Today we’d like to introduce you to Cam Christian.
Hi Cam, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
As a navy brat in San Diego, I spent a lot of time alone. A place where I flourish. With my dad was overseas, mom working, and older bro’s up to whatever, my imagination was all I really had. When my dad retired, he packed us all up in a Cadillac and drove us across the country to his hometown of Yemassee, South Carolina. Over 2,000 miles across the nation and I still don’t have anyone my age to hang with. The folks I’ve been surrounded by that have molded me were, either way, older or way younger. Fast forward to middle school; my oldest brother Pun won the high school talent show for rapping his original song. Pun was bold. He never pursued a music career but he was my first example of writing and performing music. Those car rides with my dad was when I really learned music.
Being the inquisitive child I was, I would dissect the song. What the name of that one instrument? Who wrote it daddy? When was it made? Are they still alive? I wanted to know every single detail of the song. My older brother Brandon, known as Sam King, was the first time I saw someone pursue a music career. I don’t know what it was. No one else in our entire family has never taken their talents past church, so he forever has my respect for pioneering that. All along my dad was steady chasing a dream of his own. Although dropping out of school in 10th grade and being raised by a single mother of 10, my daddy always wanted something bigger. My mom tells me a story about how my dad always wanted his own car wash. Later on, I bring it up to my dad and he says, “I didn’t care if it was a car wash or not. I just wanted my own business.” See my dad never had a father figure. When he was still a baby, his dad, my grandfather, was electrocuted while working as an electrician in Jacksonville. I thank my father for instilling this entrepreneurial spirit in me. When I started making beats in high school, it was what differentiated me from just being a student-athlete. I always aimed to be a trendsetter. Being a follower was never interesting to me. Going into college, I had no idea what I wanted to do.
I chose psychology literally just because, BUT I did major in Media Arts because of my attraction to wanting to create something artistically. It was mostly camera stuff which was ok but it was worth the student loans. I decided to drop out and move back home. Being back home was humbling. My mom found this school in Orlando called Full Sail University where they had recording arts as a major. I was in. It was definitely a time that I appreciated in my life but I think I was just over school. I wanted to just do it already. I moved to Atlanta and started “doing music”. Some years later, I found myself on a cross country tour with T-Pain, opening for Chance the Rapper, The Chainsmokers, and even Third Eye Blind. Sidenote: Third Eye Blind a definitely a mindfuck.
Being a kid who didn’t listen to rap music until I moved to the south, I was beside myself. Like I’m opening for Third Eye fucking Blind. Anyway, as I continued to grow as an artist and a person, I wanted to do more. Not like make a lot of money, but I wanted to fully embody me. I wanted to combine my lifestyle and my beliefs with my artistry. I realized how much impact pop culture can have on my peers. on children, on my community. I just felt this sense of responsibility. Rewind to my childhood, see, my grandfather was a career rice farmer in the Philippines. They would spend time with their children in the US for as long as their visa allowed, then had to head back home. Every house they went to, my grandparents started huge flourishing gardens full of food. Every meal of the day consisted of fresh veggies from the backyard. It wasn’t until my dad retired from the Navy and moved us to South Carolina did I realize the disparities of certain lifestyles and eating habits. Why is it all of my family on my black side is affect with these food related illnesses. Why do we have to drive 15-20 miles for fresh groceries when there are acres on acres of farms around us. It wasn’t adding up, and it wasn’t until 2018 that I came up with the idea of Plantlanta. At this point in my life, I don’t want to do anything that doesn’t serve. Whether it serves me, my family, my peers, or my community, I’m all in.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Smooth?! Not even a little bit, but that’s the beauty of life. I didn’t have a lifeplan and I don’t regret that. That plan would have taken me further away from what I’m doing now for all I know. I appreciate the journey and all it’s hills & valleys. Different personalities flourish in different environments. Structure and I didn’t get along. It wasn’t until recently that I started to appreciate a little structure. As free as I’d like to be, a healthy combination is cool too. I think it’s about being able to communicate in your own way. Like, we don’t have to switch up and put on this super proper voice when talking in a professional setting. We all do it, but why? It’s funny to observe. It’s hard to pinpoint my struggles because we all got em. Some things have been out of my control. Some were learning experiences. I mean, my biggest struggles truthfully are internal. I never pursued a career like my mother insists because I just couldn’t stand the fact of working for someone else. No matter how appetizing the job was, I was never really present. I wasn’t interested in helping someone else accomplish their dreams. Although there is nothing wrong with that, that just wasn’t me. I’m constantly growing. Always open to learn. Forever working on my relationship with Jehovah. Challenges will come. I’m prepared for that. My mindset is that road bumps are actually the constant. You’ll be highly disappointed in thinking otherwise.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
As far as my music goes, I want to be as transparent as possible with my listeners. I wanna be able to share my experiences, heartbreaks, and sentiments in hopes that someone else can take from it. At times, it’s hard for me to communicate my feelings through regular conversation. It’s just something about putting it in music form that’s so forgiving. I’ll be releasing a lot of new music this year that reflects the growth I’ve had as a person. My next release is a song entitled “Care What People Think” that will be included on a mini-EP I’m collaborating on with Christian Ahmed. We’ll be releasing it on January 29th so stay connected. I also believe creating spaces for people like me. Introverted extroverts so to speak. I like to put energy behind things like this because I genuinely care about the person behind the art. We are all just beings. With feelings. Baggage. Pain. As creatives we tend to bury all of that behind our art and don’t designate time to heal and learn emotional intelligence which isn’t the healthiest at times.
