’m just strict on that.
Q: Are the kids coming with you on tour?
A: The first few dates are spread apart, so they’ll be good. In Detroit, I’ll bring them out. February is when it starts to be a lot, so I’ll have them come with me. It’s tough. They still want their mom. I get on FaceTime with (my 2-year-old son) Kashton, and sometimes he’ll have an attitude and won’t say anything to me. That’s when I know it’s time to go home. You push these people out, so you got to make sure they’re OK. It’s a good balance because you don’t want to be away from them, so when you are away from them, you make that s--- count.
Credit: Will Kennedy
Credit: Will Kennedy
Q: You moved to Atlanta from Detroit to star in “BMF.” Do you like living here? How has living here helped your career?
A: My kids were born here, so it’s cool. Atlanta’s cool. It’s been my second home for a very long time now. My team is here. I’ve been recording here. I think my job doesn’t demand for me to stay in a certain area because I can fly to whatever I have to do.
Q: “Kash Kommandments” sounds like the ultimate hype song.
A: I was pregnant with my baby girl, and those rules were for her. I had to put her up on game, then I ended up making something for me and women like me.
Q: What’s the future of Kash Doll?
A: Being a billionaire and selling a lot of beauty products. Maybe a reality show. I’d like to move toward that. I want to do something that doesn’t take so much from me. With having products, I won’t have to be as on-demand. I can raise my kids. Being on a reality show, I can have them there with me because it’s my reality.
Q: Do you see yourself still making music?
A: Yeah, I’ll still be making music, but I’m not going to let it demand my life. I can be like Rihanna.
Q: How do you want “The Last Doll” to resonate with listeners?
A: I just hope everybody picks up what I’m putting down. I not hoping for it to be no. 1. I mean everybody would want that, but I just want people to understand what I’m feeling.
IF YOU GO
The Last Doll Tour
8 p.m. Feb. 15. $50-$70. Center Stage, 1374 W. Peachtree St., Atlanta. 404-885-1365, centerstage-atlanta.com.
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