Meet Al Wayne, CJayy and Shaq Diesel, collectively known as 4Cast, Indianapolis, Indiana’s answer to the still lingering question that just won’t seem to go away: Is R&B dead (in 2024)?
Please introduce for me the members of 4Cast…
Al Wayne, group leader; CJayy and Shaq Diesel.
Let’s hop right into this latest single, “Girl U Good” — Tell me how this particular track came about?
Shaq Diesel: It was a song that music producer Nut Bush and Uncle Jamz had already in their arsenal. Sid "Uncle Jamz" Johnson, our manager and a Grammy winning songwriter and producer, thought it would be perfect for us and they did some revisions to it a couple of times and then Al Wayne, CJayy and myself added a little bit to it, and now you have our new single.
Now tell me your whole inception into music -- When did you all first become interested in it? And, how did it all begin for 4Cast?
Al Wayne: My father who introduced me to music at a very young age started a band in 2017 called The Latest 4Cast Band. He turned the band over to me and I had dreams of being in a R&B group from watching groups like Dru Hill, 112, Jagged Edge. So, I decided to turn The Latest 4Cast Band into the R&B group known as 4Cast today. We still rock out with the band when we perform live from time to time.
CJayy: I became interested in music at an early age. I come from a background of gospel, and grew up in the church and grew up around music and my father was a very huge influence on me when it came to music. Al had already started 4Cast and then once I became a part of the band, and Diesel became a part of the band, we transformed into an R&B group, known as 4Cast.
Now y’all hail from Indianapolis, IN, correct? So growing up in ‘Railroad City,’ who all did / do you all consider to be your strongest musical influences?
Al Wayne: Michael Jackson, Babyface, Usher, Temptations, Jodeci, Dru Hill, Boyz II Men.
CJayy: Honestly, my biggest influence from the hometown is definitely Mr. Babyface himself, his music in the way that he writes in the way that he presents. His music has always been a very inspiring thing for me, and always inspired me to do music.
Shaq Diesel: The goat Babyface, New Edition and Jodeci.
Now from an individual standpoint, what do each of you bring to the table both personality-wise and creatively?
Al Wayne: I bring leadership, Sometimes I can be the fiery one out the group and CJayy will have to calm me down. We all write music. On stage I have a smooth personality when we are performing.
CJayy: Honestly, from my perspective, I feel I bring positivity to the group. I bring some of the energy to the group and definitely the willingness to show love and show appreciation for one another and definitely can’t forget the sexiness."
Shaq Diesel: I bring the rap and rugged edge; I can sing also, but my personality is definitely the jokester. I move with the situation at hand, lol!
In having said that, how do you all classify your overall sound and / or style?
Al Wayne: When we sing, I sing the majority of the high parts and the parts that need the most range. Lil G from Silk, Q Parker from 112, Wanya from Boyz II Men is more my style of singing. Our overall sound is soul, hip hop soul and gospel music.
CJayy: Our sound is an accumulation of things, but the main ingredients to our sound is always the past, the present and the future and trying to incorporate that in our music to make our music timeless.
Shaq Diesel: I would say our sound is real harmonies, trying to pull that good music sound back from the ‘90’s.
Where does the group’s moniker originally derive from?
Al Wayne: The meaning of the group name 4Cast means The Past The Present and The Future. And that's what we represent when we sing and perform.
Switching gears here…
What do you all feel will be the ultimate key to your longevity? And what will it be then that will continue to sustain you all in this business?
Al Wayne: Prayer. Our brotherhood will keep us together. And our hunger to be one of the greatest R&B groups to come out of Indianapolis will push us along with our supporters and manager, Uncle Sid, who teaches us all about the music business. Also, keeping an open ear and open mind as well.
CJayy: Us staying together and being on the same page through any situations. Granted brothers are always going to have a disagreements, but as long as we always have the best interest for each other, and for each other in business, we will always make it and always have each other’s back.
Shaq Diesel: Timeless music keeps the longevity consistent.
What do you all want people to get from your music?
Al Wayne: The same feeling our parents got when they listened to music in the ‘60’s-‘90’s. Music should be used for love and expression. And that's something that is missing in music today. Love ballads. Those songs taught men how to pursue a lady and It also got couples through the rough times. There's nothing wrong with sex in music but what about how it makes you feel on an intimate level.
CJayy: From my perspective, I really want people to get from our music love and I want people to get joy and happiness from my music. I want people to be able to, you know, listen to our music and, you know, if they are having a bad day or whatever they’re going through they can listen to it and need to change the perspective of everything they’re going through and kind of bring some type of joint peace to their life.
Shaq Diesel: I want people to get out of our music and grab some love, the memories that come about from just listening to a song.
If you all could collaborate with any one artist, living or dead, who would it be and why?
Al Wayne: Bruno Mars. His career has been amazing, he's a child prodigy that can play almost every instrument. He seems down to earth and a lot fun to hang out with. And he's a great writer.
CJayy: Honestly, me personally Babyface, because the fact that this man is rolling timeless hits through many decades, and still doing…staying and making an impact in the world of music; definitely Babyface.
Shaq Diesel: "Babyface because he is a hometown legend and a remarkable producer.
If you all could play any venue in the world, which one would you choose and why?
