Sound Track of a Kansan: R&B Me Please

Cash Hollistah wears many hats: rapper, DJ, community activist, and organizer. He is also the recent recipient of the Governor’s Excellence in Arts Education Award. We first featured Cash on Episode 22 of Ask A Kansan. More recently, we caught up with him at R&B Me Please, an event he hosted in Salina on Saturday, February 21, at The Back Alley. An event featuring music, live painting by Chauntéa Grissom, and unmatched vibes.

Hollistah has hosted more than a dozen R&B events, but this was just the second R&B Me Please in the series — an event that is rapidly growing in popularity and is truly unique to the region. He considers himself a “true R&B head” and says the series was born out of a mix of boredom and creativity, with the hope of filling a void he saw in the area. The night is built around the genre he loves, blending multiple eras of R&B into one unforgettable experience.

Guests at last Saturday’s event were part of something that made the evening even more special: an all-female DJ set. DJ Doop, DJ Candy, and DJ G3Wizz kept the crowd energized into the early hours of the morning. In an industry dominated by men, it meant the world to DJ Candy, who is from Junction City, to co-headline an all-female set. Candy said it was “the very thing I would see on social media and wish I could be a part of.”

DJ Candy is a member of Coalition DJs and credits her father for sparking her love of music. From playing various instruments and singing to leading praise and worship at her local church, being a star was always her dream. Her mother purchased her first DJ board, and the love and support she receives from her family and fans fuels her drive to keep chasing that dream.

So what’s next for R&B Me Please? Hollistah says a spring event is already in the works and hopes attendees show up ready to dance and let loose in a safe, welcoming, and supportive environment.

When asked what it means to host these events, Hollistah replied, “It means everything to me. Seeing people not just from my city, but from all over the state pulling up, booking hotel rooms, and planning their whole weekend around this event is major. That’s not something I take lightly. I respect the time, the money, and the energy they invest, so I make sure I put in the work to give them a night that’s worth every mile and every dollar.”

If you are interesting in attending the next R&B Me Please be sure to follow @cashhollistah on Facebook or the events page @thisisanrnbvibe on Instagram.

Photos and article by Tanner Colvin