Cameron Kaminski is a sophomore from Seattle studying Business Administration with a minor in Music Entertainment. While being a student at AU, he’s also an emerging hip hop artist known by the stage name Lyrx. He hasn’t been making music for very long, but he’s clearly got some talent – he’s already opening for major names in hip hop. He’ll be opening for Chance the Rapper here at American on April 10th, and Rick Ross on April 11th. Make sure to check out his music.
What’s the music scene like in Seattle?
There’s a lot of very conscious hip hop – it takes from a lot of different aspects of hip hop and other genres to create something that you really don’t find anywhere except in the northwest.
What do you like to do when you’re not making music?
Playing sports. I grew up on sports and I played a lot of sports in high school but now I just play recreationally. Other than that, I like hanging out with my friends, Super Smash Bros., Mario Party – a lot of N64.
What are some of your favorite musicians?
Chance the Rapper is probably my favorite right now, so this upcoming show is going to be absolutely awesome for me. I also like Macklemore, Grynch, Grieves, Mos Def, A Tribe Called Quest, Big L. I also like GoldLink – he’s really coming up next, he’s going to be huge. I really like anything conscious and with a focus on conscious lyricism.
When did you start getting into music?
Three years ago I went on a Christian mission trip through Europe and a 60-year-old Egyptian Christian prophet told me that I had a gift for rapping. I was in Rome and he came to visit the base we were staying at and pushed me for three days to write a song. I finally did and he liked it, and for the next three months I did Christian hip hop shows throughout Europe.
How has your style changed over time and how do you see your style evolving in the future?
Well, I started as a Christian hip hop artist but I didn’t want to be constrained to that so I’ve changed a lot since then. As far as the future is concered, I want to evolve lyrically in the sense that I’m going to be a little more complex. Right now I’m working on my approach to hip hop. Musically speaking, I want to take more from classic hip hop and work a more modern feel into it, especially in sampling classic hip hop.
What are your biggest hip hop influences?
My biggest influence is definitely Macklemore. I wasn’t allowed to listen to hip hop growing up and he was one of the only rappers that my parents let me listen to because they saw that he was a really conscious artist. Seeing him coming up from the bottom to where he is now is definitely a huge influence on me.
What are some of your dreams and aspirations for your music career?
I really want to bring up other talented artists who aren’t recognized for what they should be. I want to bring people up with me – I don’t want to do this by myself and I want to see other people succeed as well. More personally, I want to be able to go on tour and headline on a tour. I don’t care how big the tour is or how much money it makes, I just want to make other people happy with my music.
For more information on his music and upcoming shows, make sure to like him on Facebook, and follow him on Twitter and Instagram!
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