Uprising music talent in NOLA
Title
Uprising music talent in NOLA
Format
Moving Image
Creator
Aniana Johnson
Original Format
Transcription
Q: Introduce yourself, state your name, major and where you’re from
A: I am Cameron Lumar, I am a sophomore psychology major here. I am from New Orleans born and raised
Q: How long have you been singing? What age did you discover you could sing?
Umm, I have really been singing my whole life but it really became a thing that people knew I do when I was like. One of my teachers heard me singing throughout the hallway and she snitched on me! She told my parents, she was like "I think your son can sing" so they put me in the music program so unfortunately I had to sing and R.Kelly song for my audition and I was like six and I sang "I believe you can fly" and I got in the music program and I hated it!
Me: You didn't like it?
Cam: No I did not like it, I felt like they weren't teaching me anything I was interested in. It's hard to be the only black kid in the class and the only boy, and we're talking about classical music and it didn't appeal to me but yeah since I was like five so fifteen years.
0Q: What's your favorite part about writing music?
Cam: The fact I can be as honest as possible and really say things that would otherwise be really hard for me to say like out loud using words. I think that by making music it makes it easier for me put it in a disgest-able form.
Q: What does the song-writing process look like for you?
Cam; I've noticed its really about the songs just come to me. I'm not somebody that can just sit down and be like "Okay I need to write a song" and I really have been working hard to do that because I have obligations when it comes to music.
Q: What’s your typical environment when you’re creating music?
Cam: It has to be dark, like it just...most of my songs are written at like four in the morning when I can't sleep or something and I have to be alone like I cant write around anybody. I'll literally lock my door if I'm recording.
Q: Is anyone in your family musically inclined? Including singers or musicians
Cam: Yes actually. On my dad’s side specifically um my grandmother she sings, she’s ahead of the choir at her church, my cousin she’s also a singer, she sings better than I can.
Me: So yall probably having competitions
Cam: No, I don't want that- I don't want no smoke and also my cousin he's a rapper he just did a tape recently so yeah music is all around us.
Q: In what ways do you feel like your childhood has influenced your music career?
I grew up in a household where every single generation of music was represented so I love so many different genres and I love so many different decades of music like I'm a huge Monica fan. "That's Why I Love You So Much" is like a top five song. I've always been a huge Alicia Keys fan.
I hated the radio as a little kid because I was like "Why I cant pause my music?" so we just had Cds, we had a seven-disc CD chamber. So yeah I've grown up around a lot of art my mom is a huge R&B hit and my grandmother she has one of the biggest vinyl collections I've ever seen. She lets me listen to them wheneve I want and we will play a different song, her favorite song to listen to is shotgun… The Brother's Johnson, Michael Jackson she has a Boosie mixtape like an OG Boosie mixtape...I don't know why she has it, she's a seventy-year-old woman. But yeah, I just grew up around a lot of music
Q: Who inspires you? Music-wise and/or in general
Cam: Music wise, I am a huge Childish Gambino fan. I'm a huge Isiah Rashad fan. Um, I love The Weeknd, actually. Brent Faiyaz right now is my favorite singer I would have to say. Obviously, Kanye and Drake because I sing and rap so it's like very obvious. It really depends on how I'm feeling
Q: Describe New Orleans culture in your own words
Cam: Flashy. Also has some greediness to it, everything we do we do it big. When you think of Lousiana, you think all of the super seasoning in the food, we season our seasoning with seasoning. You think of Mardi Gras, you think of the big flashing lights of the parades...masks...second line. SO you know there is like a definite flashiness we show off because if you live here, it's just something about it like you love it here like you're definitely gonna have a good time if you come to New Orleans
Q: If you could collaborate with any artist who would it be? Why?
Cam: All time?
Me: You can pick a couple, I said artist or artist(s)
Cam: Pharell, definitely. Daniel Caesar. Let’s see uh definitely Isiah Rashad and SZA.
Q: Who do you feel like you make music for, who can connect to your music?
