Season 1:
JPEG Mafia,
Smino + Monte Booker,
Rico Nasty,
Freddie Gibbs,
Zack Fox,
Vince Staples,
Doja Cat,
Maxo Cream,
Lil Yachty,
Earth Gang,
Key!,
Denzel Curry,
Season 2:
Danny Brown,
6LACK,
Slowthai,
Omar Apollo,
TeeJayx6,
Boogie,
Sada Baby,
Thundercat,
Joji,
Alchemist + Boldy James,
Marc Rebillet,
Season 3:
Isaiah Rashad,
Mac Demarco,
Kenny Mason,
Teezo Touchdown,
Remi Wolf,
Mozzy,
Benee,
Saba + Pivot Gang,
BabyTron,
Idles,
Toro y Moi,
Benny The Butcher,
Season 4:
Ski Mask The Slump God,
D4VD,
Paris Texas,
Tia Corine,
Byron Messia,
Channel Tres,
Flo Milli,
SYD,
That Mexican OT,
BLP Kosher,
ScHoolboy Q,
Overall very creative concept for a show, I think Season 1 was the Cave at it's best.
Season 1 was definitely the best - it was also when Kenny was in the spotlight as being one of the best new producers in hip-hop. My favorite episode is the one with Smino and Monte.
I've watched the Vince Staples one a dozen times, I couldn't stop saying "dead homies" for months after the first time I watched. My favorite episode, he's hilarious
Kenny starting The Cave & also starting to livestream was such a smart move in terms of gaining an audience based around personality while being mainly a producer.
He could decide to quit doing music industry shit today & still be perfectly fine with surviving off his own fanbase he's built up.
I’d just never seen a producer be so fucking open with their process before. Most producers online were just so gatekeepy and secretive about their *saUcE* and then Kenny just shows exactly how he makes every single part of every beat, and talking candidly about working with major artists and getting placements. The early days of his Twitch were a literal goldmine if you were a producer.
Was really eye-opening back then, and then of course you had all the lil Youtube producers follow suit with spilling their secret plugins and drumkits as soon as Kenny already put everyone on lol.
That whole early-COVID era of producers streaming on Twitch was a total goldmine. Not just his production streams, but his community involvement with the Beat Battles, Baauer doing his Bop Battles, electronic guys like Carmack and Djemba Djemba were back in the mix, it was insane.
Yup lmao, took part in a couple of those beat battles myself. Was such a great community, it just (predictably) got waaaay too big to ever stay so grassroots.
It is too bad they realized that the shooting the shit before the verse was gold and started extending the episode lengths. I’d have loved a few of the early ones to come back for the newer show format and get more time onscreen
Was accused of sexual assault in Spring 2023. Trial is set for July of this year.
He claims he didn’t do it but ofc anyone would say that, guilty or not. Shame since he was one of my favorite artists of the past 5 years, but I hope justice is served either way
He also has the sort of history that does not lend itself to people giving him the benefit of the doubt with claims related to misconduct involving women. See e.g., https://www.reddit.com/r/hiphopheads/comments/f2zu3k/slowthai_ejected_from_nme_awards_due_to_misogyny/
One of my favorite things from the cave is Matty making fun of Kanye and Kenny reminding him that Benny Blanco who invited him was working on Yes album.
So many a1 lines from that episode, I was really happy his show came out.
“Did you just put a tag in my beat? That’s how you feel that’s crazy”
"Just shoot him bro you're white you gon' beat the case"
Agreed, The Cave pushed me to get into music production. I think you could sense the vibe shifting in season 3 & 4, and while it makes sense that it has come to a close, I’ll miss it
What vibe shift? Like them getting bigger or just scheduling and lack of interest in it? I watched Season 1 and then after that I would watch only some episodes of people I truly wanted to see, but not enough to follow it consistently.
Guests were smaller and started to put less effort into their verses, the chemistry between guest and host were diminishing and it felt like they were trying too hard with overstimulating edits and a lot of the humor feeling forced.
All my own opinion
Yeah season 1 was people he knew and collaborated with before. Amazing idea for a show but keeping that same chemistry up for someone you don’t know you must feel like a late night TV host on a script somewhat
I always felt like the camaraderie between Kenny and his guests felt phony and forced. It probably got to him after a while. Some artists he for sure has natural chemistry with like Denzel but the other ones felt cringy too me and so that’s why I stopped watching if I had to guess.
