Avg Rating: 
3.2 ( 10 total votes )
Like a shark, hip-hop never stops moving, and in 2002 Cam’ron was the great white of the rap game. All of America was shoutin Oh Boy, women were hearin Hey Ma on every corner, and Cam was draped in pink furs. Then, slowly, it all began to unravel. After leaving Def Jam for the supposedly greener pastures of Warner Music, his next album Killa Season flopped. Then the core of his vaunted Dipset crew began to disintegrate, first Jim Jones broke away and then Juelz Santana. In the midst of all this drama, Cam essentially … ...Read the full album review
DJBooth Album Review
Like a shark, hip-hop never stops moving, and in 2002 Cam’ron was the great white of the rap game. All of America was shoutin Oh Boy, women were hearin Hey Ma on every corner, and Cam was draped in pink furs. Then, slowly, it all began to unravel. After leaving Def Jam for the supposedly greener pastures of Warner Music, his next album Killa Season flopped. Then the core of his vaunted Dipset crew began to disintegrate, first Jim Jones broke away and then Juelz Santana. In the midst of all this drama, Cam essentially disappeared from the spotlight. Was he taking a break from the industry? Helping his mother recover from an illness? Both? Either way, the rap game never stops moving, and when Cam stopped moving along with it, it moved on without him.
Don’t call it a comeback. More than three years after the release of his last album, Harlem’s finest is back with the ironically titled Crime Pays (crime might pay, but apparently not as well as music). If nothing else it’s good to hear Cam back on his grind, with all the tabloid beef it was easy to forget what a gifted lyricist he is, but Crime Pays is more than a “don’t forget about me” album. It’s a statement, the first battle in Cam’ron’s war to regain his previously elite status. LL Cool J can come knock me out if he wants, but I’m gonna have to call it a comeback.
It’s only fitting that we start with the intro, in this case the title track/manifesto Crime Pays. After such a prolonged absence Cam couldn’t afford to come soft on the first track, and Crime Pays announces its presence with shock and awe. Over production that sounds like a gangsta version of Phantom of the Opera, Cam launches into a flow delivered with a slowness that can only come from confidence, switching from punchlines to storytelling mode with ease. The bangers continue on Get It In Ohio, an unlikely Midwest anthem from a native East Coaster that pays homage to the glorious Buckeye state (birthplace of yours truly). Ohio hits so hard it’s easy to miss Cam’s lyricism, but a closer listen reveals rhymes like, “in Akron, my ni**ers they would throw things, not King James, these were coke kings.” Just in case you didn’t get how dope that line was, Lebron James was born in Akron. From the blazing Cookin Up to the apocalyptic Who, Crime Pays proves Cam’s skills have stayed sharper than a prison shank.
Bangers will earn you respect, but they won’t earn you radio play. Cam’s biggest hits have all come from juxtaposing his guttural flows with bright and airy production, a formula he doesn’t hesitate to use on Crime Pays. The album’s first shot at chart success is Never Ever, a track that bounces so brightly it feels like a Broadway production (Cam’s description, not mine). Never Ever is the kind of track you initially dismiss, until you end up singing it an hour later. I’d be surprised if it became a smash single, but never say never. By contrast Spend the Night is just flat-out aggravating. On Spend the Night Cam inexplicably decides to join forces with some quasi-house music production, a combination that works about as well as peanut butter and mayonnaise. Luckily the bulk of the album’s attempts at mainstream appeal are much better, the catchphrase heavy Curve and the soulful Silky are standouts, but while it’s too early to say that Cam’s days as a radio killa are over, the future’s not looking bright.
Note to all rappers: Stop with the skits. Just stop. That goes for you too Cam’ron. Crime Pays includes a torturous five skits, including one unintentionally depressing phone call that sounds like it could be a future version of Cam on Celebrity Sober House. Please rappers, no…more…f**king…skits.
Speaking of which, Crime Pays could use some serious editing. I know Cam must have accumulated a lot of material in three years, but do we really need 21 tracks? Really? The album’s length unfortunately dulls some of the album’s brightest spots, like the everyman anthem I Hate My Job, one of Cam’s realest tracks, ever. Still, while Crime Pays is far from a perfect album, it is more than enough to serve as a notice to hip-hop: Cam’ron’s back, and he is not to be slept on. Now if you’ll excuse me, it’s getting a little cold in here. I’m going to go put on my pink chinchilla.
Listen to More: Cam'ron Written by Nathan S.
