"they almost took us out but we still alive"
Cam Be's hip hop politico is a convergence of America's deplorable history, civil rights struggles, black affirmation and a mirror for all of us, the human spirit done up sonically like a house party. Cam Be is a multi-threat artist as a film director, photographer, musician, DJ and music producer so it is no wonder that "Fade Away" has that kind of sweeping narrative throughout. He stuffs a sort of old school mid 90's hip hop flavor but fuses in blues / funk and jazz affections as the vocal bounce / melody feels (again) feels so cooly old school while the repetitive horns hook replays like a sort of 50's doo wop backing vocal melody.
The song itself feeling like a party, a celebration maybe a metaphor how joy and celebration through music, through art and artful expression has been an integral, a fucking integral weapon in surviving generational racism and the human struggle. When Cam Be jovially introduces us to the party, to the smokes and drinks and says "this is just a celebration, cuz we still here 2020 you know what I'm saying? they almost took us out but we're still alive god damnit, ha ha, you know what I'm saying... maaan you can't kill a black man..." and you feel the broad smiles and swollen chests, the endurance of solidarity and truth.
The Official Video for "Fade Away" from Cam Be's recently released album "Summer in September" is an ode to classic black cinema.
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:
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Cam Be is a film director, photographer, musician, DJ and music producer. His central passion for filmmaking emerged during his studies at New York Film Academy (2006) and Columbia College in Chicago (2008-2010). In 2012 Cam received an Emmy award for his role as producer with NBC Chicago in the arts and entertainment series “About Last Night.” His first feature length documentary "The Exchange" is available online at Amazon Video. His short documentary "Where Flowers Bloom," the making of the Grammy Nominated Hip-Hop album 'Laila's Wisdom' by Rapsody was released on Tidal in 2018. May 11, 2018 Cam debuted his first solo photo exhibition So I Wrote Love in the Sky at Good Details Gallery in Chicago, IL. He release two LP's with the Hip-Hop/Rock band Untitled Wake Up! (2007) and Rebirth: Darkness (2010) and a duo project Cam Be + Josh Free Be Free (2015) 7 Steps to 7, his first solo album was released May 2018 as a soundtrack to the exhibition. His follow up album Summer in September was release December 1, 2020. Cam Be is based out of Chicago and is the Owner and Creative Director of Camovement.
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