Athletes often listen to music before a game to get themselves hyped. Junior Cam’Ron Smith is no different, with one exception: he’s making the music himself. Known by his stage name “R2rCam” (“rags 2 riches”), he divides his time between playing varsity football and making music.

“I started playing football when I was seven years old,” Smith said. “I was a quarterback on a flag football team, and I was faster than everyone than everyone at the time so all I would do is just run the ball over and over.” 

His passion for the game shines through on the field.

“Cam’Ron is kind of come into his own as our probably best cover corner, and he’s taken a lead role in the secondary for us and has done a really good job,” head football coach Matt Swinnea said. “I think one of the things is that defensively, you have to play with enthusiasm and passion and he’s probably one of our most aggressive and passionate players and, you know, for a guy that’s not really big.”

Smith has now encountered success with his music as well, but this was not always the case.

“I started making music in 7th grade, because there was a guy at my middle school who got attention and clout off of music on soundcloud and I wanted the same type of attention,” Smith said. “I used to use iPhone headphones and my grandpop’s laptop to make music off of a free website. People didn’t really take me serious back then because of how goofy and funny I was in real life.”

Acquiring more than 10,000 plays on SoundCloud, he has become a verified artist on Google, making his music available on streaming platforms such as Apple Music and Spotify. 

“My streaming numbers haven’t been that great until recently,” Smith said. “I think a big part of my numbers being great now is that friends from Virginia (Smith’s hometown) and Texas both started taking my music serious, plus the fact that you can find my music on any platform available.” 

Listening to his music, sophomore Landon Villanueva sees Smith taking it to the next level in the future.

“You can listen to his music when you’re just chilling,” Villanueva said. “It’s like there’s a lot of energy. I see his music probably taking off. He has some good followers.I think if he keeps making music and keeps working on it I think he could be pretty popular.”