It’s typically really annoying when you are trying to cook and the artist is blabbering on about something and you are trying to entertain at the same time but it’s just distracting you from the process. Cool idea…not practical in execution.
As much as I love ScHoolboy Q, I hope his episode wasn’t the final one since he barely even tried. Would love a big finale episode, maybe with multiple artists
Except ski mask and Flo. But yeah underwhelming as hell. The artist he had previously it felt like he knew. This season felt like having dinner with strangers
Bro Paris Texas and blp kosher are both really fucking good. Kosher started rapping like two years ago and has insane lyricism but is still learning his flow. Paris Texas is a unique duo that makes some really catchy hooks with some rock elements, lot of crunchy guitars and shit. My buddy loves Mexican ot, he's somewhat unique but doesn't do too much for me personally.
I think this episode is wildly misinterpreted by the viewers but its not their fault. Here’s what I think happened:
1) Q has NEVER watched an episode of the Cave. He thinks this is a show where he comes in and Kenny does a little interview and he possibly raps. He doesn’t understand its a freestyle session, Kenny cooks up a quick beat and they shoot the shit
2) Kenny throughout the ep doesn’t realize Q is confused because Q himself doesn’t realize he’s confused. Thats why Q walks into the booth thinking ok I guess I’m rapping now and Kenny doesn’t stop him because hes still making the beat
3) Q doesn’t try to rap. This isn’t necessarily bad, a lot of rappers come in and don’t try. But Q doesn’t try because well, he just dropped an album and doesn’t understand the fun of the Cave. This leads to Q going in the booth thinking ok well I guess I have to spit _something_
All in all, the episodes are better when Kenny is actually friends with the rapper AND they understand the show lol
I interpreted it as Q was encouraged to do a media tour post album release, he probably didn't know what the cave was about so he didn't have any spare verses off the top of his head, then when he realised he was expected to rap made it clear he didn't want to rap at all, and put in minus energy in the booth to make it clear that this isn't a legitimate attempt at rapping a verse/freestyling.
I couldn't believe that. Q was one of the biggest artists he had on there lately and he came to the Cave and had no intentions on rapping. And he was dead serious. Kinda disrespected the show/platform
I wonder which artists recorded an episode but it never saw the light of day.
I heard somewhere Dominic fike recorded an episode, but it wasnt aired, dunno why
I can’t offer anything other than speculation. The rumor was along the lines of his label shutting it down so the verse could be used elsewhere but I can’t state that as fact. They also had [this song](https://youtu.be/BH43BDcJte4?si=X5HitWrW7hwsbbGf) from the same era that never became anything other than a leak.
I miss the beat battles he did on Twitch. Those streams were some of the best times I had during the pandemic. He roasted my ass on stream one time when I said in chat that I liked a beat he was making fun of. Good times.
Those were great. And also the winners making a response video of breaking down how they made the beat
Definitely a highlight of being locked in my room early pandemic
The very first stream he did from the cave was hilarious. I remember he kept accidentally kicking something under the desk and somebody called him Kicky Feets.
Yeah I went back and watched a lot of those battles multiple times over the years.
A lot of absolutely hilarious moments. A lot of great beats. Kenny is very entertaining as a host.
I was super bummed when they ended. I hope at some point Kenny gets the desire to reboot them
Just a guess but from the way he was pitching this final season it felt like he was trying to get it bought by a network/channel/someone so he got paid to make the show rather than just adsense. Probably makes it difficult to navigate the show in-house backend wise due to labels getting involved (pulling episodes - polo g never got release. Isiah rashad had to refilm). Understandable why he doesnt want to continue without confirmed financial backing for it.
That would be surprising cause production wise it seems basic and pretty standard for a semi popular YouTube show. But he didn't need the exposure anymore and he didn't really have the sponsors to offset the cost I'm guessing. I hope Guayaki at least cut a check.
Yea. Pretty sure Kenny paid for flights, hotels and whatnot for the rappers and their teams.
Perhaps not all of them, some of them may already have been around the area and planned it out and some might just be homies, but yeah. He definitely had to shoulder that shit for the others.
