Whilst both are successful rappers now, Paigey Cakey and Hyphen aren’t necessarily the most standard representations of the career choice and neither journey has been standard either.

Everyone wants to be a musician at some point whether a fleeting childhood thought or a passion that burns beyond doing music as a hobby; for Paigey Cakey and Hyphen music didn’t even start out as a feasible career but they overcame that. Neither artist comes from a particularly strong musical background but through passion, dedication and building a fanbase both have managed to live out the dream. It hasn’t been an easy road for either with both coming from groups that are underrepresented in the music industry, especially in Rap. Their ability to prove that it doesn’t matter what your background is to succeed is the reason they came together on The Offset to discuss and inspire others.

More so than just connecting over their unorthodox journeys into music the two connected for this conversation on The Offset specifically because their values lined up with Formula E‘s. Formula E is the mastermind behind The Offset as well as an initiative called Talent Call which is currently looking to help get people into Film & TV. Whilst primarily focusing on electric vehicles in racing, Formula E is also all about accelerating sustainable human progress across the board and that’s why The Offset and Talent Call exist.

With 53% of Gen Z-ers questioned in a study saying that they felt their true talents were obscured by prejudice and not viewed at the level they value themselves, it highlights the importance of having role models you can relate to. That’s why Paigey Cakey and Hyphen‘s stories are so important. Being a woman or an Asian man in Rap is still not something we see as commonly as we should, but as times change and we see people like Paigey and Hyphen reach the successes that they have more and more people are going to see that anything is possible.

What comes out of their conversation that’s interesting is that despite being from underrepresented groups in the field they were pursuing neither let that really affect them.

Instead, they found pleasure in pursuing their passion and that was in no small part to their fans. Without fans, music doesn’t work so their importance can’t be understated and both artists are very aware of this. From the beginning of their journeys, both made sure to do the best they could to authentically interact with their fanbases, largely through social media. As time went on this became even more intimate with both discussing their own mental health journeys on social media. Not an easy thing to discuss, especially being in the limelight, but extremely beneficial for themselves as well as anyone who listened.

Despite all the challenges that they were faced with, both saw the light at the end of the tunnel and pushed through. Hyphen at a point says “there’s nothing special about me, anyone can do this” and whilst it may seem like humility it is the truth. Anyone can stamp their mark doing whatever they are passionate about. You might have the odds stacked against you but if you persevere and find the right opportunities you can achieve anything in whatever field. Whilst it helps to have people you can relate to as role models to help guide your journey, sometimes you have to take the leap of faith and be the change you want to see.

Make sure you keep an eye out for more from Paigey Cakey and Hyphen respectively over the rest of the year, but also make sure you apply to Talent Call. The deadline for applications to the current round of the Talent Call is June 11th so make sure you’re quick in getting your entries done. For more information on it, you can view the application page here. Good luck to all who apply and I hope this conversation sways anyone that’s on the fence about applying, go for it – you never know what can happen if you follow your passion.