We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Cameron Sykes. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Cameron below.
Cameron, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
I believe the first time that I felt 100% sure was the first time I was hired to host a creative writing workshop for schoolkids. It was a public school in the Bronx and the kids seemed so enthusiastic about, not only hearing poetry, but exploring their own minds creatively. It was an amazing experience and it reminded me about how I was in the beginning, figuring myself out. I decided then that this was the path I wanted to take, to see where I’d end up at if I kept chasing similar experiences.
Cameron, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My name is Cameron Keon Sykes. I’ve also been, up until recently, recognized by my stage name, False Prophet. I’m a 25 year old artist from Queens, New York. Currently my main creative focuses are poetry, photography, fiction writing, and drawing (which I’m still teaching myself to do properly). I started writing back in high school as a way to articulate my thoughts and emotions, as well as understand life a little better. Soon after that, I began sharing that writing on stages like the Nuyorican Poets Cafe and other venues across the 5 boroughs, which opened new doors to other forms of artistic expression for me.
Currently, I make my rounds as a featured artist, having performed in some really amazing spaces, including the Nuyorican in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, Busboys and Poets in DC, and the Triad Theatre off Broadway Avenue. I’m also the owner of a self-owned writing workshop series, known as Prophet’s Corner, that’s currently on hiatus with an expected return for 2023. A lot of what the workshop focuses on is assisting other artists to uncover what their inner voice is, how to properly express their thoughts on both paper and microphone, and how to tap into the subtle nuances of their work to bring out the best possible reaction from their audiences. There’s also some focus on marketing and promotion skills that I’ve had success with in the past, which will play a more significant role once the platform starts back up.
If I were to say one thing that stands out about me & my work, I’d have to go with my drive to be as genuine and as open with my vulnerability as I can be. I believe that it’s wholly beneficial to understand that we all have moments that bring us down, we all have times that leave us depressed or scared or confused, and that we can have each others’ backs in those times. I also believe that we can dream up better days and make those dreams realities with our word, our work, and our ambitions. That sentiment bleeds into all of my work, as a result of how much focus I put on it.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
Open more creative spaces where artists can meet, comfortably, and share their creativity.
This can be in schools, in our neighborhoods, wherever. I feel like there’s so many areas where there’s not a single communal space for artists of any kind that would benefit so much from having one. In addition, I feel like artists would find more opportunities to grow and less reasons not to get out their the more accessible these spaces and supportive services were.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
I had to unlearn the idea that I need to do everything myself. Learn everything on my own. Grow from my efforts alone. Recently, I’ve been doing the work and allowing myself to ask for help when I need it because I got so caught up in my own head that everyone successful is successful just because THEY got it.
No. Not all of them. Some people genuinely do everything on their own, but the majority of people have entire teams behind them. People they can go to for advice, for coaching, for redirection, for critique. No one needs to do any of this alone and my creative goals don’t require me to do so.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://falseprophetpoetry.com
- Instagram: @storiesbyprophet
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/falseprophet321/