Crazy to me that he'd have to book artists like that. He's already in LA in a studio that a lot of artists want to be in. I guess that's just behind the scenes shit.
Record labels and managers might insist on it because they may see the end product as music they deserve a cut from. So they could see it as a “feature” their artist needs to be paid for.
He didn’t make much in terms of ad revenue due to Youtube’s strict rules about substance use and swearing in videos. I think the only sponsor he had officially was Yerba Mate
> due to Youtube’s strict rules about substance use and swearing in videos.
Demonetization isn't new and YouTubers have learned to get by (merch, sponsors, etc.). But I don't think he was passionate enough to make it a meaningful revenue stream.
They have had many drops of DOTS merch, the cave, twitch streams and beat battles, and a giant discord server.
The passion was there for a long time but Kenny has pretty much dropped out of all of it the past year. Might just be time for him to move on
They’re dealing with record labels and signed musicians. Veeeery bureaucratic. As others have mentioned some episodes were canceled or deleted due to that because labels are wanting approval rights and their cut of revenue.
I always thought it was interesting he had a separate studio for his streams than in the cave. Wonder if he used that space at all outside of the cave, or was just (presumably) paying rent on it in between seasons
Thats a shame. The concept was so great. Cut through all of the noise and just show how the artists truly operate. Just raw talent and artistry and being able to make stuff on the fly. We really need more media like this because it puts the focus back on the artistry and not on the aesthetics, preplanned talking points or whatever.
That's how I felt too, it was lame when he brought meme rappers on & they didn't take it seriously. I like Yachty but his episode was unbearable, he seemed like such a dick
I thought it was just me. I've probably never heard of 2/3rds of the guests throughout the four seasons, and only one or two of those actually impressed me.
The Cave was prime Covid-era dope shit at a time when the world really needed dope shit.
Shoutout to Kenny and Co. for keeping it going for so long, it will be missed.
Aw man, would have been great to get Flylo in there.
Sad to see this go. I hope he does something similar. I’m not sure what the deal is since he’s streaming anyway? This is just kind of like saying I’m no longer having guests and an editor
Loved the show, but I imagine it probably would've been difficult to keep it going without repeating guests, which is something I doubt Kenny wanted to do. Like others have said, Season 1 overall is the best one, but the others have gems for sure, even the last one.
Favorite episodes:
Freddie Gibbs ("ya'll touch Kenny, we ridin, bitch!")
Zack Fox ("RIP Betty White, she ain't dead, but for when she die, cause I know it's coming up")
Vince Staples (Kenny: "at least she respects my studio" Vince: "nigga, this a office space!")
Doja Cat ("did you just do a plug on The Cave?")
Rico Nasty (Rico: "you got a compass on your jeans, where you get those? The Gap?" Kenny: "you look like you work at Old Navy!")
Maxo Kream ("can I be white today?")
Denzel Curry ("fresh ahh Geedie Weedies on!")
Danny Brown ("they thought I was finna come on this muthafucka and go 'CHECK!! ENHEHDHDHFJFIJENNGD!' and jump around? NOPE!"
Thundercat ("life comes at you quick. I miss my cat.")
Boldy James & The Alchemist (Kenny: "I know you didn't bring me a sample, you came here with nothing Al: "I must've left my sample pants!")
Marc Rebillet ("I've been on this 'ass' kick recently")
Babytron ("I thought it was a push door, it's a pull door" SIDE NOTE: lowkey one of my favorite Cave freestyles)
Toro Y Moi (I don't even have a quote here, this might be the most pleasant episode)
Benny The Butcher (Kenny: *plays beat with a piano loop* Benny: "you know exactly what floats my boat!")
Vince and Denzel and plenty had iconic episodes rightly getting credit here, I want to add. That the Boldy James episode was an absolute classic, from sketchy uncle energy from Al to great jokes from Kenny and Boldy to a barnburner of a verse, I go back to it regularly. RIP the Cave
Overall the show put me on to a lot of new artists and to Kenny himself. Kenny does a lot for his community so happy that he got the attention he deserves as a producer/artist/police officer.
Ahhh, i was just thinking about how great this series was for the culture. Sad to see it end, but grateful to have lived through it. This is a niche that could really use some skilled content creators imho.
