Rappers Head To New York For Video Countdown

FALMOUTH-

Take my whole life and put it on a track...

It is Wednesday evening and  Cameron Mendes-Moreau, 18, of Hamlin Avenue, the brim of his oversized black Chicago White Sox hat covering his eyes, is clearly “in the cipher,” deep into an impromptu rap session.  He throws his hands up and down passionately in front of his face, spitting out words like a weapon, as Harry J. Pina III’s head bobs up and down to the beat.
The slow, rhythmical beat plays in the background as Mr. Mendes-Moreau continues to rhyme.

I didn’t go to college, but I got a little smarter
work at it a little harder...

A few shouts are heard from Thomas C. Badger of Braxton Road, Hatchville. “Yeah. Yeah,” he laughs.

This here is not my friends
This is family
You are not ruling me
Shining more than jewelry
So much they named
a school for me
For more than three minutes, Mr. Mendes-Moreau, whose MC, or rap, name is just “Cam,” does not fumble or stumble on his way to completing a freestyle piece. When he finishes, he is greeted with hugs and handshakes from his “family,” which includes Mr. Badger, better known as Royaltee; Mr. Pina of East Falmouth, who prefers Shizz; Joel R. Linnane Jr. of North Falmouth, who goes by Phaze; and Timothy L. Hamilton of East Falmouth, or DJ T.
Far removed from the gritty life of the inner city, in this community known more for its beaches, these five, along with Timmy Andrews of Maravista, also known as Legacy, are trying to bring some street credibility to Falmouth.
They have dubbed themselves, “One Life,” a group of artists who are focused on breathing new life into hip-hop.
Upon initial inspection, it may seem like a stretch, especially in a locale like Falmouth, but strip away the address and this garage on Hamlin Avenue could be in Boston, New York City, Los Angeles, or any hub of the rap universe.
While the talent is apparent in Mr. Mendes-Moreau’s initial rap improv, he continued to show his skills a few minutes later to a completely different beat, dropping one line “dreaming of the Caribbean like Jack Sparrow,” a reference to the character played by Johnny Depp in “Pirates of the Caribbean,” seemingly out of nowhere.
It is this sort of skill that the group hopes will get them recognized when Mr. Mendes-Moreau appears next Thursday on BET’s 106 & Park, a Top Ten video countdown, to compete in a freestyle battle against a fellow rapper.
He will be given two 30-second rounds, in front of a studio audience and celebrity judges, to put Falmouth on the map.
He will be accompanied by 10 of his friends, all of whom have an affiliation with One Life.
The show will air next Friday on BET from 6 to 7:30 PM.
In order to get to this point, which he calls “the biggest day of my  life,” Mr. Mendes-Moreau has had to overcome a number of obstacles that have influenced his art, but more importantly, defined who he is as a person.
It started three years ago, he said, when his mother and stepfather split up, forcing him to deal not only with a parental divorce, but related issues of bankruptcy in which there were “many cold winters and long nights... I moved from home to home. I spent the past three years staying in 17 different homes.”
It affected his school work, he said, and his grades plummeted and he barely was able to graduate with his class this past June. While many of his colleagues are off to college, he has not followed that same path.
His goal has been shaped by a passion—rapping—that has given his life meaning. “I have always relied on music as an outlet,” he said.
It has made the tough times easier, he said, as have his friends, who make up the One Life crew and share the same love of hip-hop that he does.
They started becoming serious about rap in 2004, he said, forming a studio at Mr. Andrews’s home, which was later moved to the current location, in a garage on Hamlin Avenue.
The group has invested roughly $5,000 in the venture, building a wooden sound booth, as well as purchasing the necessary audio and computer equipment that allows them to create quality recordings under the watchful eyes of Mr. Badger, who acts as the producer for their work.
They have produced two albums thus far, Mr. Mendes-Moreau said.
His, called “I’m Right Here” was released in the spring alongside a solo album by Mr. Linnane, called “Scarecrow.” The group’s self-titled CD, “One Life,” will be coming out shortly, featuring all the artists.
Mr. Mendes-Moreau said that “One Life” is a phrase that is derived from one of his songs, related to graduating from high school. “One life,” he said, “means doing whatever you want; that life has any kind of possibilities to it.”
The group’s music deals mostly with real-life issues, including those political, as witnessed in Mr. Mendes-Moreau’s “Yes We Can,” which he performed during this year’s senior follies at Falmouth High School.
The song urges listeners to vote, a topic that, he said, is important, particularly in today’s society. “The song is oriented around all the issues in our country today and how they can be affected by the upcoming election,” he said.
Over the past year, he said, One Life has increasingly taken its work more seriously, performing for the first time in front of an audience this past spring at the Woods Hole Community Hall. Three weeks ago, they performed at the Cape Verdean Club on Sandwich Road.
Tonight they are performing at the Navigator on Ashumet Road from 7:30 to 11. All ages are welcome; although Mr. Mendes-Moreau warned some of their music is not for children, most of it is oriented toward a specific message.
The concert is a fundraiser for Mr. Mendes-Moreau’s trip to New York City, helping with the costs for him and his friends to stay overnight, in the city.
He secured a spot on the show in July, leaving Falmouth at 2 o’clock on a Thursday morning, arriving in the city at 7 AM and waiting in line for several hours with roughly 350 other rappers, from places like Detroit, Virginia, Florida, and New York.
After filling out the necessary paperwork, he said, he eventually had the chance to audition just before noon, doing battle against another potential contestant. Following that performance, he was asked to rap one more time before returning home to Falmouth.
“I thought I had a good chance for the first couple of weeks, but then I didn’t hear from them,” he said. He had to wait until the last day of August, and they called not him, but Mr. Linnane—“I didn’t have a cellphone,” he explained—who passed the call over to his friend.
His friends, who were all there when the call came in, sound just as excited for this opportunity as Mr. Mendes-Moreau.
“What he went through two, three years ago, this is a big turnaround,” Mr. Pina said. And for One Life, Mr. Pina said, this is the type of publicity they are looking for.
“This may be the biggest thing for us as a group as far as Cam going to BET,” he said. “You can’t get that kind of exposure, being in front of the nation, unless you are on TV.”
“It is not only the biggest day of his life, but it may be the biggest day of my life,” Mr. Badger said. “I have been stuck here for almost 25 years and never been in front of a camera to say, ‘Hi Mom.’ I’m definitely ready.”
And for Mr. Mendes-Moreau, it is merely justification toward his ultimate goal “to make the most of my talent... I am looking to make this into a profession.”
While many of his peers are off to college, he admitted that has not been a option for him. He looks at next week’s performance as his form of higher education. “BET is the Harvard of what I set out to pursue,” he said. “To give up the college route, it is good to have some sort of validation at this point in my life.”