More From Cam'ron
Submit a Review and/or Rating
Member Reviews and Ratings
Average Member Rating: Total Ratings: 10
|
DJ Booth Crew |
Rating:
Honestly, I've never really been a huge Cam'ron fan. I know in NY he's considered the best act to come out of Harlem for a hot minute, but out here in Cali, people just aren't feeling him like that. For one thing, yes, "Crime Pays" is way to long. The album would have been an easy "four" if Cam was willing to cut it in half, but then again, hip-hop did wait three long years right?
The project's production was pretty average from longtime Dipset collaborator Skitzo. However, the absence of big name producers who appeared on Cam's previous efforts did give "Crime Pays" an authentic street feel that I ultimately enjoyed in the end. Cam needs to rap over more of those "Broadway"-like records, they kill. |
| Posted on May 12, 2009 |
|
Tastemaker  Total Ratings: 476 |
Rating:
Never been a big fan of Cam and this album lives up to my expectations of him; pretty average. He's a solid lyricist but he lacks a bit in production. I can pretty surely say I won't be listening to any of these tracks years from now (although I occasionally give "Welcome to New York" a few spins every once in a while) [mainly for Jay-Z]. Decent album.
|
| Posted on May 12, 2009 |
|
DJ Booth Member |
Rating:
dis album is hot. Cam'ron is def. back. da production is crazy and dis album hitz wit a system! But i be tired of people not givin Camron his props. like he aint created argueably one of da strongest rap groups ever formed. like he never made hits just as good as Jay-Z. like he hasnt had his own record label or his own liquor. cam has set many trends and many people followed dem. In my book cam is successful as jay-z. he might have as much money as him, but all im sayin is dat people need to give cam is props.
|
| Posted on May 12, 2009 |
|
DJ Booth Member |
Rating:
he might NOT have as much money as him. my bad- major type- lolz
|
| Posted on May 13, 2009 |
|
DJ Booth Member |
Rating:
I like it alot. after a few listens, you realize that Crime Pays is a Cam'Ron album made exactly how he wanted it to be made. Not bullied into compromising by Major labels or whoever
|
| Posted on May 13, 2009 |
|
|
Rating:
|
| Posted on May 13, 2009 |
|
Tastemaker  Total Ratings: 98 |
Rating:
it sucked that the only REALLY good songs on the album happened to be leaked months before it came out. The only new thing I heard that I liked was the intro.
|
| Posted on May 13, 2009 |
|
Tastemaker  Total Ratings: 490 |
Rating:
This lack the production of the Killa Season or Purple Haze. Not enough "Russian war music" beats :( But lyrics on point :D
|
| Posted on May 14, 2009 |
|
Tastemaker  Total Ratings: 242 |
Rating:
Cam keep it up, heard you bout' to release more albums, just get better production.
|
| Posted on May 14, 2009 |
|
DJ Booth Member |
Camron is about the corniest "major" type rapper I've heard in a very long time. He will come up with the worst fkn verses just to make something rhyme. No rating since I haven't heard (and won't be hearing) the album.
|
| Posted on May 19, 2009 |
|
Tastemaker  Total Ratings: 1077 |
Rating:
It's great to see Cam back in the game, and this album is what you would expect from the man considering his current position in the game. At the same time I can't call this album anything more than average, and it seems more like a "warm up" for his comeback. I'm sure he'll come wit a little more quality on his next effort.
Cam is one of those rappers whose quirky flow and rhyme schemes work equally well over gritty production and mainstream-friendly beats. The production on this album, for the most part, can be described as sounding "unpolished" as a whole. It's great to have that underground sound, but on this album it is a little much. Cam'ron also just sounds much better over certain production that I didn't find much of on the record. There were excessive skits and too many tracks, the fat on this album could have been easily trimmed. My Top 5: 1) Homicide (the closest to the gritty Cam that could be found all over on "Come Home") 2) My Job (is Cam'ron becoming a storyteller/social commentator?) 3) Silky (great example of how well Cam crosses over) 4) Get It Get It 5) Cookies and Apple Juice |
| Posted on May 25, 2009 |
|
DJ Booth Member |
Rating:
always been a cam fan, he came hard with this 1....no homo
|
| Posted on May 29, 2009 |
FEATURED ARTIST
FEATURED ALBUM
TOP 20 MUSIC CHARTS
The top rated new Hip Hop & R&B songs on DJBooth, updated every Sunday.