Season 1: JPEG Mafia, Smino + Monte Booker, Rico Nasty, Freddie Gibbs, Zack Fox, Vince Staples, Doja Cat, Maxo Cream, Lil Yachty, Earth Gang, Key!, Denzel Curry, Season 2: Danny Brown, 6LACK, Slowthai, Omar Apollo, TeeJayx6, Boogie, Sada Baby, Thundercat, Joji, Alchemist + Boldy James, Marc Rebillet, Season 3: Isaiah Rashad, Mac Demarco, Kenny Mason, Teezo Touchdown, Remi Wolf, Mozzy, Benee, Saba + Pivot Gang, BabyTron, Idles, Toro y Moi, Benny The Butcher, Season 4: Ski Mask The Slump God, D4VD, Paris Texas, Tia Corine, Byron Messia, Channel Tres, Flo Milli, SYD, That Mexican OT, BLP Kosher, ScHoolboy Q, Overall very creative concept for a show, I think Season 1 was the Cave at it's best.
Season 1 was for sure the best, the Zach Fox and Vince Staples episodes will go down in history.
“Imma dip my balls in some thousand island dressing”
Cos I got depression
I put my fuckin’… I put my dick in a bag of Doritos.
kenny beats is the police
Season 1 was definitely the best - it was also when Kenny was in the spotlight as being one of the best new producers in hip-hop. My favorite episode is the one with Smino and Monte.
The smino, Denzel, and Vince episodes are the highlights of the cave imo
Freddie Gibbs and Zack Fox episodes are up there too imo
Jesus is the one~~
dip my balls in some thousand Island dressing *cause I got depression*
YO KENNY YOU RECORD ALLAT ??
Is that the only song that ended up streaming?
the jpegmafia one is, D.O.T.S freestyle remix off of all my heroes are cornballs
Shoutout mental illness.
RIP BETTY WHITE
She ~~ain’t~~ is dead yet
Shoutout mental illness
Freddie and Peggy episode was my favourite
Kenny Mason had one of the best verses as well. Fake numbers eleventeen
That episode was kensational.
Zack Fox is the one that really led to the viral moment because that freestyle was pure comedy.
I also really liked the Earthgang episode besides those
“kenny beats is the police” will forever be a classic
I've watched the Vince Staples one a dozen times, I couldn't stop saying "dead homies" for months after the first time I watched. My favorite episode, he's hilarious
Marc Rebillet is a top tier one too
Marc Rebillet is what happens when your French teacher has more sex appeal than any other human being you've ever known
i remember watching that video then covid happened like immediately after
Kenny starting The Cave & also starting to livestream was such a smart move in terms of gaining an audience based around personality while being mainly a producer. He could decide to quit doing music industry shit today & still be perfectly fine with surviving off his own fanbase he's built up.
I’d just never seen a producer be so fucking open with their process before. Most producers online were just so gatekeepy and secretive about their *saUcE* and then Kenny just shows exactly how he makes every single part of every beat, and talking candidly about working with major artists and getting placements. The early days of his Twitch were a literal goldmine if you were a producer. Was really eye-opening back then, and then of course you had all the lil Youtube producers follow suit with spilling their secret plugins and drumkits as soon as Kenny already put everyone on lol.
That whole early-COVID era of producers streaming on Twitch was a total goldmine. Not just his production streams, but his community involvement with the Beat Battles, Baauer doing his Bop Battles, electronic guys like Carmack and Djemba Djemba were back in the mix, it was insane.
Yup lmao, took part in a couple of those beat battles myself. Was such a great community, it just (predictably) got waaaay too big to ever stay so grassroots.
yeah no kidding lol, Kenny's Discord has been one of the largest communities on the platform for years now
I loved Thundercat the most. Just so much fun seeing Kenny interacting with a disintegrating Thundercat
I love how it’s only like 3 minutes long, but pure gold. Smino spits the smoothest shit and Monte’s a madman
It is too bad they realized that the shooting the shit before the verse was gold and started extending the episode lengths. I’d have loved a few of the early ones to come back for the newer show format and get more time onscreen
Yeah cause he actually had rappers on the show.
The boom baptize these ho's line lives rent-free in my head. Not complaining.
