Meet Cairo Young-Abdullah of New York

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cairo Young-Abdullah.

Cairo, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’m Cairo Snow, a 13-year-old recording artist and song writer from Toronto. Music started as something I genuinely loved doing, but over time it became a way for me to express myself, tell stories and figure out what kind of artist I wanted to be. I’ve been doing music for 8 years.

A big part of my journey has been learning by actually doing it. I write songs, record, perform live, experiment with different sounds and I’ve also started making beats. I like being involved in the creative process instead of just showing up and performing something someone else created for me. Every song teaches me something different.

As I kept working, more opportunities started coming. Last summer, I had the chance to be part of the Wu-Tang Clan show at Scotiabank Arena, which was a huge moment for me. Being around that level of hip-hop history and seeing what a major arena production feels like gave me a different perspective on what’s possible.

Since then, I’ve continued performing, competing and growing. Winning Mic Madness was another big moment because it showed me that the work I was putting in was connecting with people. More recently, I competed in the CNE Rising Star competition and advanced after receiving top marks from the judges.

I’m still at the beginning of my story though. I’m balancing music with school, growing up and figuring out who I am both as a person and an artist. I don’t feel like I have everything figured out yet, and I think that’s part of what makes the journey exciting. I’m just trying to keep improving, make music that feels like me and take every opportunity as a chance to learn something new.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It hasn’t always been a smooth road, mainly because there aren’t many opportunities in Canada built for artists my age in my genre. I’m under 16, and in hip-hop especially, most showcases, competitions and industry spaces are designed for adults.

Because there aren’t really peers in my lane, I often end up being placed in spaces with much older artists or competing against adults. I’m comfortable with that, but it can make finding the right opportunities harder because I don’t always fit into the age categories that already exist in Canada.

I’ve had to learn to create my own path, stay ready and take advantage of the opportunities that do open up. I still balance school and being a regular kid with writing, recording, performing and developing as an artist, so there’s a lot to manage.

I think the biggest challenge has been finding spaces where my age doesn’t automatically limit what I’m allowed to do. At the same time, that has pushed me to work harder and prove that being young doesn’t mean I’m not ready.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a recording artist, songwriter and developing producer. I’m probably most proud of my rapping and songwriting because those are the parts of music where I feel like I can really show who I am. I like playing with words, concepts and different ways of telling a story, and I’m always trying to make each song feel different from the last one.

I’ve also really fallen in love with beat production. I spent a lot of this summer experimenting with new sounds, trying different styles and figuring out what kind of producer I want to become. I like being able to hear an idea in my head and then start building the sound around it.

Vocally, I’ve been pushing myself a lot too. I’ve only been singing for about 18 months, and I just recently started formal training, so that’s still a newer part of my artistry. But I’ve really enjoyed testing what my voice can do and learning how to use it in ways I couldn’t before.

What sets me apart is probably that I don’t want to stay in one box. I rap, I write, I sing, I’m learning production, and I like experimenting. I’m proud of the artist I’m becoming, but I’m also really proud of the producer I’m becoming. I feel like I’m still discovering new parts of myself creatively, and that’s what excites me most.

We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I think I’ve been lucky, but I also believe a lot of luck is preparation meeting opportunity. You never really know when something important is going to happen, so I try to stay ready for it.

Meeting Raekwon was one of those moments. I’m a young hip-hop artist, so getting the opportunity to meet someone who has had such an important career in hip-hop was incredible. What makes it even more meaningful is that it didn’t end with that one meeting. We’ve been able to build a relationship since then, and I’m really grateful for that.

Competition has taught me a lot about luck too. I compete in songwriting competitions on Rap Fame pretty regularly, and you never really know what the judges or the audience are going to connect with. You can write something you think is amazing and it may not win, then another song connects in a way you didn’t expect. So when I do win, especially consistently, I’m proud of it because I know how unpredictable creative competition can be.

I think opportunities can sometimes come down to being in the right place at the right time, but you still have to have something ready when the door opens. So I’m grateful for the luck I’ve had, but I also try to keep writing, practicing, experimenting and improving so that when the next opportunity comes, I’m prepared for it.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cairo.snow
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1Dc1oeF2Wv/
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@cairosnow
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@cairo.snow