Interview: cam gnarly + d.o.f. + dunn deal promotions

San Bernardino, California rapper Cam Gnarly presents the Ivn MZA/Cam Gnarly-directed music video for “LowPro”, the Troi Breeze-produced new single from Cam’s forthcoming album GOPRO, featuring JaimetheJedi and DCXDCXDC as well as production from Lance Cooper, Cas1, The Billionaires, Gypsy Mamba and Giezi & *Tifase of Foreign Languages. 2012 saw the release of Cam’s debut album Cam Meets World (listen) and he made appearances on 2013’s The €RiLL¥ Album alongside his €RiLL¥ FAM collective (listen). Cam has shared stages with Kendrick Lamar, Dom Kennedy, Curren$y, Casey Veggies, Skeme, Overdoz and Pac Div & many more. “I wrote ‘Low Pro’ to express my desire to no longer be low-profile and progress to a higher plateau a.k.a. ‘go pro’,” Cam explains. “It’s a day in the life; describing the city I’m from to the music I make down to the weed I smoke and who I choose to smoke it with. I’m telling you that this isn’t enough for me though and my mentality is to go further. It turned out being the unintentional anthem of the project, from Low Pro to Go Pro.” GOPRO dropped on February 28.

What’s your name Cam Gnarly all about?

Cam Gnarly started as a nickname I made up because my name is Cameron and my last name starts with a G. and I was always doing and trying some gnarly shit that nobody else had the balls to try or suggest. I thought it was just a funny play on words then people just kinda grasped onto it too. Either was I'm still Cam. Real name, no gimmicks.

What was it like opening up for Kendrick Lamar?

Opening for Kendrick was really cool. It was before he had officially blown up like around the Section 80 days. I think Schoolboy Q was still his hypeman too. It was one of my earliest shows as a solo artist. I still have fans that's been riding for me since that date. It was a very dope show. Seeing their growth as a people and as an artists has always been an inspiration toward what I do.

What do you say is the difference between being “low pro” and “going pro” as a rap artist?

The difference between being a "low pro" rapper and "going pro" as a rapper is rather simple. If you’re a low-profile rapper, you’re not really out here trying to push your music to the people. The worst case of such is like sitting behind your computer just spamming a Soundcloud link to a million people expecting them to give a fuck, or not showing face in the streets, meeting the people or showcasing your work besides on the internet. Not to say that there's anything wrong with promoting your music online, but you gotta come with more than that to be considered going pro. A pro sees no limits to how to get to it, constantly boosting their awareness and knowledge then taking everything to a higher plateau. Gotta go pro before it's too late, can't stay low pro forever.

What do you think it’s going to take for you to blow up in this industry?

Well anybody can get their little 15 minutes of fame - that's not my concern. I’m focused on staying creative and inspired to maintain longevity. I just wanna be able to continue my upward mobility as an artist and as a man, wherever that will take me. Keeping my intentions pure, keeping my awareness up, keeping my vision clear and remaining true and honest to who I am. That's what it will take though. I plan to stay working and stay growing. If I blow up then tight.

What’s your favorite non-rap album of all time?

My favorite non-rap album of all time is a really hard question that could change daily but today I've gotta go with Jimi Hendrix, Midnight Lightning. It was a posthumous complication album that I had on vinyl when I was younger. The Voodoo Child was an amazing artist.