Chicago Rapper C.A.M. Encourages Us All To Practice A Little Self Love

To enter, just go to this instagram post, comment #lovemyselfchallenge, and upload a video of yourself singing along to the bridge of “The Wood” with the hashtag and a tag for @_7Cam. The video with the most views by April 20 will win a care package including a T-shirt, face mask and self care item.

And even once the challenge is over, it’s still important to practice good self love – especially now. We spoke to C.A.M. about the inspiration for the challenge and some ways he tries to practice a little self care, despite COVID.

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Congrats on “The Wood!” This song is all about taking pride in where we’re from. Where in Chicago did you come from? How did growing up there influence the musician you are today? 

Thank you so much, I’m glad you enjoyed the song and challenge. I grew up in the Englewood area of Chicago and my family is heavily into music – from my mom and sisters singing in the choir at a young age to my dad and two brothers being DJs. It was like second nature for me to be involved with music so I chose to rap.

We had so much culture growing up, from block parties to random cookouts and even just chilling on the front porch or playing ball at the park with the guys…we always found something to do. So me wanting to continue to shed light on that is what influences my music.

Why do you think celebrating where we’re from is so important? 

It’s what made us who we are today. The good, the bad and the ugly; it all strengthens us if we allow it to.

How did you first come up with the idea of the #lovemyselfchallenge?

So after wrapping up the video for “The Wood” with my mentor Dennis Thompson, who is also the director of the video, we sat down and had a brainstorming session about what we could do to keep people engaged with the video and song. Normally while I’m performing I would have people in the audience take out their phones and put it on selfie mode to sing the bridge along with me as loud as they could.

I took that idea and said let’s make this a challenge for people to creatively showcase how they love themselves, whether it’s singing in the mirror, making a crazy Tik Tok video, or even working out. It’s all in good fun and since we have to quarantine now, it’ll give people something to do.

What are some of the biggest challenges you see when it comes to self love and self care amongst you and your peers? 

One of the biggest challenges I’ve seen was [with] people being comfortable expressing love for themselves. We see [so much] on social media everyday…it tends to make us want to alter ourselves. I believe that we should love the way God made us and understand that what we see as flaws are usually the best things about us.

I even have to remind myself of that sometimes! That’s why I put it in my song – to keep not only my spirits up, but whoever listens to the song.

What are some ways you practice self love and staying mentally healthy amidst such stressful times? 

Right now I continue to write music, check out interviews from my favorite artists, workout, and occasionally check in with my family to make sure they’re doing well too.

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Follow C.A.M. on Twitter and Instagram.

Edited for length and clarity by Shelby Kluver

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