A Look Back: Cam'ron (Long Read)

This is a tribute to one of my favorite rappers of the late 90s till now. If he'd stayed on par as the lyricist that he was from "Confessions of Fire" to "Come Home With Me", I'da given him that. Still, you take it for what it's worth. #killabitch

I was first introduced to Cam in England by my friend Daniel in '98. Dude seemed to always know what was "next" in hip-hop, from Cam to X to Em. I say "next" because England gets everything later than we do over here....or at least until the Internet came along. As a 12 year old hearing songs like "Confessions" and "Fuck You" with adults in the other room, you had to be sneaky about it. Our respective families were churchgoers and weren't too fond of hip hop, much less a guy talking about getting upset enough to piss in his grandpa's orange juice and performing oral on a pregnant woman only to kicked in the mouth by her kid. I used to listen...snickering to the lyrics. I'da got my ass beat, but I liked this guy. Partly, because I was a mischievous kid my damn self pouring milk on people out of windows and throwing spray canisters at cars. Gold.

Enter "S.D.E."...I picked up the album at Twilight Sparks Electronics at the Junction in BK for $9.99 and gave it a spin. Immediately, you were greeted by "Fuck You II", which was even more obnoxious than the first one. The next track was "That's Me" where Cam says lines like "Imagine me wake up 7:30 for work/I'd rather run the street 7:30 with work" and "Ma, keep all ya rice, Wedding ring, hell no, I like ALL my ice/Niggas tried to make Killa Cam all polite/Turn on the set now bitch, I'm like Poltergeist". I'd heard the track on Flex's Hot 97 show and liked it immediately. I enjoyed songs like "S.D.E" where Cam talked about messing up his sports scholarship by selling on campus and "Violence", which was just one of the most ignorant songs I'd heard in my life up to that point. "What Means The World To You" was a decent lead single along with the street favorites "Let Me Know" and "My Hood", but it's like no one knew what Cam was really capable of..........

Until 2001 when he signed to Rocafella. Rumor was Cam got out of his deal by going up to Sony offices with 50 Bloods. Don't know how true it was, but he was fuckin with Dame Dash, so the Roc move made a ton of cents.(See what i did there?)

This was a career defining move. The Roc was in its zone, with Jay being his own brand name, Beans and Bleek having gold records, DJ Clue having dropped some good compilations and Amil....well nevermind..but ya'll get my point. With a spitter of Cam's caliber and his Diplomat crew (Juelz Santana, Jim Jones, Freeky Zeeky), the rich only got richer. I was a Rocafella stan and they could put out no album that I'd consider weak. Cam kept the streets buzzin' with The Diplomat Mixtapes Vol 1-5. If you dont have them joints (1-3 are VITAL), I dont know what to tell you. The budget game was correct, the production was FIRE (The Roc had inhouse production by way of Ye and Just Blaze), and the streets were anticipating Cam's next move.

He dropped "Come Home With Me" in 2002. That album was a sonic explosion. Cam was still the the tough talking misogynistic (he does that TOO well) coke dealer we'd all come to love, but when partnered with the right label, his stardom grew. His single "Oh Boy" was a BEAST. You couldnt go ANYWHERE without that shit being played. Next up was "Hey Ma", exposing Juelz to the world then "Daydreaming" for the ladies...."Live My Life" and "Come Home With Me" were major problems as well. However, two singles stood out to me soon as I heard them. "Welcome To New York City" featured Jay-z and Cam and you could feel Cam's hunger on the track as him and Hova went at it to describe the city. The next track was "Just Fire". I had heard NOTHING like that track before in my life from Cam. I'm talking production-wise and lyrically. Beans and Bleek did their thing (especially Beans, who was a beast in his own right)....but when Cam touched that shit...8-0...I'd heard the lyrics over another beat in a "freestyle" on the radio...but when paired with Just Blaze's perfection, I was amazed. Not one to hold back about his encounters with females, Cam address STDs on "On Fire Tonight" and smutting unfaithful women on "Stop Calling". The album ended too soon for my tastes with "Tomorrow" providing introspection. Platnum+

Dame went on to produce a film called "Paid in Full" based on the story of Harlem hustlers Rich, Alpo and AZ. Cam was cast as Rico and killed his role. For a guy who "can't act and turned down three movies", Cam had enough cajones to steal the show with his on screen antics (including dragging people out of cars at gunpoint, having them strip and running them down the block and showing homemade porn at social events). Not Oscar worthy, but decent enough. Big fan of the flick. Cult classic.

"Diplomatic Immunity" cemented The Diplomats as a force in hip-hop music. The bandannas. I HATE the word "swagger", but these guys had it. Cam made it cool to wear pink. The wearing of multiple chains at one time (Cam wasn't the first to do it, but he did it more than anyone else at the time according to my memory). The chicks loved em, especially Cam and Juelz. The album was a double disc of Harlem tales that resonated with you ("Who I Am") and served as straight up bangers/anthems ("I Really Mean It", "Gangsta Music","What's Really Good","Bout It, Bout It III). Good shit. Great production from the Heatmakerz specifically and minimal filler. GREAT fuckin' formula. It was like the Dips and Heatmakerz were the perfect marriage and with the Roc signing the checks, it was all good. Gold. "Diplomatic Immunity II"...enh. It was ass. Still went gold off the strength of "Crunk Muzik". "Purple Haze"also came around. Cam got a gold plaque off the strength of "Down and Out" and a handful of other singles, but felt that the Roc didnt really support the project on the promotional tip.

(Not saying the fact that Dame made Cam a VP in the company WHILE Jay was on vaca had anything to do with that.....)

Cam then joined Asylum Records in '05. He released the hilarious (depending on who you ask) Killa Season. The movie was Cam's first as a director/writer. Leave it up to Cam do have wild shit in the movie like him spitting on a little girl and people shitting out "fingers" (do the knowledge). I suggest you get under the influence and watch that flick. That's all I'ma say. "Killa Season" (album) drops and features "U Gotta Love It", a direct shot at Jay-z. Hova responds with "Dig A Hole". If for nothing else, listen to "UGLI" (wow didnt even intend to do that...Cam was calling Hov ugly a couple of times lmao) for his ad-libs. Them shits are MAD funny. Cam was shot in a robbery attempt in DC and swore Hov had hired the gunman. Enh. Down the line, Cam recieved flack for saying on "60 Minutes" that he would no cooperate with police and that "he's not a snitch".....

This year was sort of crazy. Cam was being mentioned everywhere. His buzz was ridiculous as he'd taken some time off from the game to tend to his moms and sent shots back and forth to 50 Cent. Everyone wanted to know where he was and how he planned to come back. All of this led to "Crime Pays"...which I will go on record as saying is his worst album. Like bad. "Get It In Ohio" and "Cookin' Up" had me gassed...then boom...let down. EXCELLENT viral marketing campaigns....just terrible beat selection and lack of a surefire singl hurt the album. Beats sucked sooo badly.....

He recently dropped the "Boss of All Bosses" mixtape that featured new artist Vado and is "working on" Pt. II.

All in all, I fux with Killa. He might have lost a step lyrically but that's that dude right there.