‘Cure for Paranoia’ frontman hopes NPR Tiny Desk win helps Texas do better for its artists

Cameron McCloud says his life changed before winning NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest.

For years earlier, he had banked on a win to be his big break. But he says he made his own success first — and that’s what made the difference in his winning entry.

McCloud is the frontman for Cure for Paranoia – a Dallas-based hip-hop collective that can include as many as 15 people.

“We really are a family band that kind of merged together,” McCloud said.

But while it’s the group that got the win, it’s McCloud who has really found his voice. He credits that in large part to his effort in 2025 to post a rap verse every day on social media.

Trusting his voice

“This time last year, I was at like less than 30,000 followers or something like that. And in the time of me posting a verse every day, we’ve gained over like 450,000,” McCloud said.

Still, he says followers isn’t the only goal.

“The following is one thing, but it’s another thing whenever I gain the following from literally just setting up my phone on a stack of books and rapping to it, like it was literally just me on camera. So it really gave me a new, newfound trust in myself and what I was capable of doing,” McCloud said.

He says his pursuit was becoming a better musician — and it was also therapy.

“All of these verses, I’m like talking about, you know, just really personal stuff. And people get to, when you’re doing something every day on a public platform like that, it’s people are really getting to delve into like a diary almost. I dealt with so much last year, I dealt with loss and grief and just self-discovery, all of these things,” McCloud said.

Persevering through grief

McCloud’s mom was a big proponent of his efforts.

“Halfway through the year, last year on day 183, my mom had reached out to me and congratulated me on being halfway through the year. And she was like the main one kind of just telling me like, I’m so proud of your dedication and you said you were going to do something, you do it,” McCloud said.

That same day, his mom had a minor heart attack. She died a few days later in her sleep.

McCloud said it was then that his challenge to post a verse each day became especially challenging – and rewarding.

“I would’ve had every right to quit. But I knew that would’ve made her so sad if that was the reason why, you know what I mean? And the following, how it jumped up like crazy, it all happened because I kept going, which is why I say the following is not everything, but it is a literal physical manifestation of what happens when you keep going, especially when you have a reason not to,” McCloud said.

He said he thanks his mom for all the good that’s come his way.

“I think I would be crazy not to think that all of these blessings that are coming in aren’t because of her. You know what I mean? She’s got something to do with it. Because it’s just, it’s too, too crazy,” McCloud said.

Sparking change

McCloud isn’t taking the attention lightly. He is using his platform to talk about acceptance — especially around queer identity and mental health. Naming his group “Cure for Paranoia” wasn’t random.

“The short of it is that 10 or so years ago, I got placed on medication for bipolar depression and paranoid schizophrenia. I wasn’t diagnosed those things, but I’m on meds for it,” McCloud said. “I shortly after realized that creating music was way more therapeutic than the meds was.”

He said growing up, he noticed a stigma — especially in the hip-hop world — about talking about the things he was discovering about himself. Including his queer identity.

“So it was like I really did feel like all of these things about myself that I had to fundamentally like change in order to, you know, get to be a musician,” McCloud said.

Instead, he took inspiration from Lauryn Hill and what he calls her efforts to be “authentically herself” in her “Unplugged 2.0” project. He said he’s decided to be that same type of artist.

“I think that’s what people kind of get whenever they come to my shows. It doesn’t necessarily make them want to be me, but it inspires them to want to pursue what it is they’re after,” McCloud said.

A message for Texas

And that gets to his broader challenge for not just hip-hop, but Texans at-large.

“Texas is just Texas. It’s a big part of why I was so afraid of being myself growing up, because it’s just like, yeah, we tend to not be as open-minded as other places,” McCloud said.

While fellow Dallasite Erykah Badu eventually found fame and acceptance, McCloud points out that came after she had relocated to Brooklyn.

“Texas tends to not really support its own artists until someone else does,” McCloud said.

He says that he’s seeing that now as he’s getting more attention than ever because of Cure for Paranoia’s Tiny Desk Contest win. He’s thrilled to be a new big name associated with Dallas, but isn’t satisfied with just that.

“I would love to be able to kind of change the way people view Dallas and what we do out here,” McCloud said. “I think those are gonna be some big shoes to fill, especially when you compare it to how Badu is the face of this place.”

What specific change is he pushing for?

“I think it’s more so about just embracing individuality and embracing authenticity. Like, we don’t all have to sound like things that have already made it,” McCloud said.

Cure for Paranoia is going on a 10-city tour for its Tiny Desk Concert win. Its Austin show is already sold out.

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