Photo credit left: Jaylen Harris, Luisa's Artisanal Street Food, 22851 Woodward Ave, Ferndale MI, 48220. Photo credit above: Esmeralda Mujagic, LO & BEHOLD! Records and Books!, 10022 Joseph Campau Ave, Hamtramck MI, 48212

Rhythms and rhymes weave throughout a beat with a pocket I can fit right in. Sometimes on beat, sometimes in between. Either way, I have something to say. I grab the microphone and the words flow. I feel the freedom of control as an emcee, while everyone around is free to listen, or not. Either way, they can feel the vibe. I tell the truth in my lines, my life’s story. Something honest as the hardships I live, day to day. Or something as silly as a wish, a dumb joke, I might choke. Either route, it’s free and human.

My name is Cameron Harris. I’m a part-time student, part-time barista, and full-time writer. Not as a profession (yet), but I write as often as I can. I aspire to create books to encapsulate my imagination and tell more intimate stories of myself and others. However, I didn’t think this would be the path I’d take.

When I was in High School, I was depressed and uninspired. My grades reflected as much at the time, but I didn’t have a voice to ask for stimulation, or help. My escape at the time was listening to rap music. The stories told over the music reflected realities I saw, and lived. When I was a kid, I thought that all rap was violent. But the rap music that I needed found me at the right time.

Rappers made music about depression, isolation, survival, beauty, social justice; they rapped about any and everything. So there was music to reflect my reality, and help me navigate.

Not only that, but the technique of rapping stimulated my brain. The way that rappers used metaphors, wordplay, homophones, homonyms. I realized that the technique of writing rap was a form of English mastery. It required intelligence, skill, and imagination.

I was inspired to use my voice. I could freestyle, even though I started with slow flows, and simple end rhymes. But the more I rapped, the better I got. So once I started to write, I got to tell my story.

Then I came to a new realization. There is an overlap between rap and poetry. Many look down on the sometimes lewd and crass lyrics of rap, but they overlook the honesty and directness. We see poetry as written words with flowery language, where sometimes the message is lost. Not to undermine poetry, but to acknowledge the image these words portray to most. In reality, they’re both bodies of words to express thoughts and feelings; the difference being context.

Soon, I found myself in the High School talent show, performing one of my favorite verses from Common (Lonnie Rashid Lynn) as a poem. My voice had not only brought me on stage in front of half the whole school; it also got me first place.

Today, I find myself writing constantly and immersing myself in the other side, reading. Every once in a while I can write a verse, but everyday I reflect on the courage that rap gave me. From the stage, to the page, I have a voice that’s mine.