West Coast KAM talks, Black, Brown unity, Farrakhan and his new album, “Mutual Respect”

By Final Call News | Last updated: May 10, 2016 - 11:23:04 AM

With his overt sociopolitical/spiritual stance and best known for his Nation of Islam affiliation, West Coast rap artist, Kam’s angst-ridden brand of hardcore rap helped set the mark by which other socially-conscious emcees would be and still are judged. Originally affiliated with Ice Cube, Kam’s releases appeared sporadically, initially debuting on the Boyz N the Hood soundtrack with his song, “Every Single Weekend”. Recently, Michael X interviewed KAM about the upcoming release of his new album and the great influence the N.O.I. has had on his life and work as a veteran in the music game and as an Independent Artist.

The Final Call (FC): The new album is titled “Mutual Respect”. What was the biggest inspiration for this project?

KAM: It started with the first record, the first single that I had back in 1992 which was called, ‘PEACE TREATY’ a song about the Blood and Crip gang truce during the uprising (that resulted from the not guilty verdict of several Los Angeles police officers in the beating of motorist Rodney King). It was a gangster rap record, but it was conscious— like they say RGB revolutionary but gangster. That set the tone for my image in the rap game. Bringing it full circle 20 something years later, “Mutual Respect” is the same line, but instead of Black on Black unity, it’s Black and Brown unity. So instead of Bloods and Crips, it’s Blacks and Mexicans.

Because the enemy has fueled and perpetuated tensions, feuds, wars and all of that between us, you know for maybe 30 or more years now.

FC: Who are some featured artists on the album?

KAM: “Mutual Respect” is basically a KAM album, just about every song, its 18 songs on the album and just about every song is featuring a well-known, if not the biggest known Mexican rappers in the game. So I got, King Lil G, Sick Jacken from Psycho Realm, Mr. Criminal, Mr. Capone E., MC Magic from Arizona, Omar Cruz … the list goes on.

About half the United States used to be Mexico anyway, as it was in the beginning now it is in the ending. Especially with Donald Trump, all this stuff is energizing and activating the political and conscious awareness of Black and Brown.

FC: What do you think of the direction hip hop is taking today with the many artists we have both commercial and independent?

KAM: I think it’s not that the artists have taken a direction. They were steered in a direction. They were “pied-pipered” into a direction because we’re all hurting for money, so the people who control the United States Treasury and held private meetings to change the course of hip hop and started this whole gangster rap thing, they’re the ones that sent it in a certain direction to fill up private prisons for example. Fortunately even in Satan’s planning, their negative plans Allah (God) uses that for his own plans.

FC: The meeting in 1995 with you, Ice Cube and Minister Louis Farrakhan was one year before Tupac Shakur died, and two years before Biggie. What impacted you most about that meeting then hearing about the death of Pac and Biggie?

KAM: It was prophetic. I didn’t know Biggie, I knew Tupac pretty good and all of us knew about the Minister and what we should have been doing. We all just knew better. The Minister would always say certain things like, brothers, you got to clean it up or get independent and do something because the enemy is going to deal with you if you wait too late. It just sounded like he was talking to us with love but at the same time warning that we needed to clean it up. Whatever little weakness flaw or crack in your fish tank that each of you have, the enemy already knows it and they’re coming at you right there, in the thing that they know you’re weak in! He already laid it out and it was spinning off the ‘91 Stop the Killing Tour with the assault against the Black male that lead up to the Historic Million Man March.

FC: How will you be releasing the album? Where can people expect to pick it up and how can the people find your single release, if any, or just keep up with you, until the final release?

KAM: Right now we’re going out the trunk like Fruit Pruno as a mixtape style record, just for hard copy CDs. For digital distribution it will be released May 5 via iTunes and all the digital outlets. It’s through New Birth Entertainment, owned by a brother named Reggie. So it’ll be New Birth Entertainment/Hereafter Records, which is my label. I think the first single will be a record called, “We Got the Crown” featuring the Game & Mexican Rapper Sleepy Malo. I’m on all social media @westcoastkam Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Periscope and others.

The Final Call