Cam: People around my age group. A lot of the stuff I talk about, the stuff you experience being a teenager in college and stressed out and you don't really know where you are or what you're doing and everyone is expecting you to be an adult but you don't necessarily...you weren't prepared. I think at one point where I was like I have to write a song and don't say the word "lost" because like I am so confused. Our experience growing up is definitely different from any other generation and I think that I try my hardest to demonstrate that the best way I can. Also, a lot of sad people and I like to write about love...love is powerful. I'm definitely a water sign, I am a Pisces and my moon sign is a Scorpio, I'm a 50 percent water sign.
Q: Where do you see your music career in the next five years?
I want to at least have grown as an artist. I want to learn something new. I want to pick up a new instrument. I want to learn something new about production. I want to sing certain things in a certain way or put certain rhyme schemes together. I want to be on tour. I want to be able to retire both of my parents and be able to provide for my family and put my sisters through college. That's where I want to be and that's where I'm going to be.
Q: Describe your support system and how they motivate you to make music
Ah man, my family is super supportive first and foremost. It makes it so much easier to have people that are supportive from the jump. My mom always tells me "I think you should take music more seriously all the time and like my sister, she gets first dibs on all my music. My friends are always super supportive and even people that I have met through music. Just like the sheer amount of people who come up to me on a daily basis. It's still weird to me that anyone even wants to listen to my music, you know? It's amazing to me. I definitely get bullied a lot to make music. Yeah no definitely my friends bully me into dropping music and that's just because they support me. Definitely my group, The Deviants, shout out to Jacobe, Caleb, Khalil, Micah, Ken, my dude Kylar, Javon, mister major key himself the whole gang
Q: Do you feel like music is an outlet for you?
Definitely. Like, if I don't write a song for too long, I'm gonna explode. I just have to.
Q: What advice would you give to younger singers who want to venture out and pursue music?
Listen to as many genres as possible. People are always looking for the next big thing and most of the time the next big thing is usually somebody changing something and making it newer or better. Also, make sure, don't be afraid to critique yourself but also recognize that you can over critique yourself. Don't be too hard on yourself and be honest, that's the best way to go about it.
A: I am Cameron Lumar, I am a sophomore psychology major here. I am from New Orleans born and raised
Q: How long have you been singing? What age did you discover you could sing?
Umm, I have really been singing my whole life but it really became a thing that people knew I do when I was like. One of my teachers heard me singing throughout the hallway and she snitched on me! She told my parents, she was like "I think your son can sing" so they put me in the music program so unfortunately I had to sing and R.Kelly song for my audition and I was like six and I sang "I believe you can fly" and I got in the music program and I hated it!
Me: You didn't like it?
Cam: No I did not like it, I felt like they weren't teaching me anything I was interested in. It's hard to be the only black kid in the class and the only boy, and we're talking about classical music and it didn't appeal to me but yeah since I was like five so fifteen years.
0Q: What's your favorite part about writing music?
Cam: The fact I can be as honest as possible and really say things that would otherwise be really hard for me to say like out loud using words. I think that by making music it makes it easier for me put it in a disgest-able form.
Q: What does the song-writing process look like for you?
Cam; I've noticed its really about the songs just come to me. I'm not somebody that can just sit down and be like "Okay I need to write a song" and I really have been working hard to do that because I have obligations when it comes to music.
Q: What’s your typical environment when you’re creating music?
Cam: It has to be dark, like it just...most of my songs are written at like four in the morning when I can't sleep or something and I have to be alone like I cant write around anybody. I'll literally lock my door if I'm recording.
Q: Is anyone in your family musically inclined? Including singers or musicians
Cam: Yes actually. On my dad’s side specifically um my grandmother she sings, she’s ahead of the choir at her church, my cousin she’s also a singer, she sings better than I can.
Me: So yall probably having competitions
Cam: No, I don't want that- I don't want no smoke and also my cousin he's a rapper he just did a tape recently so yeah music is all around us.
Q: In what ways do you feel like your childhood has influenced your music career?
