WHAT’S REALLY GOOD? Let Cam’ron tell it, streaming is the wave of money-making for entertainers, specifically those in the music industry. Cam explains the ease of access in streaming despite people’s nostalgia for music and visiting record stores. The “Purple Haze” rapper noted the cultural and generational significance of streaming in that the younger generation can easily tap into old-school music, giving the classics a longer shelf life. He says the older generation will have to learn it, albeit “more tricky than just doing math from selling records or CDS or tape any type of physical form of music.” He said they “gotta learn it just like you have to learn that form of music as well.” As for his own streaming business, Cam’ron plans to expand programming. “I’m actually starting another network as well; not just sports, but other content, music, movies, sitcoms.” It probably makes sense to pick up on what he’s putting down. Cam’s journey is proof of possibility and how jumping into new lanes and new technologies might bring success—not to mention the consistency and hustling heart. Nowadays, Cam’ron is looking toward the mountains—figuratively and literally. He’s considering buying swaths of land to develop in the mountain time zones—think Arizona, Utah. North Dakota. His circle is so diverse that he has a friend who produces spring water from his own land. “You gotta surround yourself with certain types of people who own mountains and pump water out of them and sell the water,” Cam chuckled. “I know somebody who owns a few mountains, and I never even knew you can own mountains. You know what I’m saying? It’s about learning different things.” Cam’ron has yet to figure out his end goal. He says he’s unsure and that once “the machine” is self-functioning, he’s “off to the next thing and trying to build something different.” Cam shows no signs of slowing his roll, as he describes a modus operandi that has surely worked for him for almost three decades, and though when Cam references “the machine,” he is referring to his projects, I am curious if he knows that he, too, is “the machine.” “Even though I be trying to take care of myself, I still be working and sh*t,” he said. Although he has moments of retreat, where he indulges in yacht life, Cam’ron acknowledges that he’s a workaholic, oftentimes pushing himself well beyond the norm and, at other times, beyond physical limits. He admits to filming episodes of It Is What It Is while being hospitalized. Despite it all, Cam’ron is health conscious, eating better and exercising, and being laser-focused on his wellness due to health risks and hereditary high blood pressure in his family. The end goal discussion is reframed as a question about retirement and what that looks like for Cam’Ron. He says his accountant has him stacking money and that “retirement looks like this,” meaning like his current station in life. “I’m old. I just look good. You know what I’m saying?” Cam affirmed. “You gotta realize I get to watch sports and then go talk about it for an hour, then go online and ask how many people bought Pink Horse Power or get to look at this property and place people I trust to build whatever they build.” Cam’ron is pleased with himself and is extremely proud of the life and career he’s conceived for himself, having hailed from a storied hood during one of the most notorious drug eras of our time and surpassed talented others who have succumbed to the streets and the drug game—user and dealers—his reality could be a lot different.
Source: Black Enterprise
