The Return of Cashtastic and what this means for the Windrush generations
Photography by @abbxstudios
In March of 2014, Cashtastic was detained and deported for reasons which are still unknown. The primary basis for this is that Cash while raised in Britain since the age of 6 was not a British citizen by birth and was able to be deported to his birth nation of Jamaica. Fast forward five years and he has returned posting two heartfelt videos of him surprising Steel Banglez (his old producer) and Kenny Allstar (his former resident DJ), both of who were shocked but grateful for his return. Cash’s departure from the country couldn’t have come at a worse time for his career having just been signed by universal in 2013, and shortly after in 2015 the UK urban scene renaissance took off. I have no doubt that had Cash would have been allowed to stay; he would have been a household name by now, in the same vein as Kenny and Banglez have become.
Cash has been allowed back into the country after what I can only imagine having been a long and stressful battle with the law and has since wasted no time to remind the game of his pen.
“His Daily Duppy was released shortly after his announced return, which is one of the best this year.”
Cash’s situation reminded of the injustice that faced the Windrush generation in 2018. Since then there have been 83 cases of Caribbean ex-pats who came to the UK, who have now been deported. Very much a topic that has faded out of the headlines, but we still don’t know if those that the deported ex-pats will receive British citizenship.
Cashs’ situation can be seen in the broader context of the fear of loss of the “Traditional British Identity” where the government and the foreign secretaries of recent’ attempt to show a tight grip on maintaining that identity. Examples of that being Cash, The Windrush generation, Salima Begum and her now-deceased child, the list goes on. While we sit and wait for Brexit (extended again until January 2020), we can only hope that for a resolution to these injustices.