Cam'ron
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Cam'ron | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Cameron Giles |
| Also known as | Killa Cam, Flea |
| Born | February 4, 1976 [citation needed] |
| Origin | Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States |
| Genre(s) | Hip hop |
| Years active | 1997-present |
| Label(s) | Diplomat Records SRC Records Universal Records |
| Associated acts | The Diplomats, Children of the Corn |
Cameron Giles (born February 4, 1976[citation needed]), better known by his stage name Cam'ron, is a rapper, songwriter, and actor. He is also the founder of the hip-hop group The Diplomats, commonly known as Dipset.
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Biography
Cameron Giles was born in Harlem, New York. He went to school at Manhattan Center High School, where he would meet his long time friends Mase and Jim Jones. He began his musical career in the mid 1990s, rapping alongside Big L, Mase and his cousin Bloodshed in a group called Children Of The Corn. The group dissolved after Bloodshed's death in a car accident in 1997 and Big L's death in 1999. However, Giles continued to rap, and he eventually was introduced to Notorious B.I.G. by Mase,[1] who was so impressed with his skills that Biggie introduced him to his manager.
Early career
Cam'ron signed to Rivera's Untertainment label distributed by Epic/Sony, releasing his first solo album, Confessions of Fire, in July 1998. The album featured songs like "357" and "Horse And Carriage," featuring Mase. Untertainment folded in 1999, and Cam'ron was absorbed into Epic Records. Cam'ron achieved notoriety for his 2001 release from Sony Records under Tommy Mottola.
With Roc-A-Fella
With his release from Sony Records, Cam'ron moved on to sign with his childhood friend[1] Damon Dash in 2001, who had already been managing him 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.[2] 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 album, Diplomatic Immunity, in 2003, which was quickly certified platinum by the RIAA. On November 23, 2004, a year later, the Diplomats released their second album, Diplomatic Immunity 2. Although not as successful as The Diplomats' first group album, it still was boosted to gold status. Cam'ron's fourth album, Purple Haze, was released on December 7, 2004, on Def Jam/Roc-A-Fella Records. It reached gold status.[3] In December 2004, Cam'ron requested his release from Def Jam/Roc-A-Fella Records, feeling his projects weren't receiving the attention they deserved.
Asylum Records
On April 28, 2005, Cam'ron officially joined the Warner Music Group under the Asylum Records imprint.[4] Cam'ron began work on what would be his first project for Asylum, shooting a direct to video movie titled Killa Season. The film would mark both Cam'ron's screenwriting and directorial debuts, as well as his return to acting. Killa Season was released on DVD on April 25, 2006, after a special two-day theatrical release.[5] Cam'ron's fifth studio album, also titled Killa Season, was released on May 16, 2006. Despite selling 114,000 units his first week and debuting at #2 on the charts, Killa Season failed to have the same staying power as his previous releases, making it the lowest selling album of his career & first album not to reach gold status. As of November 1, 2007 Cam'ron officially stated that he had been released from Asylum Records.
Other music projects
Children of the Corn
Cam'ron first started rapping as a member of the rap group, Children of the Corn, alongside Mase, Big L, McGruff, Digga and his cousin Bloodshed. The group split up after the death of Bloodshed and before they were signed to a deal, but a collection of the group's songs was released in 2003 entitled Children of the Corn: The Collector’s Edition.
The Diplomats
Cam'ron is the leader of the Harlem rap group The Diplomats, known as Dipset. When the group's debut album, Diplomatic immunity, was released, the group became a financial success and was expanded to include three new members: Hell Rell, JR Writer, and 40 Cal.
Other ventures
Diplomat Records
Cam'ron founded Diplomat Records (distributed by Koch Records, Asylum Records, Warner Bros. Records, Def Jam Recordings, and SRC Records) in 2002 with Jim Jones, shortly after being dropped by Sony Records. He later expanded his label to form Killa Entertainment.
Acting career
Cam'ron made his acting debut on the 2002 film Paid in Full, where he played the character Rico, who is based on former Harlem drug dealer Alpo.
In 2006, Cam'ron would return to his acting career and make his debut in screen writing in his movie Killa Season. Cam'ron plays a high school basketball player who eventually drops out of high school to begin his own drug ring. The movie was released in 2006, simultaneous with the Killa Season album. It was shown at a few theaters in New York City and is now available on DVD.
Shooting & "Stop Snitchin'"
On October 23, 2005, Cam'ron was leaving a nightclub in Washington D.C., having performed the day before at Howard University, and stopped at a traffic light at the intersection of New York and New Jersey avenues.[6] Shortly after midnight, a passenger of a nearby car threatened Cam'ron to "give up" his car, a 2006 Lamborghini. Cam'ron resisted, and the gunman then shot him. Cam'ron was struck at least once as he was holding the steering wheel, but he was able to drive, going the wrong way on streets and flashing his lights, trying to get a police officer's attention because he didn't know his location or that of a hospital, until a fan drove him to Howard University Hospital. The gunman and passenger fled and crashed into a parked car and a home, then fled the scene. D.C. Metro Police recovered a cell phone from the scene of the crash, which they are trying to use to trace the suspects. On April 22, 2007, Cam'ron was interviewed on 60 Minutes about the incident. He stated that he does not know who shot him. He also stated that he would "not help the police" try to locate the shooter saying he is "not a snitch" and helping the police would probably hurt his record sales.