I’ve been Intentionally surrounding myself with people that are on the same wavelength. Not only artistically but fundamentally and spiritually as well. It’s hella important and necessary for growth. With help from a few close friends, I recently coordinated a cabin retreat in Tennessee for musicians that was rooted in health & wellness. The intent was to create an ecosystem where guests can gain inspiration from not only the natural landscapes but also from each other. Although I’m an artist and I’m sensitive about my shit, Plantlanta is my baby. We wanted to create an educational platform for children and young adults to be able to promote food, environmental, and social justice within our urban communities by combining sustainability, music, art, sports, and all things culture. We focus on serving underserved neighborhoods and schools and providing workshops, classes, concerts, virtual reality screenings, and anything else that’s creative. The social sector needs innovation. We’re facing unprecedented times. We’re gonna need innovative leaders to move us forward. I wanted to leverage my peers and our social media audiences to be able to impact our kids in a positive way. To be able to teach them about the importance of the soil. Where their food comes from. What our actions and inactions can do to our environment. All these things we’re not too educated on as a community and I believe Plantlanta could be the perfect platform to combine what I do, what I love, and what I’m passionate about.
In 2018 we started planning our very first event, GET IT (Green Everything in Time). The amount of support we received was super dope. From our local higher ed institutions like Georgia Tech, The cities of East Point and College Park, and A3C Music Festival, this was just the inspiration we needed moving forward. I learned so much about the strength of community that year. In 2020, to do our part to combat Covid, we canceled all in-person events and started brainstorming how we can make an impact online. We recently started a podcast called Plant & Parlay. We pride ourselves on our Plantlanta Volunteer Days but we just didn’t want to risk the spread by gathering so closely. Plant & Parlay forges meaningful conversations that impact and inspire young adults to catalyze change in socially innovative & creative ways. Our 60-minute bi-weekly episodes feature stories from young social entrepreneurs on how they’re innovatively making a difference using art, music, and pop culture. Guests will reveal strategies, tactics, and techniques they used to navigate and find success in the social sector right here in the Metro Atlanta area. This podcast is for all social entrepreneurs, global citizens, individuals, and organizations looking to engage and mobilize your community on issues you care about. Aside from that, Plantlanta’s got some cool things planned for 2021 that we’re very proud of. Looking forward to sharing them with the community.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
I think in any industry, I see a huge influx in health and wellness and a concentrated focus on self-improvement and family. Quarantine sorta forced either the best or worst in us. We’ve learned to be more patient. More forgiving. More conscious of life itself. We’ve prioritized our health and creating experiences above all other things. I believe we will have a lot more leaders emerge than ever before. Leaders of good. Agents of change with the support to follow. I see greatness on the way and I’m just grateful to be a part of it.
What I’m really excited about is Plantlanta State University. On May 7th, we’ll be “taking over” Oakley Elementary School and replacing the curriculum for the day with hands-on projects to garner experiential learning such a healthy cooking demos, recycling classes, STEM, farming, gardening, and more. Plantlanta State University. is a program within our local underserved elementary, middle, and high schools that teaches students how to live more sustainably through experiences. . The goal is to educate children and young adults on the capabilities and importance of being able to grow your own food, caring for our environment, and inspiring their peers to do the same. With the implementation of Plantlanta State University, we aim to break thousands of generational curses by exposing them to a higher quality of life. We want to motivate them to become social impact leaders within their group of peers and in their communities by equipping them with the skills and knowledge to be strong examples of how to live sustainably. PSU is designed to develop underserved minority students into critical thinkers who are technologically advanced and able to compete in a global society, cultivate lifelong learners by utilizing relevant real-world experiences, and promote student wellness in a nurturing environment. Look out for PSU coming to a school near you.
Pricing:
- Cultivator: $1
- Seed Sower: $4
- Harvester: $9
- Plantlanta: $14
Contact Info:
- Email: cam@iamplantlanta.com
- Website: https://linktr.ee/djcamchristian
- Instagram: @djcamchristian
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/plantlanta
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/iamplantlanta
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWQ2gjlXvRs
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/camchristian
- Other: www.patreon.com/plantlanta
Image Credits
Sam King, Carlton Adams, Courtney Vantrease, Chari Chin-Young Caston, Larissa Bermudez, and Summit Jaffe.
