Tommy Cash to represent Estonia at Eurovision 2025, and his connection to Russia

Tommy Cash biography

Tommy Cash, born Thomas Tammemets in 1991 in the Kopli district of Tallinn, one of the city's poorest areas, has Russian and Estonian roots. His father spoke Russian, while his mother spoke Estonian. The rapper has often mentioned his mixed heritage: his paternal grandmother was Russian, and his maternal grandmother was Ukrainian.

Tommy Cash (photo: instagram.com/tommycashworld)

Tommy Cash recalls his childhood as modest: his family lived in a one-room apartment, with one wall decorated with photo wallpaper of motorcyclists. From a young age, he was interested in music, listening to Eminem's tapes and trying to create his own lyrics, typing them on an old typewriter in a made-up English language.

After finishing school, the future artist worked as a cleaner and a waiter, while spending his free time dancing. Later, he began performing as a backup dancer with popular Estonian artists.

Tommy Cash (photo: instagram.com/tommycashworld)

In 2013, he decided to focus on his own career and started releasing music.

Career

The rapper's first music video, "Guez Whoz Bak," was released in September 2013 and won the "Demo of the Year" award. In the provocative video, the rapper rapped in English with a noticeable Russian accent while surrounded by girls at a garbage dump.

After that, Tommy Cash started touring Estonia and then performed in Finland, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Latvia, and Russia. He chose the stage name Tommy Cash in honor of American singer Johnny Cash.

The rapper's music is distinguished by its close connection to dance. He mentioned that he always enjoyed creating his own moves and participating in dance battles.

Tommy Cash (photo: instagram.com/tommycashworld)

He shared how he trained with b-boys (breakdancers) and then created his unique combinations. Tammemets often danced at night, recording his moves on video.

Cash believed his success was due to being the first in Estonia to find his unique niche.

In his work, he incorporates elements such as carpets, Adidas tracksuits, Orthodox icons, as well as the aesthetics of the '90s and the post-Soviet era.

Tommy Cash (photo: instagram.com/tommycashworld)

Connections to Russia

Tommy Cash's first collaboration with Russian artists occurred in 2015 when he filmed a music video with the band Little Big.

The band was set to represent Russia at Eurovision 2020, but their participation was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Shortly after, Tommy and Ilya Prusikin, the leader of Little Big, appeared together in the series American Russians, which brought Tommy new popularity among Russian audiences.

In 2021, he briefly visited Crimea, and in 2022, he avoided making a clear statement regarding the start of the large-scale war.

Tommy Cash (photo: instagram.com/tommycashworld)

After the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, Tommy Cash canceled his concerts in Kyiv, Moscow, and St. Petersburg.

He commented on his decision, saying, "It's very hard to accept the current military actions, it's all very sad! I am a strong opponent of any military aggression! And I fully support the Ukrainian people and the people of Russia who do not support the invasion; it's not their choice... This is an extremely sad situation, and I really hope that soon I will be able to return to these beautiful countries to perform my new music there."

Eurovision 2025 participation

On February 15, it was announced that Tommy Cash will participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2025. The rapper received 83% of the votes from viewers. He will perform with the song "Espresso Macchiato."

The melody of the Estonian hit is catchy and spreading rapidly on social media: the song has already gained 2.3 million views on YouTube, and nearly 2,000 videos have been created on TikTok using the track.

In an interview with the Baltic publication Delfi, the performer explained that the song is perfect for the contest, as coffee (espresso macchiato - a method of preparing coffee) has the ability to bring people together.

It is worth noting that the staging of the performance was done by scriptwriter and director Alina Pyazok, who was born in Chelyabinsk.

By the way, Eurovision 2025 will be held in the Swiss city of Basel, as last year’s winner was Switzerland's representatives Nemo with the song "The Code." The semifinals will take place on May 13 and 15, with the grand final on May 17.

Sources: Tommy Cash Instagram page, Wikipedia, Delfi.