Released within months of
Jim Jones'
On My Way to Church, the second volume of
the Diplomats'
Diplomatic Immunity, and another flurry of mixtapes,
Cam'ron's fourth album ("Previously written in 2001," as announced in the intro) is evenly divided between strong and weak tracks. This lack of quality control will both provide ammo for
Diplomat haters and frustrate
Diplomat supporters, even if there's a durable 45-minute album in here somewhere. The backing track of "Girls," a feather-light translation of
Cyndi Lauper's "Just Wanna Have Fun," belongs on a teen pop record -- it's such a folly that it makes you wonder if somebody dared
Cam'ron to release it. "Harlem Streets" fares only a little better, with the theme from "Hill Street Blues" used to distracting and detracting effect -- perhaps the cues should've taken from
Kool G Rap & DJ Polo's "Ill Street Blues" instead. On the other side, a pair of soul-steeped productions from
Kanye West ("Down and Out," built on
William Bell's "Strung Out") and the
West-inspired Pop & Versatile ("Soap Opera," using
Smokey Robinson's "Merry-Go-Round") help prop the album back up, and
Heatmakerz's rallying "More Gangsta Music" features some of
Juelz Santana's infectious youthful energy. Though it has been two years since
Cam'ron's last solo album, there's so much
Diplomat-affiliated material stuffing the racks that even the most devoted followers must be on the verge of overdosing on the crew's bewildering, nonsensical rhymes. "Cause I feed you well/Every sneaker, hell/You eat Louis, sh*t Gucci, breathe Chanel/Karl Lagerfeld, acting like Gargamel" wins the prize on this release. Inconsistencies and gratuitous running time be damned, a lot of rap fans will be happy just to have another
Cam'ron album to devour. Fellow
Diplomats JR Writer,
Jim Jones, and Freeky Zekey make appearances, along with
Twista and
Jaheim. ~ Andy Kellman