Cam'Ron "Purple Haze" (December 7, 2004)

Cam'Ron is definitely polarizing: middle ground melts away with the mention of his name. As with most men who wear pastels, Cam is easy to love and just as easy to hate. While his 2002 Roc-A-Fella debut, Come Home With Me, and subsequent Diplomats double-disc have produced a cult-like following of Dipset devotees, his crass subject matter and simplistic flow have consistently frustrated critics who value rap complexity over lyrical slick talk. So with his fourth solo album, Purple Haze, Cam continues to draw his pink and purple line in the sand. Aside from his unwillingness to explore uncharted thematic territory-money, drugs, and freaky tales dominate the Purple world-Cam'Ron's glossy rap is often buried by the production.... But his cocksure attitude wins in the end. On "More Gangsta Music," he trades verses with Juelz Santana over a head-banging Heatmakerz bounce that stomps the energy out of the rowdy original, "Dipset Anthem." The N.W.A.-sampled "Dope Man" chases Cam and Jim Jones as they spit their criminology over aggravated snares and screeching synths. Cam's nonsensical wordplay complements the ridiculously dramatic crooning of his name on "Killa Cam"; "You one happy scrappy," he says, "I got Pataki at me / Bitches say I'm tacky, daddy / Range look like laffy taffy." It's the arrogance of it all, the superinflated confidence, the unwavering belief in self that inspires the most excessive display of purple passion this side of Price. And while you wade through the Purple Haze to find meaning in the simple things, Cam will continue to add color to his coarse style of rap until you clearly see things his way. - Vibe (01/05).

The full review in Vibe is below, as well as original promo...

Cam'ron "S.D.E." (September 19, 2000)

The only way to win the game is to play to your strengths. This is a life lesson we all learn sooner or later. Uptown representative Cam'ron learned it the hard way with his sugarcoated debut, Confessions of Fire, a watered-down CD of trite, radio-friendly songs like "Horse and Carriage." The album met with a mixed response, but one thing was clear: Cam's at his best when he gives it to you raw and uncut. Thankfully, he has finally taken control: He has severed ties with the commercially minded Untertainment and has made a rugged album that showcases his potential. On Sports, Drugs, and Entertainment, Cam employs harder-edged beats as a backdrop for his witty wordplay and cynical worldview. "That's Me" cleverly states, "Imagine me wake up 7:30 for work / I'd rather run the streets 730 with work." It's his sharp sense of humor that separates Cam from the rest. He effortlessly mixes bitter sarcasm with poignant thoughtfulness on songs such as the autobiographical title track. Thought it's likely that, at his pace, Cam will outdo himself on the next go-round, this album is a good indication that he's mastering the game. - Vibe (September, 2000). 

Full review in Vibe Magazine by Noah Callahan-Bever (Sept. 2000)...

The LOX vs. Dipset (Verzuz Battle, 8/3/21)

The LOX and Dipset took the stage at Madison Square Garden for a one night only Verzuz battle last night.... the outcome was absolute destruction. In the words of famed producer and wordsmith, Big Ghost Ltd... "I aint seen carnage like that since the movie Apocalypto. I cant remember.. but I think at one point Jada n Styles held Juelz over a pit of fire n disemboweled him to appease the Timberland gods while Cam n Jim watched helplessly.. Then Kiss rhymed over “Who Shot Ya” n Freekey Zekey just erupted into flames.. shit is a blur now. I went into this thinking its no way L-O-X would be able to out anthem my guys. But I knew shit was going sideways when the Set got lost on the way to the stage n gave Kiss a cool 5 mins to let off half a clip of jokes before the Diplomats DJ got his iPod Nano to successfully play “Bigger Picture” for em to walk out to. How yall down by 6 before the game start tho? Lox set the tone for the night early by going right into “F-ck You”…n it was all downhill from there. I know nobody in that room or anywhere else needed a whole ass Jim Jones/Purple City medley but TRUTHFULLY song selection was only part of the problem for them Harlem boys. The lack of cohesion n focus buried em. Didnt help that Lox had infinitely better stage presence, knew all they own lyrics, n could go into any chamber needed to respond (Damn Juelz…why you had to tell em they had no songs for the ladies smh). By the time Kiss used “Money, Power, & Respect” as a snippet transition to “By Your Side”.. they had already been poppin wheelies for the last 15 laps of the race. The biggest detriment to the Dips other than being outperformed was The Lox brought a real DJ who had actual timing, knew when to drop the beat, n understood the nuances of his craft. The Dips had Hell Rell or somebody using the edjing app on his phone. I stopped keeping score by the 5th round but if we went off pure energy it was something like 9 million - 3.5 for The Lox. S/o the Dips for being good sports tho..cuz I counted at least 8 moments where it probably took the willpower of a thousand Shaolin monks to not reach for a burner. Salute to both squads tho!" Dig into the 2-hour video below, which I hope remains online...

Props to the homie Shake of 2DopeBoyz, who is not only responsible for the dope artwork up above, but also put together a playlist of the tracks covered in the battle. While it does little to show the true destruction that was delivered, it's a nice complement to the video up above. You can't argue that both don't have impeccable catalogs - and, on paper - the anthems from Dipset kept them in the conversation, but they couldn't hold back the true performance and personality of Jadakiss, Styles P and Sheek Louch. Jadakiss is the official MVP of the whole shit. Enjoy all the memes out there! And riddle me this... how many hats, bandanas and durags did Juelz Santana have on? Why'd they keep bringin' up SOBs... shoulda came prepared. Don't rhyme over your vocals! Facts...