Crime Pays [PA]

Performer: Cam'Ron
Artist: C.O.; Sky Lynn; 40 Cal; Byrd Lady; Skitzo
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Three years after KILLA SEASON was met with mixed receptions, following rifts within his clique and a barrage of industry rumors, the Dipset leader returns with a lot to prove on his long-awaited sixth LP, CRIME PAYS. Lackadaisically boasting over coke-sniffing sound effects that double as percussion on the intro "I got a record company, liquor and clothing line," Cam'ron seems to have long scaled the lonely-at-the-top heights of rap-star/mogul status so that by album six, he finds it a tad boring. However, the brooding arrogance displayed on slow-mo cinematic tracks "Cookin' Up," "Where I Know You From," and "Who" outdoes past efforts. The lyrics of CRIME PAYS reflect a weary sense of the public's relentless love-hate attention and the paranoia that comes with mounting legal troubles and once-strong friendships turned tenuous. Still, Cam shows his mic skills are still there on the straight-forward working-stiff narrative of "My Job" and the autobiographical "Get it Get it."

Rolling Stone (p.70) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he Harlem MC remains one of hip-hop's most compelling eccentrics, enlivening clich�d gangsta subject matter and pro forma beats with his deceptively virtuosic flow..." Spin (p.85) - "On 'Crime Pays Intro,' and 'Cookin' Up,' he deals references to old-school prop comics and contemporary point guards....He may have kept his gift hidden, but he didn't lose it." Entertainment Weekly (p.59) - "[W]ith inventive rhyme schemes and a well-developed sense of sarcasm." -- Grade: B

The leader of Harlem crew the Diplomats (aka Dipset), Cam'Ron first made a name for himself as a member of Children of the Corn, also featuring his cousin Bloodshed, Ma$e, and the late great Big L. Killer Cam began a lucrative partnership with Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella label in the early 2000s that culminated in the commercial and stylistic landmark, PURPLE HAZE. Both a colorful rapper and a pop figure in general, Cam'Ron has been involved in multiple feuds (with, among others, his own former colleague Jay-Z), a shooting, and some rough-and-tumble business practices. All of which have helped make him one of the largest personalities in hip-hop's new millennium.

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