“The Platform” – Cam

“The Platform”
Cam
From the Duolos Records CD The Platform
www.gospelcam.com

On the title track of his sophomore CD, Oklahoma’s Cameron Dukes, aka “Cam,” encourages listeners to use whatever platform God gave them to lift up the kingdom as disciples. He sings, “God gave you a platform, stand upon your platform, teach upon it, preach upon it…”

Cam’s “platform,” at least on this single, is holy hip hop, what he terms “rhythm and praise.” On the cover of his new album, Cam poses with an acoustic guitar, but on “The Platform” (the single), no guitar is aurally distinguishable. Instead, the song is moved by polyrhythmic electronic beats and a powerful marching bass line. Cam takes a straightforward, relevant message and puts it to a simple, compelling melody. He trades lead vocals with himself.

“The Platform” sizzles with that exciting electric urgency of holy hip hop, which as a subgenre suggests implicitly that the time to straighten up is now, no delay, no excuses.

The song’s message can also be interpreted as a commentary on the time-honored struggle between what constitutes “gospel music” and what is considered too “worldly” to be sacred. “The Platform” argues that there’s no one way, no right or wrong way, to deliver the gospel. Whatever style or talent you were given, that’s what you use. Amen!