4 thoughts on “No Country For Old (Rap) Men: Cam'(W)ron(g)?”
While I agree that ‘First of The Month Vol.1’ is dreary in the extreme, I’m surprised you’re not feeling ‘Dipshits’. To me, it’s quintessential Dipset: The intro alone ticks myriad Dipset boxes (The Dipset ‘deep note’; “No Homo”; “JUST BLAAAAAZE!” etc)before the typically bombastic production even gets going, and Cam does drop a couple of quotables (the “showerhead” line in particular). I’d argue that Cam and A-Trak’s ‘Humphrey’ is also a bonafide belter.
Cam’ron has never been consistent. He has no classic albums.
^ We can quibble on what actually constitutes a classic, but SDE was pretty damn good.
What prevents much of Cam’s even really good material from being “classic” is that most of it is very era-driven.
He has distinct phases of his career and has a tendency to go overboard with fashion and marketing in a way that sort of stamps a lot of what he does as a product of a moment in time.
But, if you go back all the way to COC, you can put together a best-of catalog from Cam that is pretty impressive and spans 20 years. He’s had mainstream hits and underground bangers, and he has a definitive style.
There are also a lot of other MCs that I’d consider dope and consistent who might not have a “classic” album to their credit. So, I don’t think having a “classic” album is a necessary condition for the praise Robbie gave Cam.
Not everything he’s done is CRC-material, but as an overall artist, I’d give Cam CRC approval.
I’m not denying cams body-of-work, I often like Cams music. I’m just saying the guy has never been consistent – not even over an albums length, let alone his career so him releasing trash every now and again is just typical Cam. We should just be happy he’s not making music with Vado any more.
While I agree that ‘First of The Month Vol.1’ is dreary in the extreme, I’m surprised you’re not feeling ‘Dipshits’. To me, it’s quintessential Dipset: The intro alone ticks myriad Dipset boxes (The Dipset ‘deep note’; “No Homo”; “JUST BLAAAAAZE!” etc)before the typically bombastic production even gets going, and Cam does drop a couple of quotables (the “showerhead” line in particular). I’d argue that Cam and A-Trak’s ‘Humphrey’ is also a bonafide belter.
Cam’ron has never been consistent. He has no classic albums.
^ We can quibble on what actually constitutes a classic, but SDE was pretty damn good.
What prevents much of Cam’s even really good material from being “classic” is that most of it is very era-driven.
He has distinct phases of his career and has a tendency to go overboard with fashion and marketing in a way that sort of stamps a lot of what he does as a product of a moment in time.
But, if you go back all the way to COC, you can put together a best-of catalog from Cam that is pretty impressive and spans 20 years. He’s had mainstream hits and underground bangers, and he has a definitive style.
There are also a lot of other MCs that I’d consider dope and consistent who might not have a “classic” album to their credit. So, I don’t think having a “classic” album is a necessary condition for the praise Robbie gave Cam.
Not everything he’s done is CRC-material, but as an overall artist, I’d give Cam CRC approval.
I’m not denying cams body-of-work, I often like Cams music. I’m just saying the guy has never been consistent – not even over an albums length, let alone his career so him releasing trash every now and again is just typical Cam. We should just be happy he’s not making music with Vado any more.