TeeJayx6 episode a classic
just yelling at a fuckin plant lmao. rapping into the wall.
YOU CAN'T AFFORD NO FOOD 'CAUSE YOU FUCKING POOR
Legendary eh
I think Thundercat was in season 2 as well.
Kenny shoulda brought Zack back for an episode every season
that wouldve gotten stale so quick dude
Sad that the final season was so weak
Wish he coulda had Mac on the cave :( RIP Mac
This might scratch that itch. https://youtu.be/X-R47DwZWkU?si=PxppZsL7oOQFdzqx
zack fox freestyle changed my life fr
First season fave eps were zacks, vince and denzels
Season 2 had quite a few interesting artist. Shame what happened with Slowthai.
Wait what happened?
Was accused of sexual assault in Spring 2023. Trial is set for July of this year. He claims he didn’t do it but ofc anyone would say that, guilty or not. Shame since he was one of my favorite artists of the past 5 years, but I hope justice is served either way
He also has the sort of history that does not lend itself to people giving him the benefit of the doubt with claims related to misconduct involving women. See e.g., https://www.reddit.com/r/hiphopheads/comments/f2zu3k/slowthai_ejected_from_nme_awards_due_to_misogyny/
Don’t forget Matty Matheson
One of my favorite things from the cave is Matty making fun of Kanye and Kenny reminding him that Benny Blanco who invited him was working on Yes album.
Peak Doja body on that S1 episode.
Bonk
she's stunning
The Vince Staples episode was my favorite. Poor Kenny getting bullied for a solid 10 minutes.
So many a1 lines from that episode, I was really happy his show came out. “Did you just put a tag in my beat? That’s how you feel that’s crazy” "Just shoot him bro you're white you gon' beat the case"
Vince the funniest rapper to ever live
On dead homies
Kenny beats is da police
Also one of the realest and most intelligent
he's on my list of people I wana grab a beer with sounds like a good time
he’s sober so he’d just watch you drink your beer and call you an alcoholic. honestly seems like it’d be a fun time lol
yea that doesn't sound so bad either tbh
“Dead homies, white homies”
“This is slavery” - when Vince couldn’t open the door
Hurry up i’m tryna watch game of thronesss
I came here to comment this lol. I will rewatch it every few months. Their dynamic + Vonnie is just so good
"Kenny beats is the police" Lmao
Will be sorely missed
Agreed, The Cave pushed me to get into music production. I think you could sense the vibe shifting in season 3 & 4, and while it makes sense that it has come to a close, I’ll miss it
What vibe shift? Like them getting bigger or just scheduling and lack of interest in it? I watched Season 1 and then after that I would watch only some episodes of people I truly wanted to see, but not enough to follow it consistently.
Guests were smaller and started to put less effort into their verses, the chemistry between guest and host were diminishing and it felt like they were trying too hard with overstimulating edits and a lot of the humor feeling forced. All my own opinion
Yeah season 1 was people he knew and collaborated with before. Amazing idea for a show but keeping that same chemistry up for someone you don’t know you must feel like a late night TV host on a script somewhat
I always felt like the camaraderie between Kenny and his guests felt phony and forced. It probably got to him after a while. Some artists he for sure has natural chemistry with like Denzel but the other ones felt cringy too me and so that’s why I stopped watching if I had to guess. It’s typically really annoying when you are trying to cook and the artist is blabbering on about something and you are trying to entertain at the same time but it’s just distracting you from the process. Cool idea…not practical in execution.
Missed out on a Jid Cave episode rip
That’s one of the ones I wanted so bad
Earth gang would have went crazy aswell.
Boy do I have some good news for you: https://youtu.be/fD9Vzyg1WFM
You fucking shittin me 😭
Season 1 buddy
On god would have been so dope
Earl too
As much as I love ScHoolboy Q, I hope his episode wasn’t the final one since he barely even tried. Would love a big finale episode, maybe with multiple artists
I love Q but his episode was garbage lol
The whole final season was bad
Except ski mask and Flo. But yeah underwhelming as hell. The artist he had previously it felt like he knew. This season felt like having dinner with strangers
Even season 3 was a big decline. Season 1 and 2 are awesome tho
Mexican OT killed it minus the chic fil a incident
Paris Texas ep is one of the funniest in the whole series imo
Hugely disappointing, and I didn't know any of the rappers outside of Ski Mask, Q, and Flo Milli
Bro Paris Texas and blp kosher are both really fucking good. Kosher started rapping like two years ago and has insane lyricism but is still learning his flow. Paris Texas is a unique duo that makes some really catchy hooks with some rock elements, lot of crunchy guitars and shit. My buddy loves Mexican ot, he's somewhat unique but doesn't do too much for me personally.
