Stop Stunting Quadeca’s Musical Ability

In November 2018, YouTuber Olajide Olayinka Williams Olatunji (also known as “KSI”) called out then YouTube-based rapper Benjamin Fernando Barajas Lasky (also known as “Quadeca”). KSI referred to Quadeca as a “Fraud” in regard to Lasky’s shift from FIFA gameplay videos to content relating to his ventures into music production and freestyling.  Lasky would then push back with a Diss Track titled “Insecure,” which received around 8 million views within 10 days. 

 

 

To state this isolated incident as Lasky’s rise to fame would be criminal. Lasky had been working on his musical endeavors publicly much before this. But to call Lasky a “Fraud” would be even more criminal.

 

 

Quadeca is an artist who had been undersold through word of mouth for several years. And personally, I’m sick of it. It’s a skin that Lasky has been trying to shed for a few years. An artist whose platform for their music is/was YouTube can carry a negative connotation. Oftentimes it pigeonholes the artist, listeners demoting them to a musician who can’t raise the ceiling past the YouTube algorithm into the competitive sport of selling music on a wider scale. 

 

 

In an interview with Paste Magazine in August of 2025, Lasky spoke about this exact topic, stating, “No matter what I release—no matter where it’s going, or who likes it, or who I’m collaborating with—I still have the scarlet letter A of YouTube.” Later in the article, Lasky states, “Shit was bad. I feel for a lot of the artists; they had to be twice as good just to be respected a little bit. You could be 25% as good but, if you knew how to do the thumbnail the right way, you could be getting more views than some really great music.”

 

 

To put it plainly, if you undersell Lasky’s musical output, you’re doing yourself a massive disservice. Quadeca recently performed at St. Andrews Hall in Detroit on October 28th, 2026. Being a firsthand witness to his show, it can attest that any negativity I had heard about Quadeca was utterly and completely wrong. Lasky is no longer a YouTube rapper, and we need to stop saying that he still is. 

 

 

In a 19-song performance, Quadeca flipped the script so many times on what anyone’s idea of what a performance from him might look like, that it was hard to lock down on what the direction of his image really is. This is a really, really good thing. Lasky as an artist is an unpredictable, loose cannon who is genuinely capable of any sound or art direction that he puts his mind to. Starting off the set on keyboard, then switching to purely vocals, then picking up the guitar… The entire performance felt like a showcase of how multifaceted Lasky really is. 

 

 

The two biggest highlights of the show, however, weren’t specifically him. It was Quadeca’s full band and the wonderful backdrop/stage design that accompanied the performance. Quadeca’s full band genuinely sounds like they’ve been performing together way longer than they actually have. To my surprise, they were one of the tightest live bands I’ve seen this year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Every member of the live band was locked in, but loose enough with their personalities that each member (especially Lasky) felt down-to-earth and relatable. Even during the performance when Lasky’s guitarist Fahem Erfan was experiencing technical difficulties, the band’s on-stage chemistry was so good and lively, it felt like a funny bit rather than a disruption in the show. Lasky’s banter on stage with Fahem and other members on stage really sold the humanity of this band. In an era where there does more than ever feel like a massive disconnect between big stage bands and the crowd, these small details mean a lot. 

 

 

The backdrop of the stage was another big selling point. It’s a wall of giant backlit keyboard keys. It looked moody and was a great focal point that really tied together the atmosphere. Quadeca’s two most recent album releases, “Vanisher, Horizon Scraper” and “Life 1,” are both very atmospheric and dreamy indie releases, and the visual direction mirrored it quite well. 

 

 

Quadeca isn’t going to slow down. It’s obvious when such massive artist development is shown this relatively early in his music career. With Lasky working heavily with Kevin Abstract, Danny Brown, and Maruja on his last two albums, he seems to have cards in his deck that he has only teased thus far.

 

 

Another quote from Lasky’s interview with Paste Magazine states: “…being on the internet and existing publicly and always trying to remind people that you exist can detract a lot from the earnest nature of making art.” Quadeca argues that, in order to “connect with what’s inside you and do something that’s different that nobody expects,” you need to disassociate from how you’re being perceived by others.

 

 

Support Quadeca by streaming his newest album “Life 1” on all streaming platforms and keeping up to date with future tour dates at quadeca.com.