Cam'ron
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Image:Cam ron.jpg Cameron Giles (born February 4, 1976), better known as Cam'ron or Killa Cam, is a popular African-American rapper from Harlem, New York. Cam'ron is the head of the musical group "The Diplomats" also known as the "Dipset". The group consists of Juelz Santana, Jim Jones, 40 Cal, Jha Jah, J.R. Writer as well as currently incarcerated member Freekey Zeekey. Hell Rell, recently released from Clinton Correctional Facility, is also a member of the Diplomats record label.
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Early career
Before he began his rapping career, Cam'ron, a former member of The 59th Crip Gang, excelled in the sport of basketball and received a college scholarship. He was eventually expelled because of an alleged drug distrubution charge, along with a Claim, that he, with other crip members were going to have a shootout at the school. Cam'ron began his career in the early 1990s, rapping alongside Big L, Ma$e and his cousin Bloodshed in a group called "Children Of The Corn." The group dissolved after Bloodshed's death in a car accident in 1996. However, Cam'ron continued to rap, and he eventually was introduced to Notorious B.I.G., who was so impressed with his skills that Biggie introduced him to his manager, Lance "Un" Rivera. Cam'ron signed to Rivera's Untertainment label, releasing his first solo album, Confessions Of Fire, in April 1998. The album featured such hits as "3-5-7" and "Horse And Carriage," featuring his old friend, Ma$e. Unfortunately, Untertainment folded in 1999, and Cam'ron was forced to change labels. The same year, he signed to Sony Records.
S.D.E.
Cam'ron achieved notoriety for his 2001 release from Sony Records under Tommy Mottola. Reportedly using unconventional methods such as physically assaulting and threatening numerous Sony Records employees, Cam'ron sought an end to his contract due to his record company's lack of promotion for his second album released in 2000, entitled S.D.E. (short for Sports, Drugs, and Entertainment). It featured songs such as "Let Me Know" and "What Means the World to You." The remix of the latter featured an all-star line-up of Southern rappers such as U.G.K., Trina, and Ludacris. Juelz Santana also made his first appearance ever on S.D.E.
Roc-A-Fella and the feuds with Jay-Z and Ma$e
With his release from Sony Records, Cam'ron moved on to sign with his childhood friend Dame Dash and Roc-a-fella Records. In 2002, he released his third and most successful album, Come Home With Me, along with the biggest hits of his career, "Oh Boy" and "Hey Ma," both featuring Juelz Santana. Dash even went as far as to propose naming Cam'ron Vice President of Roc-a-fella, but Jay-Z rejected the idea. He went on to star in the Damon Dash produced film, Paid In Full in 2002. Cam'ron then teamed up with his fellow Diplomats, Jim Jones, Juelz Santana, and Freekey Zeeky, to release the Diplomats' debut, Diplomatic Immunity, in 2003.
Cam'ron is also credited with starting the trend of men wearing pink. He claims that it was already popular in urban New York. In early 2004, Cam'ron announced plans to work with scientists to develop a new color and patent it for his trademark use. This eventually manifested as a purplish color that he used to design a hat in conjunction with the baseball cap company New Era.
In mid-2004, Cam'ron came into headlines again after a dispute with his former friend Ma$e. After returning to the music industry after a five year religious hiatus, Ma$e conducted an interview on the New York City radio station Hot 97 where he described his falling out with Cam'ron and the current status of their relationship. Ma$e claimed that confusion over $50,000 he asked to receive for an appearance in the "Horse and Carriage" music video caused the demise of their relationship. This fueled a heated on-air debate between Cam'ron's right-hand man Jim Jones and Ma$e. Jim Jones declared that Ma$e was "fabricating" in the autobiography he wrote in 2001. Also, Jim Jones was upset that Ma$e used people's real names in his book, exposing them without giving them their proper publishing fees. Furthermore, Jones said "you wasn't giving us no money, so we went out and got money" when Jim Jones and Cam'ron went on tour with Ma$e, and that now they don't need Ma$e anymore because they are the "Sizzurp boys, quarter billion, ya aint heard?", in reference to The Diplomats Purple Sizzurp liqueur business. Jim Jones went on to reveal that Ma$e actually left Harlem not because he was answering a higher calling to become a reverend, but because he was scared out of town by the murder of his two friends, Pop Lotti and Baby Mane. Jones claimed Ma$e was "ran up out of Harlem" because there was "money on him," meaning someone had put a bounty on Ma$e's head. Jones goes on to tell Ma$e that "you need to be nervous to be in Harlem still, cuz I'm here" and threatens that Ma$e better "have them boys with the badges on them" (police) with him when he next encounters him, because "I [Jim Jones] will do it to you, [Ma$e] Duke." Jim Jones informs the audience that he never liked Ma$e, as he crudely refers to him as "Betha," Ma$e's last name. Subsequently, Ma$e and Cam'ron engaged in a verbal debate that ended in Cam'ron hanging up the phone, disgusted by Ma$e's alleged lies and insincerity.
After years of denying an apparent mutual disdain for each other, Cam'ron and Jay-Z appear on the brink of a full-on battle, as Cam has released a diss track against Jay Z titled "You Got To Love It" (referring to Jay-Z's girlfriend, Beyonce Knowles)
The seven-minute cut starts out with Cam outlining five reasons for his attack on Jay, including accusations that the Def Jam president stole the Roc-A-Fella empire and Kanye West from ex-partner Dame Dash as well as the Rocawear clothing line; even going as far as to insinuate that Jay may have had something to do with the recent attempt on his life in Washington, when Cam'ron says, "I seen the nigga throw that diamond up before them shots was fired."
