Producer Michael Cash had a notion that he believed may be significant a few years ago. The hometown of Bob Dylan, Woodstock, New York, is where Cash is based. Early in the pandemic, he began to consider the virtually unheard-of Lost on the River: The New Basement Tapes Dylan-related album from the middle of the 2010s, which featured songs by Elvis Costello, Marcus Mumford, and Rhiannon Giddens that were based on recently discovered Dylan lyrics.
Cash, whose background is mostly in hip-hop, thought he could further the idea because he was familiar with the album’s producer, T Bone Burnett. He imagined Dylan’s songs being covered by artists like Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, and Post Malone for an album. Cash remembers, “So I asked to T Bone, ‘Would you mind if I made The Attic MP3s or something? I want to mess around with the entire archetype. He then says, “Run with it.”
Cash suggested that Post Malone record a Dylan song by getting in touch with Dylan’s longtime agent, Jeff Rosen. Cash claims that Rosen was drawn to Malone because of his large streaming statistics, Dylan fandom and that he has interacted amicably with the veteran musician. Cash claims that he forwarded Rosen a picture of Malone’s left bicep’s Dylan tattoo as well as a link to Malone’s well-known cover of Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right.”
After a while, Cash got some encouraging news. He claims that it was at two in the morning. ‘Bob’s going to write you something,’ Jeff texts me. He wants to create something, especially for this, and he has something in mind. (According to a source close to the Dylan camp, Dylan had the lyrics on hand.)
Cash recalls the day—November 18, 2020—when Rosen forwarded the song’s lyrics, “Be Not Deceived.” In summarizing Dylan’s lyrics, Cash explains, “It was talking about a loss of innocence.” “And what people are experiencing is disenfranchised, sort of leaderless crowds of youngsters lacking any type of father, guardian, shepherd, or other figure. It discussed setting out on your own and finding success. And when you read it, it really does read like poetry. It’s gorgeous.
Cash and Malone spoke over the phone after Rosen forwarded the song’s lyrics. “I read [the lyrics] to him,” he claims. Post “was sobbing really hard.”
The Basement Tapes were recorded at Big Pink in Saugerties, New York. From there, take Route 212 east and cross the Hudson River. You can find Michael Cash’s studio by traveling a few more miles and turning down a peaceful country road. It’s a large, light place with five pianos, a Moog, a Roland, along a Hofner bass, among other instruments, built in an ancient barn on 10 acres. “This is kind of like a super fucking breakfast place for rock stars,” says Cash. “You can arrive, shut yourself in, go hiking, or get lost without running into anyone.
The attitude is that you may enter the studio whenever you wish and simply tell the engineer to “Run it.”
Cash traveled a circuitous route to get there. He spent a lot of his adolescence working on hip-hop projects, including time spent at well-known rap companies SRC and Loud Records. He was born and raised in Yonkers, a suburb of New York City. He worked with DJ Whoo Kid, who, among others, produced and hosted mixtapes for 50 Cent and G Unit. Before 50 Cent was shot, I was collaborating with Whoo Kid on his Murda Mixtapes, Cash explains. I’ve created a ton of music that nobody knows about.
He relocated to Woodstock in 2014 after becoming enamored with its past and allure. In his own words, “I did the whole hip-hop thing, after which you start to listen to other music,” he reflects. Because of the scene there, man, music in the Hudson Valley is just sort of my thing. Up there, there are many talented musicians.
A few years later, in Cash’s studio in Woodstock, Burnett and Cash collaborated on an unfinished record called The Covenant that featured Black Thought of the Roots, Cassandra Wilson, Elvis Costello, DJ Premier, Nathaniel Rateliff, and other musicians. Although that project stalled out due to the epidemic, it gave rise to the concept of the Dylan collaborations.
Malone went to Cash’s studio in March 2021 to record “Be Not Deceived.” Cash claims that Malone hired a property nearby that was a “palatial palace,” and that Malone also brought his mother, girlfriend, and a film team. According to the producer, Malone spent some time there “ghost hunting.” “No, seriously,” says Cash. ‘Yo, guy, I’m ghost hunting,’ he said. There are ghosts.
Cash claims that Malone thought the notoriously reclusive Dylan would show up to the sessions. They respond by saying, “Yeah, we heard Bob was going to be there,” according to Cash. “Yeah, dude. Exactly. Will Salman Rushdie accompany Edward Snowden there? (Malone declined to comment for this piece through a spokesman.)
Nevertheless, Cash claims that the sessions were successful: “We had a great time. Post is also a pretty cool kid, man. A version of the song was recorded by Cash, Malone, and a group that Cash claims included Malone’s producer Louis Bell.
Cash calculated that they completed around 40% of the work before Malone had to leave. We completed the stenciling, and he added some colors, but Cash asserts that he was not quite finished. It required flair. More layers were required. Although it wasn’t a whole piece of music, it was undoubtedly a song. It started, went through a middle, and ended. A chorus and a bridge were present. It only needed to be completed.
It is still not. “[Rosen] heard the song,” claims Cash. He enjoyed it, and after everyone left the studio, things just grew tense. All I can say is that it changed from being a cause for celebration to becoming merely a circular figure-eight pattern. Nobody could respond.
Cash tried his hardest to get Malone to finish the track but to no avail. I thought, ‘Dude, he’ll finish this track. The author is Bob Dylan. My error. I’m a moron. Simply put, this product was never going to be released.
Dylan’s squad eventually became impatient. Rosen reportedly told Cash, “Well, we’re just going to retract the lyrics,” at one point.
Cash explains that “Bob and Mr. Rosen do things in a particular way.” “They complete tasks in a New York minute, and then it developed into… They simply said, “This should be finished,” to be completely honest.
How did that go? Cash and Malone are mute on the specifics, and Malone says, “It just seems like nobody truly managed expectations and nobody communicated.” The creation of a truly amazing piece of music was followed by a bizarre turn of events. It became quite bizarre.
As part of a partnership between Dodge and Motor Trend, Cash has been busy with other endeavors, such as music curation. Hunter S. Thompson’s widow, Anita, and Ralph Steadman, a renowned illustrator whose work Cash co-curated for a recent exhibition, are helping him to preserve the writer’s legacy.
He had imagined a full Dylan cooperation record with even more well-known musicians, with the inscription, “Bob loves Drake.” He didn’t even complete one track, yet he has a positive outlook on the whole thing. Man, this feels like a fever dream, says Cash. “[It’s like] the pandemic killed us all. This is not true. Because it simply began out as people talking and sitting around, which was a fantastic idea, but it didn’t end up being one of those ideas that truly… It’s depressing as well, right?
Cash still aspires to finish “Be Not Deceived” in the future. He said, “My hope is that Mr. Dylan and Mr. Rosen will return the right to utilize the lyrics. “I would prefer that the record be completed. That’s essentially my final Jerry Springer idea. Perhaps it seemed strange, but these are two really significant musicians who, in my opinion, put in the work and deserve to have it recognized.