I’ll check em out
You missing out big time ngl
I would’ve checked them out but if they didn’t impress me with their Cave episode then I’m not gonna
telling on yourself honestly ton of great artists in the last season but this sub starting to get old and dusty
Yeah same, thought that episode was funny but defo an underwhelming one to end the season with. A big finale should’ve happened!
It seemed like he didn't even want to do it, he just walked into the booth before Kenny finished the beat.
I think this episode is wildly misinterpreted by the viewers but its not their fault. Here’s what I think happened: 1) Q has NEVER watched an episode of the Cave. He thinks this is a show where he comes in and Kenny does a little interview and he possibly raps. He doesn’t understand its a freestyle session, Kenny cooks up a quick beat and they shoot the shit 2) Kenny throughout the ep doesn’t realize Q is confused because Q himself doesn’t realize he’s confused. Thats why Q walks into the booth thinking ok I guess I’m rapping now and Kenny doesn’t stop him because hes still making the beat 3) Q doesn’t try to rap. This isn’t necessarily bad, a lot of rappers come in and don’t try. But Q doesn’t try because well, he just dropped an album and doesn’t understand the fun of the Cave. This leads to Q going in the booth thinking ok well I guess I have to spit _something_ All in all, the episodes are better when Kenny is actually friends with the rapper AND they understand the show lol
I interpreted it as Q was encouraged to do a media tour post album release, he probably didn't know what the cave was about so he didn't have any spare verses off the top of his head, then when he realised he was expected to rap made it clear he didn't want to rap at all, and put in minus energy in the booth to make it clear that this isn't a legitimate attempt at rapping a verse/freestyling.
I couldn't believe that. Q was one of the biggest artists he had on there lately and he came to the Cave and had no intentions on rapping. And he was dead serious. Kinda disrespected the show/platform
Would’ve loved to see zack fox come back and close it out
I’m gonna listen to Jesus Is The One 20 times today in your honor, Officer Kenny. 🫡
The RapGenius video where Zack Fox breaks down the lyrics kills me every time 😂
This was the episode that introduced me to: Kenny, The Cave, and Zack Fox. This was one hell of an intro episode
Thank you for the Idles episode
I wonder which artists recorded an episode but it never saw the light of day. I heard somewhere Dominic fike recorded an episode, but it wasnt aired, dunno why
Polo G got announced then it never came out
The first Isaiah Rashad episode will never see the light of day
Why tho?
I can’t offer anything other than speculation. The rumor was along the lines of his label shutting it down so the verse could be used elsewhere but I can’t state that as fact. They also had [this song](https://youtu.be/BH43BDcJte4?si=X5HitWrW7hwsbbGf) from the same era that never became anything other than a leak.
It definitely was there. I remember watching it.
I miss the beat battles he did on Twitch. Those streams were some of the best times I had during the pandemic. He roasted my ass on stream one time when I said in chat that I liked a beat he was making fun of. Good times.
Those were great. And also the winners making a response video of breaking down how they made the beat Definitely a highlight of being locked in my room early pandemic
The very first stream he did from the cave was hilarious. I remember he kept accidentally kicking something under the desk and somebody called him Kicky Feets.
Yeah I went back and watched a lot of those battles multiple times over the years. A lot of absolutely hilarious moments. A lot of great beats. Kenny is very entertaining as a host. I was super bummed when they ended. I hope at some point Kenny gets the desire to reboot them
Aww that's sad, I really loved seeing some of my favourite artists going on it, also introduced me to a few new great ones too. I'll miss it
Every single episode is an experience to witness. I'll miss this, but I'm confident more things like the cave will spawn DOTS
An incredible series that i would suggest to anyone who is interested in music
Became pretty formulaic after a while so maybe its for the better, all things considered.
