Is it still January?

Meet Cam Santana and Vince Godson, two emerging artists making a name for themselves✨

*Checks calendar again*🗓👀 Okaaaaay is it still January? Seeing that it’s already been 821 days into the new year, how are you holding up? For me, this long month has been full of clarity, focus, and revelations✨. January is honestly giving Oprah and Iyanla Vanzant as I get my life together. Whatever pocket of life that you’re in right now, I’m affirming the same for you❤️.

As you and I navigate this month during a parallelogram, I hope you’ve been staying tapped into new music 👀. If not, don’t worry I got you. ( You know I wouldn’t leave you without any new music recommendations 😌).

In my current rotation, I’ve been listening to two new artists, Cam Santana and Vince Godson. Both from the Inland Empire, their music has been in heavy rotation for a while now. Their recent projects have also been the soundtrack to the start of this year. You can find their music in the latest playlist which also features music from Elujay, ILL Camille, and Westside Boogie. 🔊

Tap in with this week’s playlist and get to know them In the latest of The Other Side✨.

Can you both tell me about yourself?

Cam: My name is Cam Santana. I’m a 26 year old artist from Ontario, California.

Vince: I go by Vince Godson. I’m 26 and I’m originally from West Virginia, but I stay in the Inland Empire.

Cam, you recently released your new project Careless. What does it mean to you?

Cam: Careless kind of feels like the perfect way to describe how I wanted to feel when we were making it. I know sometimes I can get in my own way when it comes to releasing music. I really wanted to start the year with something that just organically came about. Anytime Godson and I work, it tends to play out that way. Careless was a group effort from production to mixing and mastering. That honestly means the most to me. 

Vince, you just  released Talk Later, Not Now. What inspired this project?

Vince: Talk later, Not Now was really just an effort to get out a couple of songs that I had been sitting on for a few months before the year was up. I didn’t really want to carry any work into the new year. I guess I sort of wanted to make a creative space for all of the new things I’ve been working on. 

You both collaborated together on Careless. What was the process like working with one another?

Cam: I can’t speak for Godson, but working on joint tracks with bro kind of works like a reset for me. Working on my own music can become frustrating sometimes when I can't find a direction at that moment in time [with what] I'm really feeling. That problem doesn’t exist in our joint work for me because Godson will do shit on tracks that give me a different perspective on whatever we are working on. I feel like if the person you are collaborating with doesn’t add that element, then there really isn't a reason to work with them. We've done a [bunch] of tracks with each other and most [of them are] unreleased. None of them sound the same and I feel like that's a testament to the chemistry. 

Vince: Like all of our collaborative efforts they come naturally. It’s never really anything we plan. We’re just making music. We definitely mesh well and we pretty much enjoy the same spectrum of music sonically. It’s never a reach when we create something.

How do you both stay motivated to create?

Cam: All the homies around me really work hard on music and it creates a culture of staying locked in. I know every week I will probably get five beats sent over, or song ideas sent through, so it's easy to keep creating. The other part that keeps me going is listening to a lot of different music. There are so many talented artists making cool shit. Some famous, some not, and to add my part to that experience is the best part of making music. Music is a never ending world. It's impossible to get bored if you keep looking for new shit. 

Vince: My motivation usually stems from my experiences. If it’s something that I think would serve for a good story I’ll jot it down. I try my best to let the urge to write come to me. There were times where I would try to force myself into writing because I felt like I wasn’t writing enough. I always ended up making songs that I just didn’t enjoy. 

Do you both have a favorite lyric that you’ve ever said?

Cam: Last year I put out a song called Lockout Season and the back part of the hook is “I’m not tryna change for anyone, I know I’m not made for everyone”. There is a ton in that song I wish I could change, but that line still sticks with me. Attention feels like currency these days. There is a lot of faking and switching up to get it. That line is just a little reminder to just put the work in and let it play out. 

Vince: I can’t say I really have a favorite lyric because a lot of them carry weight for different reasons. There’s lyrics I’ve written that may be witty and pleasing to the mind, but other lyrics just hit harder because of the place they’re coming [from]. Plus, I’m constantly writing material. My favorite line might not even be from a song that’s out yet. 

If you can only listen to one song and watch one film for the next 365 days what would that song be and why?

Cam: I probably listen to this every day already, but [the song] is “Hittin’ Corners” by K-Dee. It's legit a perfect song, baseline crazy, lyrics player. It's impossible to be in a bad mood when that shits playing. That song is almost 30 years old and it's still like that. The movie is a little harder to pick but I would have to go with Jackie Brown. I’m a fan of most Tarantino movies but that one just has the best pace to it. It’s got Pam Grier, Sam L, and Robert De Niro, some of my favorite actors, and it's one the only Tarantino movies that isn't too out there. It's an easy watch, with a great soundtrack. 

Vince: Ok if I could only listen to one song for a year I would probably go with Routine by Eli Sostre. Only because I feel like I could play that song despite any mood or time of day. As far as film, definitely American Gangster. 

Was making music something you've both always wanted to do? 

Cam: I always wanted to make music, but it's been a process actually creating and releasing music. I was heavy into sports as a kid, but I always felt like I should be doing something creatively around sound. [I] absolutely was the kid having fake concerts in [my] room and had a little notepad to write songs in. Both my parents have ranging tastes in music and I think growing up in that environment influenced me quite a bit. I've never thought twice about listening to other genres or taking chances sonically and I think I owe that pallet to them. 

Vince: I was really into sports for most of my life. I always thought it was something I wanted to do. I loved it but looking back now I think I just loved it more because of the joy it brought to my dad to see my brother and I play it. When he passed, I sort of fell out of love with it. Music was the first thing I found love for on my own. I didn’t really need or seek the approval of others to pursue it because I enjoyed it so much, and obviously still do.

This year you can find me  ______?

Cam: This year you can find me releasing content regularly. The biggest thing for me is just staying consistent with putting out content. I’ve never had more than one release in a year, so this year is all about getting music out into the world. 

Vince: In the studio, creating visuals or at home watching Demon Slayer...

Connect with Cam Santana and Vince Godson ✨

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You can find me on Instagram at @thatsnneoma. If you missed the last playlist, find all the songs here in the archive. You can find The Void Playlist and new reads in your inbox every Tuesday. Puurrrr.