Cam'ron was also questioned on 60 Minutes about the "Stop Snitchin'" campaign. When asked if he would tell the police if a serial killer was living next to him, Cam'ron replied "I would probably move," but wouldn't inform the police. Cam'ron was a victim of a shooting that revealed no leads or clues because he refused to give police information about the suspect claiming it would hurt his business and violate his "code of ethics." Cam'ron has had contact with the police in the past. In the standard police report, Cam'ron did not give a description of any one of the fifteen black males that he was involved with in the physical altercation.[7]
Controversy
50 Cent
On February 1, 2007, Cam'ron and 50 Cent had a live argument on The Angie Martinez Show on Hot 97 radio. 50 Cent commented that Koch Entertainment was a "graveyard", meaning major record labels would not work with their artists.[8] Cam'ron then ridiculed the record sales of G-Unit members Lloyd Banks and Mobb Deep by stating that Jim Jones outsold their albums despite being signed to an independent label and that his group, The Diplomats, had a distribution deal from several labels.[8] Both rappers released "diss" songs with accompanying videos on YouTube. 50 Cent suggested in "Funeral Music" that Cam'ron is no longer able to lead The Diplomats and that Jim Jones should take his place. Cam'ron responded with "Curtis" and "Curtis Pt. II", in which he makes fun of 50 Cent's appearance, calling him "a gorilla, with rabbit teeth".[9] 50 Cent responded by releasing "Hold On" with Young Buck.[10] On the May 17, 2007 edition of 106 & Park, 50 Cent appeared as a guest. When asked about his beef with Cam'ron, he stated "I haven't heard anything from Cam'ron since he got punched in the eye, I haven't heard one word!" Afterwards, he scoffed, "Has anyone seen Tru Life? We should ask him about Cam'ron." A day later Cam'ron fired back on video camera with the following statement: "It's 7:40, May 17th. I just got a 2 way talking about Curtis is talking about I don't come outside. We in my vacation home because it's gonna be a real fucking hot summer for everybody. Probation is officially over. Curtis you wanna get involved? Holla at me, I'm right here."[11]
Jim Jones
Rumors have begun to spread that fellow Dipset member Jim Jones has been in many rifts and disagreements with Cam'ron. On May 7, 2007, Jones was to appear on the "Funkmaster Flex" radio show, but due to unknown reasons, Jones was a no show; making bloggers and listeners wonder if this was a statement of a possible break up within the group.[12] However, radio personality Miss Info caught up with Jones and interviewed him in which he describe the situation with him and Cam'ron. He said:
| “ | "Me and Cam'ron haven't spoken to each other in a year...I kept quiet out of loyalty, I felt like if we can't be friends then at least we can do business together," Jones explained to Miss Info. "But now I can't be next to you...I'm through with being in hot water because of you...We still the Diplomats. We worked too hard to achieve our own success and now we're gonna do something new."[13] | ” |
When Cam'ron was available for an interview with Miss Info, he talked about his relationship with Jones, saying:
| “ | "I still haven’t spoken to Jim. But Jim ran with me for over 10 years, he worked hard, and I wish him the best of luck. Everybody thinks I’m mad at Jim. Why am I mad? I told people for years that Jimmy was gonna be a star. So its better on my resume…I wish him the best. The only thing is, him being with 50, I can’t really run with that. Hang out with who you want to hang out…but me, I can’t really do nothing like that."[14] | ” |
During this controversy both Hell Rell and 40 Cal made aggressive comments towards Jim over his lack of loyalty to Cam and airing out their problems in public. This led to further speculation that a split may be occuring within Dipset
Discography
- 1998: Confessions of Fire
- 2000: S.D.E.
- 2002: Come Home with Me
- 2004: Purple Haze
- 2006: Killa Season
- 2008: Crime Pays
Filmography
- 2002: Paper Soldiers
- 2002: Paid in Full
- 2005: State Property 2
- 2006: Killa Season
References
- ^ a b Camron.. He Shoots, He Scores. Camron: Interview. AskMen.com (2002). Retrieved on October 4, 2006.
- ^ Strong, Nolan (December 23, 2002). Cam'ron Strikes Platinum. AllHipHop.com. Retrieved on October 4, 2006.
- ^ Searchable Database. RIAA
- ^ Strong, Nolan (April 29, 2005). Cam'ron Leaves Roc-A-Fella For Asylum/Warner. AllHipHop.com. Retrieved on October 4, 2006.
- ^ Cam’ron’s Killa Season Hits Big Screens in Limited Engagement. XXL (March 30, 2006). Retrieved on October 4, 2006.
- ^ Rapper Shot in Alleged Carjacking in D.C., The Washington Post
- ^ Rapper's Change Of Face, The Smoking Gun
- ^ a b Sanneh, Kelefa (February 27, 2007). Rappers Find That a Small Label Can Have Its Uses. The New York Times. Accessed May 22, 2007.
- ^ Petipas, Jolene (February 9, 2007). It's Official, 50 Cent Starts War with Cam'ron. SOHH. Accessed May 25, 2007.
- ^ Reid, Shaheem (March 28, 2007). Kanye, Cam'ron, More MCs Skip Million-Dollar Videos, Go Straight to the Web. MTV. Accessed May 25, 2007.
- ^ Cam'ron Answering To Curtis On Vacation Part 1
- ^ Jim Jones Dips Out On Cam'ron Talk, Speaks Out Against Drug Law
- ^ Jim Jones Admits Beef With Cam'ron, "Me & Cam Haven't Spoken To Each Other In A Year"
- ^ Cam’ron is no longer Anonymous... on his absence, his album, Jim Jones and more
External links
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Cam'ron |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Giles, Cameron |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Rapper |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 4, 1976 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | New York City, New York, United States |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