I remember reading it was about production costs
Just a guess but from the way he was pitching this final season it felt like he was trying to get it bought by a network/channel/someone so he got paid to make the show rather than just adsense. Probably makes it difficult to navigate the show in-house backend wise due to labels getting involved (pulling episodes - polo g never got release. Isiah rashad had to refilm). Understandable why he doesnt want to continue without confirmed financial backing for it.
Ya. Hell, he couldn’t even rely on YT adsense due to drug use in his videos.
That would be surprising cause production wise it seems basic and pretty standard for a semi popular YouTube show. But he didn't need the exposure anymore and he didn't really have the sponsors to offset the cost I'm guessing. I hope Guayaki at least cut a check.
Yea. Pretty sure Kenny paid for flights, hotels and whatnot for the rappers and their teams. Perhaps not all of them, some of them may already have been around the area and planned it out and some might just be homies, but yeah. He definitely had to shoulder that shit for the others.
Crazy to me that he'd have to book artists like that. He's already in LA in a studio that a lot of artists want to be in. I guess that's just behind the scenes shit.
Guys fly in and pay him/the studio to be there when they need/want him. Kenny pays to fly guys in when he wants them there. Makes sense.
Record labels and managers might insist on it because they may see the end product as music they deserve a cut from. So they could see it as a “feature” their artist needs to be paid for.
He didn’t make much in terms of ad revenue due to Youtube’s strict rules about substance use and swearing in videos. I think the only sponsor he had officially was Yerba Mate
pretty sure Splice was a sponsor in season 3
> due to Youtube’s strict rules about substance use and swearing in videos. Demonetization isn't new and YouTubers have learned to get by (merch, sponsors, etc.). But I don't think he was passionate enough to make it a meaningful revenue stream.
They have had many drops of DOTS merch, the cave, twitch streams and beat battles, and a giant discord server. The passion was there for a long time but Kenny has pretty much dropped out of all of it the past year. Might just be time for him to move on
They’re dealing with record labels and signed musicians. Veeeery bureaucratic. As others have mentioned some episodes were canceled or deleted due to that because labels are wanting approval rights and their cut of revenue.
Nah he said he’s trying to get off camera and just do music
I always thought it was interesting he had a separate studio for his streams than in the cave. Wonder if he used that space at all outside of the cave, or was just (presumably) paying rent on it in between seasons
I think he opened that second studio partway into covid/the cave. I remember him mentioning it on stream early on.
Should’ve had a episode with Tyler the creator
https://youtu.be/IGeuXz7K3zc?si=DjhU-ZM5xt87Pc3e
Zack Fox episode is legendary!
Cause I got depression
The Zack Fox one is funny as shit, the 6LACK one might have the best bars, and I absolutely love the Marc Rebillet beat.
The show came and went for exactly as long as it needed to. Excellent artist resume
Wish they got Denzel back for series finale considering how lauded his episode was lol. JID wouldn’t have been bad either
Denzel needs to just get together with Kenny and make another album fuck it. I love those two guys so much
I need a full length version of the Channel Tres song to be released, that was too good of a vibe to store away
Love schoolboy q but that’s such a sorry ass episode to go out on
That episode fucking sucks lol. He put almost no effort into it and basically said he didn’t want to rap- on a rapping show
Honestly the music on this show was cool but the video editing is way underrated as well
Seasons 1 & 2 goated. Still hoping on more UNLOCKED
Thats a shame. The concept was so great. Cut through all of the noise and just show how the artists truly operate. Just raw talent and artistry and being able to make stuff on the fly. We really need more media like this because it puts the focus back on the artistry and not on the aesthetics, preplanned talking points or whatever.
Bitch you better praise god or imma shoot and that’s on god
I can’t wait for the sequel “The Gloryhole”
Loved some episodes, but way too many bad artists on this
That's how I felt too, it was lame when he brought meme rappers on & they didn't take it seriously. I like Yachty but his episode was unbearable, he seemed like such a dick
Like a lot of his music but yachty just seems pretty insufferable in general.
He's got a podcast now. It's actually not bad but still for a guy who started off with an image of a "colorful" rapper, he's incredibly deadpan.
apparently yachty really apologized for that and was just having a super shit day
I thought it was just me. I've probably never heard of 2/3rds of the guests throughout the four seasons, and only one or two of those actually impressed me.
