No longer unsure of her place in rap, WhoCamille is what music needs.
Since the pandemic broke out, rap’s female emcees have dictated the sound of music. From Meg the Stallion and Cardi B to the City Girls, Latto, Saweetie, and Flo Milli, rap’s sound has changed drastically to reflect the same powerful and commanding energy it once had when Lil Kim and Queen Latifah were on the scene. Baltimore, Maryland emcee WhoCamille represents that same energy at a different time.
Brash, uncompromising, and spirited, she’s made herself a staple in the city thanks to her signature looks and memorable rhymes. As the major artist for fellow Baltimore businesswoman Pinky Cole’s Slutty Productions, she has the tremendous task of making herself a household name while equally carrying the brand’s name forward.
The 410 area code doesn’t often readily come to mind, but the city of Baltimore, which falls under the umbrella of the DMV area, does when people discuss rap. For WhoCamille, Baltimore will always be home, but her experience with Charm City differs drastically from the images of violence, drugs, and the Wire.
“I grew up with my parents, who were married for thirty-four years. It wasn’t chaotic. My 410 isn’t the same as others. I grew up in a suburban area in Columbia, Maryland.”
As a child, she grew up with kids from all backgrounds and ethnicities, which helped provide her with a needed balance. As a teenager, WhoCamille spent most of her time enjoying sports like volleyball and basketball and listening to music as opposed to partying.
The Baltimore club music that arose out of the cities’ nightclubs, skating rinks and radio stations made her fall in love with music and rap, but it would take time before she felt inspired enough to pursue it as a goal.
In high school, WhoCamille focused on sports, deciding to attend Florida Agriculture and Mechanical University or FAMU because of the school’s reputation with volleyball.
“I was a volleyball girl who played in school and AAU. In my senior year, FAMU was in their tenth year of winning the MEAC Championship with volleyball and so I said I have to go there and be a college athlete. I also wanted to be at a Historically Black College and University”, says Camille.
While in school, she flourished. She joined Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated and completed her undergraduate in Criminal Justice. After college, she moved back home to Maryland and began working several jobs from event planning to work with non-profit agencies, but she found her passion a year and a half later when she began working as a physical education teacher.
Initially upset at the pay disparity, WhoCamille found a job working as a kindergarten aide.
“My heart lay in the school. I took the pay cut and became an aide.”
Working first in DC before moving back to Baltimore, WhoCamille dealt with the ebbs and flows of cyclical unemployment and saw her friends flourish on social media until she landed a job in 2017 working for AmeriCorps’ Playworks program. Placed at Brehms Lane Elementary School, she served as the school’s physical education teacher and coached volleyball until she got an opportunity of a lifetime in 2020.
The March 2020 shutdown due to the Covid 19 pandemic left teachers and other employees with time to themselves to think and strategize.
Upon her return that fall, a friend of hers sent her a post about a burgeoning upstart restaurant, Slutty Vegan, that was in need of a jingle.
“It was August 2020. They flew me to Atlanta a week after I won the contest. It was actually the first week back for professional development for school so I had to call my principal and ask her. But I lessened the blow she was also a Clark Atlanta alumni so she understood.”
The store’s owner, Aisha “Pinky” Cole, also a Baltimore native, found WhoCamille’s work and eventually signed her to her imprint, Slutty Productions. Emboldened, she released her first project, Copper and Carbon, and followed it up with the video, “Counting Up Da Cash”.
Songs like Whodini, 410 Shit, and Alphabet Niggas showed her potential and versatility as a rapper. More than a pretty face, WhoCamille doubled down on her talent, giving fans songs like “Nextel Chirp”, “NO WYD” and then in 2022, “Ate It Up”, to show her ability to make commercial music and music that shows her lyrical skill.
Already becoming a force in Atlanta, WhoCamille soon met more friends she could collaborate with including producer prodigy Big Korey of Big Oomp Records and her manager Escaneli. Over time, their organic relationship has progressed and led to more opportunities including the chance to work with fellow femcee Flo Milli.
“I fuck with Oomp Camp- Korey, SuperBlue, Montay, Escaneli everyone. They are legit, they are old Atlanta, they get the job done and they have accepted me under their wing. Working with them got me my first writing placement on Flo Milli’s songs, FNGM, and Come Outside.”
When WhoCamille isn’t writing and crafting songs for herself and others, she’s helping brands like Telfar, Steve Madden, Abeille Creations, Good Molecules and more enlarge their social media presence with her quirky and witty personality. In spite of all she’s accomplished, WhoCamille has more she still has to accomplish. With all of the hurdles she’s conquered, she knows that the only next step is to be able to obtain the success she’s deserved to help better the lives of those around her.
Wright World 