Al Wayne: I would love a Las Vegas residence and maybe perform at the new Las Vegas Sphere concert stadium.
CJayy: "If I could choose one to perform anywhere in the world, it will probably be Gainbridge Fieldhouse just for the simple fact that it’s the hometown. To see everybody come out and enjoy what Indianapolis basically produced and what came out of Indianapolis I think that would definitely be a good homecoming, you know, a good feeling.
Shaq Diesel: The O2 Arena in London because it is overseas and all the greats have played there.
On a more serious note, are you all happy with the current state of R&B? And, even more specifically, why do you all feel that we, the masses, don’t see the group dynamic like it was back in, say, the nineties?
Al Wayne: I wouldn't say I'm unhappy, but like I said before R&B is missing the love ballads and romance in music. The groups from the ‘60’s, ‘70’s, ‘80’s, and ‘90’s all sang love songs. I think money, egos, drugs and alcohol doomed a lot of groups from that time period. Luckily we can learn from their mistakes and keep it alive.
CJayy: "Honestly, I’m 50-50; I’m happy with the current state of R&B, but I’m also as well disappointed because I feel like R&B is not pushed the way that it needs to be pushed nor promoted the way that it needs to be promoted…but again we all live in different times, stages of life because things always change over time so it’s just adapting. I’m trying to understand what concept we can bring differently and, you know, make R&B more relevant again.
Do you all have any other outside / additional aspirations, maybe even completely away from music?
Al Wayne: I love sports and I'm a huge fan of Mike Tomlin the HC of the Pittsburgh Steelers. I listen to him speak a lot and he is someone I inspire to be like.
CJayy: Personally, I want to own land. I want to purchase land. I want to be a realtor. I definitely want to go to school to learn how to do things like that. Bring different things to communities, and definitely help those that are less fortunate, have event centers, build boys and girls clubs, just kinda make a difference in the community.
Shaq Diesel: My son and my family inspire me.
To date, what has been your greatest career moment(s), at least thus far anyway?
Al Wayne: Meeting Babyface backstage after one of his performances. Singing happy birthday to Kym Whitley from Next Friday. The encore chants after performing on stage live.
CJayy: Man, personally my greatest moment in my career, so far is probably meeting Mr. Babyface being in his presence, and getting to just talk to him, and just being able to communicate with him because, you know, he's such a legend, man, so to be in the presence of greatness is always a great thing.
Shaq Diesel: Meeting Mr. Babyface, hands down.
What’s an average day like for you all?
Al Wayne: Wake up, workout, hit the clock, write and rehearsals is what my day usually consists of.
CJayy: Wow, good question…personally, waking up always praying first starts my day. After that breakfast. Getting the kids ready for school, getting them to school; it just kind of going through my day, going to work, taking care of things, you know, handling things that I need to handle for that day personally and resting.
Please discuss how you all interact with and respond to fans...
Al Wayne: We love taking lots of pictures with our fans. We love interacting with them while we are performing. And we always try to answer any questions they may have in person or online. We love them and they are the reason why we sacrifice our personal lives to push R&B music. We / They need it and we are happy to deliver.
CJayy: My favorite part of this work is honestly performing and seeing the joy on peoples’ faces and seeing people have a good time at our shows and, you know, reacting to our music again, you know, just give somebody a safe place to come to the let their hair down and just relax.
Shaq Diesel: I love our fans, seeing the smiles we put on people's faces.
What is your favorite part about this line of work? Your least favorite? And, why?
Al Wayne: Performing with my brothers making music. Traveling and meeting other amazing artists. Being away from my family is probably the hardest part for me.
CJayy: I really don’t have a least favorite part because all of it comes with the process, you know, you have to go through certain things and certain phases to get to where you want to so all of it is a part of the journey.
Shaq Diesel: Least favorite part is the haters.
What advice would you all have for someone wanting to follow in your footsteps?
Al Wayne: Never give up on your dreams. They may say no 100x but all you need is one yes to make it. Believe in yourself and trust your gut.
CJayy: Don’t give up, don't trust everybody and always trust your gut. Trust your first instinct, never second-guess yourself because at the end of the day the only person that can control what you do and what you think and how you feel is yourself so always stay positive and keep a strong head on your shoulders.
Shaq Diesel: Have a good team of people, like management, that knows the business.
Lastly, what’s next for 4Cast?
Al Wayne: New music and a Platinum hit Record.
CJayy: Pushing 'Girl U Good,' getting it to be one of the hottest and biggest songs in the world and changing the world one city at a time.
Shaq Diesel: What they said…and keep making good music that people all over the world can enjoy.
Is there anything I left out, or just plain forgot to mention?
Al Wayne: Follow us on social media and contact our manager, Uncle Jamz, if you would like to book us.
CJayy: "Definitely stay tuned to see what 4Cast has brewing. We have something good coming up…definitely stay tuned to our social media.
…Follow us on our social medias: @4Cast_HFM on Instagram and @4CastHFM on X and our website https://www.4castband.com"
Any "closing" thought(s) for our readers?
CJayy: Always remain positive, be that change in the world because there’s too much negativity in the world - bring some positivity and bring some light to someone’s life.
Music video for "Girl U Good" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiOySaEW52M