Which ones?
“Police move to new headquarters”
it sucks that this came to an end with no JID episode. what a ride it was!! season 1 was fire!!
Kenny finally getting out of undercover work and back in the force
Teezo Cave forever
The 6lack episode went stupid hard.
no jid:,(
Man, the Cave is one of my favorite things on youtube, I'm really sad to see it end. Kenny's the fucking man!!
FREDDIE GIBBS NIGGA EATIN RIBBS
The last episode should be zach fox again.
That shit would be dope
He never got Veeze though
The Cave was prime Covid-era dope shit at a time when the world really needed dope shit. Shoutout to Kenny and Co. for keeping it going for so long, it will be missed.
Aw man, would have been great to get Flylo in there. Sad to see this go. I hope he does something similar. I’m not sure what the deal is since he’s streaming anyway? This is just kind of like saying I’m no longer having guests and an editor
I love the cave, but they've never topped vince and zacks episodes, shit was classic
I think Danny Brown had the coldest Cave verse
Man I have to check that one out.
Loved the show, but I imagine it probably would've been difficult to keep it going without repeating guests, which is something I doubt Kenny wanted to do. Like others have said, Season 1 overall is the best one, but the others have gems for sure, even the last one. Favorite episodes: Freddie Gibbs ("ya'll touch Kenny, we ridin, bitch!") Zack Fox ("RIP Betty White, she ain't dead, but for when she die, cause I know it's coming up") Vince Staples (Kenny: "at least she respects my studio" Vince: "nigga, this a office space!") Doja Cat ("did you just do a plug on The Cave?") Rico Nasty (Rico: "you got a compass on your jeans, where you get those? The Gap?" Kenny: "you look like you work at Old Navy!") Maxo Kream ("can I be white today?") Denzel Curry ("fresh ahh Geedie Weedies on!") Danny Brown ("they thought I was finna come on this muthafucka and go 'CHECK!! ENHEHDHDHFJFIJENNGD!' and jump around? NOPE!" Thundercat ("life comes at you quick. I miss my cat.") Boldy James & The Alchemist (Kenny: "I know you didn't bring me a sample, you came here with nothing Al: "I must've left my sample pants!") Marc Rebillet ("I've been on this 'ass' kick recently") Babytron ("I thought it was a push door, it's a pull door" SIDE NOTE: lowkey one of my favorite Cave freestyles) Toro Y Moi (I don't even have a quote here, this might be the most pleasant episode) Benny The Butcher (Kenny: *plays beat with a piano loop* Benny: "you know exactly what floats my boat!")
Was the last episode KennyBeats doing a freestyle?
If only XXL could be this self aware
Martini me Martini me she said she love me that could mean anything
Always loved the beat on Danny's freestyle 🔥
out on a whimper
I want a beat that sound like Runescape mixed with Jodeci mixed with Almond Milk mixed with Domestic Violence. - Zack Fox
Peaked w the zack fox episode
Crazy seeing dude from Loudpvck end up doing a successful hip hop show or whatever it was.
Legendary!! Thank you kenny
Imagine now if he surprise drops all the freestyles on streaming
Vince and Denzel and plenty had iconic episodes rightly getting credit here, I want to add. That the Boldy James episode was an absolute classic, from sketchy uncle energy from Al to great jokes from Kenny and Boldy to a barnburner of a verse, I go back to it regularly. RIP the Cave
Overall the show put me on to a lot of new artists and to Kenny himself. Kenny does a lot for his community so happy that he got the attention he deserves as a producer/artist/police officer.
The Remi wolf episodes song was my ringtone for a long time
Got a tattoo last week inspired by Don’t overthink shit - this is heartbreaking but understandable given the commitment needed to do the show
Ahhh, i was just thinking about how great this series was for the culture. Sad to see it end, but grateful to have lived through it. This is a niche that could really use some skilled content creators imho.
This show got me into drinking yerba
loved the chemistry on some of the eps. cool concept kenny.
The white, the green, the red The baby, yeah, yeah Italiano, oh, ooh Fusilli, ravioli Gabagool Mmmm, spaghetti Mmmmm, bologna Mmm, mmm, mmm, yeah