Today we’d like to introduce you to Cameron London.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
It’s crazy to look back and remember that all of this started with being signed up for a high school talent show as a joke. I spent the rest of high school studying and practicing, teaching myself as much as I could to release my first album on the day I graduated. There were a lot of obstacles back then: my parents’ house caught on fire and I lost almost all of my music. Since we were staying with my grandad, who had no internet, I had to spend hours in the McDonald’s near my house for free wifi just to do homework and record/edit songs in the corner of the sitting area. I think dealing with everything that was happening really solidified my belief that this path would be incredibly difficult, and that it was something I could accomplish. Over the years, I did anything and everything I could to try and get to where I imagined I could with music. Crashing radio station events, performances, interviews, even sneaking into Target, Walmart, and Best Buy to put my album on the shelf, hoping people would be curious enough to buy it. Looking back, I can understand why many people thought I was wasting my time, because I looked desperate. But now? I think it was all necessary to give me the perspective and appreciation of the journey. Since all this started, I’ve built out my record label, 1033 Records, built relationships with dozens of artists, and even spent time teaching a new generation of artists. Things may not look how I envisioned they would as a child, but I’m blessed and grateful to have built a career from music.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s been anything but a smooth journey. Whether it was losing my discography multiple times to technical failure, losing family, nearly dying… it definitely hasn’t been smooth, but I appreciate every part of the journey. Without everything that happened, I know I wouldn’t be the person I am today. I look back sometimes and think about choices I could have made that would have made me more money or gained more popularity, but then I think about everything I would have lost in exchange. A major struggle I still deal with is being overly helpful and mistaking business for friendship. My close friends and family say I’m helpful by nature, and I don’t really enjoy meaningless interaction. I build relationships and then work from there, but it took a long time to understand that just because that’s how my mind works, not everyone cares about that. A lot of people are ready to conduct business, and it’s no deeper than that, which is fine, but when it comes to something as vulnerable and intimate as creating art, I still struggle with commodifying it that way.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
At my core, I’m an artist. The bulk of my work is in music, specifically Hip-Hop and R&B. At this stage of my career, I work at every stage of the music creation process. Recording, mixing, songwriting, producing- you name it, and I do it, whether for myself or for other artists or companies. I’ve spent the last few years really trying to shed more light on my record label, 1033 Records, by executive producing projects and aiding in artist development without the pressure of a traditional label structure. I’ve also explored becoming an author. I released the first book of my series, ‘Kyren’, back in 2018, just as a fun pastime. But recently, I’ve given it the same love and attention as my music, and I’m currently working on the 7th book in the series, “Tales of the Kyren Universe, Vol. 1”.
I think what I’m most proud of, with everything I’ve done, is that whether things are going phenomenally or I hit a rough patch, I’ve remained true to myself and my goals. I haven’t disrespected myself to make a dollar or set aside my morals for success. It may be a longer road, and things may be a bit harder having to do so much alone, but that’s okay.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I choose to be optimistic about the music industry’s future. I know AI songs and “artists” have been flooding streaming services, and people are somewhat dismissive of artists who are still genuinely writing and creating, but I don’t think it will ever truly replace human art. I think we will see a meaningful shift back to purchasing and owning music rather than subscriptions. It may not be on a grand scale, since many people crave convenience, but I think it will be somewhat of a cultural divide that causes real music to be valued and appreciated more. I also think the thrill of “overnight success” will begin to diminish, outshined by genuine passion and talent.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.1033records.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cameronlondon
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/cameronlondon1033
- Other: https://cameronlondon.bandcamp.com
