Cam Carter Is The Next Rapper To Blow Out Of Memphis
Straight out of Memphis, Tennessee, Cam Carter has been grinding to make his dreams a reality! From graduating with a business degree at the University of Mississippi to Moving across the country, Carter’s passion for music is one of a kind! He’s getting ready to drop his debut album, “Halo Into Hell” and believe me its an album worth waiting for! The Independent artist/songwriter has been dropping heat all year. His newest singles “Spaceships” and “Just Listen” are just previews for what to expect on his debut album! Carter has been working in the studio on music that has a range of hip-hop AND pop you won’t be able to turn off!
Get to know Cam Carter Below:
What inspired your artist name? And where did you get the name from?
It’s an abbreviation of my name. My mom and dad named me Matthew Cameron Carter and I remember her telling me that “Cam Carter” would sound like a badass nascar driver. When I was younger people called me “Half Pint”, which was a football and whisky reference because I could lay a heavy hit compared to my physical size. So I’d hit you like a half pint of whisky. A half pint maybe small, but it gets the job done. I even had that bannered across my windshield in big letters in high school. Everyone knew my car back in them days. I tried that as an artist name, but it was too common. Later down the road my friend Lan Woods dubbed me as “Milk and Cookies” because I was supposed to get blunts from the store but came back with milk and cookies instead, and they happened to be watching the Bernie Mac stand up segment where he is looking all crazy saying, “Milk and Cookies!”. That later flipped to “Milk Money” which I still use as an alter ego. However, Cam Carter is my name. I want people to know me for me. It has alliteration so it rolls off of the tongue and is easy to remember.
You moved across the country, where and why?
I currently live in Los Angeles, California. I moved here after my mother tragically passed away in 2014. I’ve always wanted to visit, but I’d always had excuses of why I couldn’t do this or that. When I lost her, I was in a very dark place and my dad helped me a lot. It was him that helped me be here. I knew something in my life needed to change and it was time to leave everything I know behind, and move on to the next chapter of my life.
What is YOUR genre? Do you stick to Hip-Hop or do you try a little bit of everything?
My primary genre is hip hop. However, I am a song writer first and I don’t let a genre barrier hold me back from writing anything that I feel in the particular moment. I like to capture energy and utilize my ghosts and channel it into a story that paints a picture of whatever it is I see. Hip Hop is much more lyric based so I gravitate towards it more because I’m a poet with a large vocabulary. I like how I can break rules and change the pronunciation of words to make them better rhyme. Also, I have a southern accent and that helps me swag out certain words. I like to teach people new words in my music and use internal rhymes and a lot of poetic techniques to strengthen the quality of lyrics. I am starting to write more country and pop music because I want other artists to sing the music that I won’t record myself. That way I can fall back and write songs while I still record the music I write for myself.
When did you start doing music? And when did you start taking it seriously?
I started writing music in middle school. Most of the time I tapped on a table and just wrote my songs that way. I didn’t go to a professional recording studio until I met Kingpin Skinny Pimp at his house in East Memphis in 2009. At his house I met one of my best friends Phillip “Big Phil” Hudson, a sound engineer in Memphis that has a credit list that’s on a different level. He recorded my first songs “Jumanji” and “No More” in South Memphis and he helped build relationships with some of the best studios in that area. I became friends with other artists such as Teflon Don, Dre Fargo, Frayser Boy, Popalock, Gangsta Blac, Tom Skeemask, Tommy Wright III, DJ Spanish Fly, Miscellaneous, Alex Webster, and Yo Lynch. I didn’t just meet them. I built relationships with them, slept at their homes, and was treated like I was a part of their family. When I was in high school, I used to promote Frayser Boy cd’s. I learned that you can be what you want to be if you just keep it real with yourself. And that’s a major part of doing music. It took a long time before I gained the confidence to pursue what I am doing now.
Do you have any special talents other than music?
I have a talent for creating things and I love it…I can draw and paint, but I haven’t made the time for it in a while. I design or arrange all of my cover art. The more complicated art like the animations, I outsource. I am very much in the ear of the artist as they are designing. The artist that designed the “Self Destruct”, “Just Listen”, and “Anything for that Body” covers says that he enjoys working with me because I push him and challenge him and he grows each time.
What inspires your sound/music?
I am inspired by the greats. I have a love and respect for certain artists. But at the end of the day, I am competing against myself. I am my own worst enemy. I am the master of my fate. Now it’s just me verses the clock.
Who/What is your motivation?
I would never be anywhere close to where I am now or done any of my accomplishments without having a great mom and dad. As I mentioned, my mother died… but she lives through me now. My mom is my engine and my dad is my gas.
What impact are you looking to make with your music? Who do you want to impact?
I want to bring people together. I want people that don’t like hip hop to give my music a chance so I can change their opinions and taste in music. I want to play off of every emotion and make people never feel alone. When they put on one of my records, I want them to always feel they have a friend and someone that understands them and whatever they are going through. Learning to relate is the impact I want to leave behind. No matter what we go through, we’ll always have words.
Cam Carter is at the top of his game right now! Keep an eye out for his new track, “Pink Panther” featuring Memphis Hip Hop Legend Kingpin Skinny Pimp set to be released SOON!
Stream Cam Carter on all MAJOR streaming platforms.
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