22-year-old Atlanta native Cam the Artisan has had one hell of a run early in his career. He released his first full-length project, “Hues,” in February 2019, and his career has been a ride since. Now, he has his latest work, “Brown Skin,” released into the world. I spoke with Cam on what inspired the new single, as well as his experiences thus far since his first album.
Written By Amariyah Callender
Cam The Artisan.
Who inspires you to create the way you do? What artists influence your sound?
“Definitely Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, Andre 3000, Childish Gambino, and a very, very small percentage of Tyler, the Creator.”
Have you ever seen any of them in action?
“I’ve been to a J. Cole show, I've been to two Tyler the Creator shows. I met Andre 3000 twice, and of course, on top of that, watching their interviews and listening to that.”
When it comes to his recent single, “Brown Skin,” it’s a sort of love letter to Black women. He especially mentions those who hail from Atlanta.
“I think for that particular song, I was encouraging and uplifting Black women in general since not a lot of songs do that. I just wanted to create a song like that.”
When you dropped the video for "Brown Skin", we noticed you took some liberties with the video and marketing. Would you care to explain what that was like?
“Literally, we shot the video one or two days after the 10 people max law came into effect. What came to mind was ‘I need to get this knocked out before I’m not able to do anything.’ When it came to the rumor of me and one of the stars dating, I came up with that concept last minute, like a couple of days before the video came out. I think I posted it on a Friday and it blew up just in time like she had enough followers so I think I pulled it off."
“I’m just gonna push “Brown Skin” as much as I can and see what I can make shake from this release.”
After discussing the new, it was decided that it was time to look back on his success in the past.
How has life been for you after the success of “Hues”?
“It’s been pretty wild, honestly, with that being my very first project and all the things I’ve done since it’s been out. Everything just caught me off guard, honestly, and now, every time I go into the city, someone notices me and knows who I am…”
He mentioned his most notable collaborations that impacted his career, including Sprite and Spinrilla, both of which gave him a platform as a rising artist.
“With things moving and shifting this early, I’m excited about the future, seriously.”
What song on Hues do you think is the best that you created?
“Personally, I feel like I connect the most with “Stress” out of the rest of the songs… It’s probably the best process out of any other songs I’ve made so far.”
Due to the success of “Hues, he has done many live performances after it’s release.
So, I’ve noticed that you’ve performed live for quite sometime before this whole quarantine. Tell me about your first experience with performing live. Would you say that your experience pushed you into becoming a better artist?
“My very first live performance was so terrible. By the time I finished the second song, my voice went out. The crowd wasn’t really feeling me or what I had to say. As time went on, I got more comfortable with performing and now I’d say it’s one of my strong suits.”
What live performance was your favorite to do?
“My favorite performance was when I performed at Kennesaw State’s homecoming in the fall.”
It was at this point that I felt a bit special, as I currently go to Kennesaw State and actually attended this homecoming concert.
“It was my biggest crowd I’ve had thus far and the crowd was very active. The stuff that I would usually do at smaller shows, they were very involved with that. There was just great energy overall.”
On the subject of live performances, Lotus Rosery shows are an event that he frequently attends and performs at. He spoke highly of his relationship with Lotus Rosery and its creators.
“They always allow me to keep going and elevate harder as an artist when I’m performing.”
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