By Odeisel
Cameron Giles has been lying low the last couple years. Beefs with Hov, 50, and his own Dipset family had Cam taking a low profile. But like all emcees, sooner or later you have to get back to the stage. While his original homies have dipped, Cam is set this time around with DJ Drama and new partner in rhyme Vado with the latest Gangsta Grillz: Boss Of All Bosses 2.
Cam wastes no time getting back into the swing of things on the “Intro” over a little classical music. The “no homos” and Cam-isms are still in effect and if you are a Cam follower you won’t be disappointed with this offering. His long winded diatribes are a bit blablabla but after such a long silence you expect him to get his s**t off. Following the intro he lets off a coming soon commercial setting up 2010 to be the seeming year of the Killa.
“Always Made It” finds Cam talking that Harlem talk to a cruise control speed beat. It sounds a bit dated like ’02 Dipset, but still solid. Cam goes through his rags to riches story without the baby rhymes that plagued much of his recent material. “Point The Finger” picks the pace up a bit, with Cam more hyped and assertive. Vado brings up the rear on the chorus and the second verse. I have to admit I saw him on stage in ’09 and he was trash but he gets busy on this track.
“Nuthin Like Araab Music” has Cam going over a piano similar to “Welcome to New York” without the gravity. The rhyme schemes are classic Cam, and most lines connect very well. Vado again delivers and while this song lacks direction it’s perfect for mixtape fodder. Those skits with Cam and his baby mom’s are back with the hilarious “U Right” where Cam attempts to pacify home girl into shutting up during a blackout by continuously saying “u right.” A bit of bragging from Drama leads directly to “Stop It Slime” which is begging for a verse from Juelz Santana. Vado sounds a bit Juelz lite on this and the interspersing of the title into the song is annoying due to the slow drag of the song.
From there we have “They Feeling Us” which is a bit cliché with a bunch of stuff that you know you’ve heard in other songs but can’t put your finger on. “Keep my polo on when I’m sexing cause I’m fucking fly”…cute. Otherwise it’s typical, save Cam’s closing verse. “Bezel Up” is the Cam you know and love with clever wordplay, Harlem shit popping and the slow, deliberate flow, minus the computers ‘putin. “A Mafia” is more of the same stuff. At this point the tape is dragging. There isn’t any new ground covered and all of the songs are similar sounding. Those Dipset classics had great production and that upper level board work is replaced with bored work. Not wack, just stuck in neutral.
“They Holla Ayo” injects some higher energy Southern bounce to the mix and Cam responds with a higher energy. Nothing crazy, but a definitive difference from the previous delivery on the tape. Ditto Vado. We get a break in the monotony with another baby momma skit,” U Right 2.” It’s well placed because the album was getting dull.
The music returns with “Ohh Baby” complete with chipmunk samples and that a/b a/b rhyme scheme. Retread and unexciting. It picks up with “Get Away” which finds Cam and friends rhyming over Mobb Deep’s classic of the same name. With production like that, the weakness in delivery and energy level are compensated for and you have a solid song. Cam returns to that drug rap on “Nothing Personal” but the song is tolerable due to the production and Cam’s added energy on it. A boring and incredibly weak chorus deflates the Vado showcase track “Movin Raw.” “Do Wrong” continues the number of songs that recall to earlier Dipset days. While it will satisfy diehard fans, it runs counter to Cam moving forward with a new phase of his movement and it leaves Vado in particular at a disadvantage. “Lonely” is more of the same. Once again the comic relief of Cam’s baby moms goes three for three in delivering us from monotony. “Whistle” is dope and one of the highlights of the album, switching up the lackluster production, if not bringing a rise in content. It at least gives room for error with the rappers on the track. It closes this journey as best as this cast of characters can.
Acts like the Clipse and normally G-Unit manage to rip the mixtape market because they deliver hard and fast with either dope production or featuring rhymes of highly recognizable beats. The beats do half the work and the rappers don’t have to worry about being catchy. This is where this tape ultimately fails. Unless you really follow Cam you’re not familiar with Vado and while he’s not trash, he’s not the greatest rapper. This album doesn’t add to Cam’s legacy nor does it allow Vado to fill the hefty shoes left by Jim, Juelz, and the rest of the gang. In that vein it’s a failure. But if you miss hearing Cam rap and you’re a Dip fanatic this will satiate you until a real project drops.
out of 5
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I think he has got it spot on with the style and lyrics in the songs. Being reminded of where he came from and how it began is necessary to get you back into his way of laying it down, then you get introduced to the much newer stuff which for me is perfect.