Further into the track, Cam spits, "You ain't the only one with big wallets/ Got it/ My shit's brolick/ But ya publishing should go to Miss Wallace/ ... Down at Jeezy's video/ I shoulda kissed you on the cheek/ You's a pretty ho'/ I left the label right/ Lotta cats wonder how/ Every time I dis that label I get fined a hundred thou."
In the March issue of XXL magazine, which features Cam'ron on the cover, the Harlem native sheds light on where things began to fall apart with Jay-Z. "The real problems began when Jay went away and Dame was talking about making me president. When Jay came back, he had an attitude," Cam told the publication. "He said to Beanie Sigel something to the effect that he didn't feel comfortable with what Dame was trying to do."
Released simultaneously with "You Got to love it" was a second track, "Swagger Jacker." In this unprecedented track created originally by DJ DAT of the Bronx, Cam'ron outlines numerous instances where Jay-Z has performed lyrics originally recorded by a bevy of other rappers, most notably the late Notorious B.I.G. In the song "What More Can I Say," Jay-Z states, "I'm not a biter, I'm a writer/ For myself, and others/ I say a Big verse, I'm only big enough my brotha." He is referring to the fact that he has referenced several lines from deceased rapper Notorious B.I.G. (I say a Big verse), and that he is not trying to copy or emulate Biggie's style, but rather to just glorify his admiration for one of his favorite rappers and one of his closest friends, Biggie (I'm only biggin up my brotha).
After over a dozen samples of original lines are played side-by-side with their respective appearances on Jay-Z songs (including evidence of Jay-Z using lines from old-school rap legend Slick Rick) Cam'ron exclaims "no wonder you retired," implying Jay-Z's withdrawal from music was a result of having no more original Notorious B.I.G. material to pirate. The song also featured samples of Jay-Z "biting" lines from Snoop Dogg, 2pac (who, when he was alive beefed with Jay), Big Daddy Kane, Rakim, Big L and Nas.
In 2006, Cam'ron held a press conference to discuss his possible jail term and addressed the Jay-Z beef. Since he was convicted on a weapons possession in 2004, he needed permission to leave the state. Cam stated that he always get permission but his trip to D.C. was a last minute decision. "The D.C. police are putting pressure on the New York police." "I go to court on Tuesday. They're going to try and give me 30 days because I won't talk," Cam was quoted as saying. He was referring to the incident in D.C., where he was shot. He refuses to cooperate with the police about what happend when he got shot.
When asked about the reason behind the whole Jay-Z beef, he said the final straw was the Jay-Z "I Declare War" concert. He went on to say that Jay was attempting to find Jim Jones's catholic school pictures and footage of Cam and Jones getting jumped. He also implied that at one point Jay-Z was in love with female rapper Charli Baltimore. "A lot of people thought it was about a bootleg CD, It was about Charli Baltimore. He love her." He was talking about the Jay-Z/Lance "Un" Rivera stabbing. He also went on saying that part of his agreement from being released from Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam, was that he could not talk badly about the label or it's employees or he would be fined $100,000.
Later music projects
Cam'ron's frequently stalled fourth album, Purple Haze, was released on December 7, 2004. The follow-up from Cam'ron's group, The Diplomats, Diplomatic Immunity 2 was released on November 23, 2004. As of April 28, 2005, Cam'Ron left Roc-A-Fella Records and joined the Warner Music Group under the Asylum Records imprint. Although Cam'ron has a loyal fan base, many former admirers have left the camp due to his change in rap style after his reemergence in 2001. He can still create crafty lyrics, but sometimes his new style has come under scrutiny from some hip-hop purists. He sometimes creates nonsensical lyrics that are a far cry from the aggressive rhymes from his early days. However, he has gained himself a following that is often called a movement. That movement has extended as far as Portland, Oregon, where the 2005 PolitiCorps fellows of the Oregon Bus Project adopted "Hey Ma" as their official theme song. Killa Season, Killa Cam’s new album, is scheduled to be released in April 2006, along with a DVD by the same name. This dvd will have almost every Diplomat in the movie excluding Freeky Zeeky (who is in jail). Several tracks off of Cam's new album have been leaked, such as the first single "Do Your Thing" as well as "I Love My Life" and "Something New".
Shooting
In the early morning of Sunday, October 23, 2005, Cam'ron was shot three times after a botched carjacking in Washington, DC. Cam'ron was leaving a popular nightclub, where he was relaxing after performing earlier Saturday at Howard University. Cam'ron had stopped at a traffic light at the intersection of New York Ave. and New Jersey Ave. in northwest DC. Shortly after midnight, a passenger of a nearby car told Cam'ron to "give up" his 2006 Lamborghini. Cam'ron resisted and drove away, and the gunman then began shooting. Cam'ron was struck twice in his right arm and once in his left as he was holding the steering wheel, but he was able to drive himself to Howard University Hospital for treatment. He caught a plane back home the next day.
The gunman and passenger sped off in a Ford Expedition and crashed into a parked car and a home and then fled the scene; they are still on the run. D.C. Metro Police also recovered a cell phone from the scene of the crash.
Discography
- 1998: Confessions of Fire #6 US [Certified: Gold]
- 2000: S.D.E. #14 US
- 2002: Come Home With Me #2 US [Certified: Platinum]
- 2004: Purple Haze #20 US [Certified:Gold]
- 2006: Killa Season (to be released May 16th)