I grew up in a household where every single generation of music was represented so I love so many different genres and I love so many different decades of music like I'm a huge Monica fan. "That's Why I Love You So Much" is like a top five song. I've always been a huge Alicia Keys fan.
I hated the radio as a little kid because I was like "Why I cant pause my music?" so we just had Cds, we had a seven-disc CD chamber. So yeah I've grown up around a lot of art my mom is a huge R&B hit and my grandmother she has one of the biggest vinyl collections I've ever seen. She lets me listen to them wheneve I want and we will play a different song, her favorite song to listen to is shotgun… The Brother's Johnson, Michael Jackson she has a Boosie mixtape like an OG Boosie mixtape...I don't know why she has it, she's a seventy-year-old woman. But yeah, I just grew up around a lot of music
Q: Who inspires you? Music-wise and/or in general
Cam: Music wise, I am a huge Childish Gambino fan. I'm a huge Isiah Rashad fan. Um, I love The Weeknd, actually. Brent Faiyaz right now is my favorite singer I would have to say. Obviously, Kanye and Drake because I sing and rap so it's like very obvious. It really depends on how I'm feeling
Q: Describe New Orleans culture in your own words
Cam: Flashy. Also has some greediness to it, everything we do we do it big. When you think of Lousiana, you think all of the super seasoning in the food, we season our seasoning with seasoning. You think of Mardi Gras, you think of the big flashing lights of the parades...masks...second line. SO you know there is like a definite flashiness we show off because if you live here, it's just something about it like you love it here like you're definitely gonna have a good time if you come to New Orleans
Q: If you could collaborate with any artist who would it be? Why?
Cam: All time?
Me: You can pick a couple, I said artist or artist(s)
Cam: Pharell, definitely. Daniel Caesar. Let’s see uh definitely Isiah Rashad and SZA.
Q: Who do you feel like you make music for, who can connect to your music?
Cam: People around my age group. A lot of the stuff I talk about, the stuff you experience being a teenager in college and stressed out and you don't really know where you are or what you're doing and everyone is expecting you to be an adult but you don't necessarily...you weren't prepared. I think at one point where I was like I have to write a song and don't say the word "lost" because like I am so confused. Our experience growing up is definitely different from any other generation and I think that I try my hardest to demonstrate that the best way I can. Also, a lot of sad people and I like to write about love...love is powerful. I'm definitely a water sign, I am a Pisces and my moon sign is a Scorpio, I'm a 50 percent water sign.
Q: Where do you see your music career in the next five years?
I want to at least have grown as an artist. I want to learn something new. I want to pick up a new instrument. I want to learn something new about production. I want to sing certain things in a certain way or put certain rhyme schemes together. I want to be on tour. I want to be able to retire both of my parents and be able to provide for my family and put my sisters through college. That's where I want to be and that's where I'm going to be.
Q: Describe your support system and how they motivate you to make music
Ah man, my family is super supportive first and foremost. It makes it so much easier to have people that are supportive from the jump. My mom always tells me "I think you should take music more seriously all the time and like my sister, she gets first dibs on all my music. My friends are always super supportive and even people that I have met through music. Just like the sheer amount of people who come up to me on a daily basis. It's still weird to me that anyone even wants to listen to my music, you know? It's amazing to me. I definitely get bullied a lot to make music. Yeah no definitely my friends bully me into dropping music and that's just because they support me. Definitely my group, The Deviants, shout out to Jacobe, Caleb, Khalil, Micah, Ken, my dude Kylar, Javon, mister major key himself the whole gang
Q: Do you feel like music is an outlet for you?
Definitely. Like, if I don't write a song for too long, I'm gonna explode. I just have to.
Q: What advice would you give to younger singers who want to venture out and pursue music?
Listen to as many genres as possible. People are always looking for the next big thing and most of the time the next big thing is usually somebody changing something and making it newer or better. Also, make sure, don't be afraid to critique yourself but also recognize that you can over critique yourself. Don't be too hard on yourself and be honest, that's the best way to go about it.
Files
