As a child, local rapper Cami Bean-Caines was always interested in dressing up and playing make believe.

She would act out little scenarios in her bedroom, where she would be the teacher and had a classroom full of imaginary students.

These days the 21-year-old gets to show off her performing and acting chops while on stage entertaining the crowd as ‘Cami-Cam’.

She said: “Cami is the side of me that is a very innocent, vibrant, charming, meanwhile Cam is more of an alluring, mysterious and sensual side.

“I developed them one day when I was speaking with friends and they were describing me as having multiple personalities, so I said ‘I need to incorporate that into my name and my music’. That’s how I came up with my stage name.”

Ms Bean-Caines is hoping to make a name for herself in the international music industry and is set to release her first commercial album, C.A.P.O.W. (Cami Always Plans On Winning) next month.

She currently splits her time between Bermuda, where she works at The Reefs hotel, and Las Vegas, Nevada, where she performs at different venues and clubs during the Bermuda tourism off-season.

The budding entertainer said: “I got involved with hip hop and pop music maybe two and a half years ago. I have always had it within me, but then something hit me in 2011 and made me think ‘this is your time to take it seriously’.

“I saw my future with music incorporated into it. I don’t see myself doing anything else but music and that is when I knew it was a serious part of my life.”

Ms Bean-Caines got her first taste of the spotlight when she appeared as one of five top contenders in the ‘Can You Rip It’ rap competition last year.

She dreams of one day winning a Grammy Award and launching different brands like a jewellery and lipstick line.

But for now she is working at making music that people can relate to. The artist writes and co-produces her own tunes, touching on everything from past relationship and her love for fashion.

She said she was aiming to bring that “around the way girl” or “East Coast feel” back to hip hop, like artist Lil Kim.

Her song “Mr Dream Seller” is about some of the downsides of the music industry and how people can often lie to get what they want from you.

“I wrote that when I found that people who are supposed to be close to you in the industry might try and sell you dreams,” she said. “That one has a really personal meaning and you can look forward to hearing that very soon on the airwaves.”

“Free” talks about the moment she chose to walk away from the pain and hurt from a past relationship.

She said: “So far that’s my most meaningful song because that relationship changed my whole perception of life and although it was hard, without it I probably wouldn’t be who I am today. It made me put music first and relationships and love second.”

Another song that has been garnering attention is “Showgirl” where the artist hits back at critics who compare her to female rappers like Nicki Minaj.

Ms Bean-Caines maintains she has a style and sound that is all her own. She said she is also more “down to earth and real” than some other women in the business.

“I feel people don’t know who I am on the inside and don’t see the real me yet,” she told The Royal Gazette. “I want them to know that I am just a young Bermudian girl striving to be the best I can be to get the best out of life.

“I definitely want people to look up to me because I portray something that a lot of young people want.

“I am mature, wise and I definitely feel I know where I am going in life. I have a goal and am determined to stick to it.

“My advice to young people would be you can be whatever you want to be,” she added.

The artist plans to attend the upcoming BET Awards in February 2014, so she can network with big names in the business.

She is also looking to have a local show aired on Channel 82, highlighting new fashion trends in Bermuda.

Next month she will be taking the stage, alongside a host of other local artists, at Hott 107.5’s Bermy Radio Hits Concert at Ruth Seaton James Theatre on November 16.

“I will be taking the audience from day to night and showing both sides of my performance, Cami straight through to my Cam,” she said.

For more updates on her career, you can follow Ms Bean-Caines on Instagram at ‘King Cami-Cam’, Facebook at Cami-Cam or Twitter @TheRealCamiCam.