Cam'ron

Cameron Giles (better known as Cam’ron) is an American rapper signed to SRC Records. He also operates his own label, Diplomat Records, with his partner and best friend Jim Jones. He is a member of the rap group, The Diplomats.

Biography
Cameron Giles was born on February 4, 1976 in Harlem, Manhattan. He went to a local high school and would meet lifelong friends and fellow rappers Mase and Jim Jones as they all played on the same basketball team. In 1994, Cam developed the nickname Cam’ron and formed a rap group with Mase and Big L. After two members of the group died, the group dissolved and Mase introduced Cam’ron to The Notorious B.I.G., who would introduce Cam to his manager Lance “Un” Rivera. Un would go on to sign Cam to his management firm and help him get himself and his Diplomat Records a distribution deal with Epic Records.

’‘Confessions of Fire’‘ (1998)
After reaching a deal with Epic Records in 1997, Cam’ron began work on his debut album, ‘’Confessions of Fire.’‘ The album was released on July 21, 1999 and went Gold. The album featured the hit singles “Horse and Carriage” featuring Mase, “3-5-7," and “Feels Good” featuring Usher. The album featured production from Jermaine Dupri and Un.

’‘S.D.E.’‘ (2000)
Two years after the release of his lukewarm debut album, Cam returned with his second album, ‘’S.D.E..’‘ The album featured the singles “Let Me Know,” “What Means the World To You,” and “My Hood” featuring Jim Jones. This propelled ‘’S.D.E.’‘ to over 600,000 copies sold and a Gold certification. After the release of this album, Cam decided it was time for him and his Diplomat Records to leave Epic Records because they were not properly promoting music from the Diplomats imprint.

After leaving Epic, many labels wanted to sign Cam and his Diplomats. He almost ended up signing a distribution deal with Bad Boy/Arista. Cam’ron would run into childhood friend Damon Dash and he would tell him about his situation and Dash signed him and Diplomat Records to a distribution deal with Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam.

’‘Come Home With Me’‘ (2002)
In December 2001, Cam’ron signed with Roc-A-Fella Records and in May 2002, he released his third album, ‘’Come Home With Me.’‘ The album featured the two massive summer hits “Oh Boy,” and “Hey Ma,” both of which featured Diplomat rapper, Juelz Santana. The album would become the most commercially successful album in his entire career as it sold 1.2 million copies and went Platinum before the end of 2002. Future rival, Memphis Bleek is featured on the album.

’‘Purple Haze’‘ (2004)
In December of 2004, Cam would release his fourth album, ‘’Purple Haze.’‘ The album would be commercially successful as it sold 800,000 copies and earned himself another Gold album. The album also featured a plethora of guest appearances coming from Kanye West among others and production from Roc-A-Fella in-house producers such as Just Blaze. The album achieved all of this despite not receiving the promotion of the other releases on Roc-A-Fella that year. This would anger Cam’ron, as he decided to move his Diplomat Records once again.

He would end his contract with Roc-A-Fella Records and signed a solo deal with Asylum Records and left his Diplomat Records in the hands of Koch Records. His departure from the Roc would lead to long-standing feuds with many Roc-A-Fella artists, such as Jay-Z and Memphis Bleek. Then, the Dame Dash split occurred over who would be the new CEO of Roc-A-Fella as Dame wanted it to be Cam and Jay wanted it to be Bleek. This would set the stage for their highly-publicized feud.

’‘Killa Season’‘ (2006)
After leaving Roc-A-Fella, Cam’ron signed a solo deal with Asylum Records and released his fifth album, ‘’Killa Season,’‘ in May 2006. The album featured an appearance from Lil’ Wayne on his Jay-Z and Memphis Bleek’‘ diss track, “Touch It Or Not.” It would end up being his lowest-selling album in his career at 500,000 albums, but still managed to go Gold. The album was also featured with a film of the same title.

Business Ventures
Since his career began in 1994, Cam’ron has gone on to start Diplomat Records and has distribution deals with three labels, Koch/Epic, Def Jam Recordings, and SRC Records, since he has left Asylum/Warner Bros. Records.

50 Cent
In February 2007, Cam’ron became engaged in a heated feud with 50 Cent and G-Unit Records after they had an argument on-air at Hot97, when they both came in to speak. Cam would threaten 50's life and had to be escorted out of the studio, soon diss tracks would follow Cam released the diss song, “Curtis,” while 50 Cent would respond with “Hold On,” with Young Buck. The beef comes from 50 calling Diplomat Records’ primary distributor, Koch Records, a graveyard and how no one sells there. Cam’ron would go on to say how his indie artists outsell 50's artists such as Lloyd Banks, Mobb Deep, and Tony Yayo laughing at how Jim Jones outsold all of them. 50 Cent would go on to say that he still outsells Cam’ron every single time they release albums.

Memphis Bleek
The feud with Memphis Bleek originates from who was going to preside over Roc-A-Fella Records after Jay-Z took over at Def Jam. At the same time, a rift was growing between Dash and Jay and they disagreed over who would take over. Jay’s choice was Bleek and Dash’s choice was Cam’ron. Because of this disagreement, Cam’ron and Dame Dash would leave and Bleek took over day-to-day operations. This sparked a feud between the four involved. The feud stuck to interviews in the early stages, but by late 2006, both had released numerous diss songs aimed toward each other. The feud got physical when the two crews had a run-in and Cam’ron got punched in the eye. In 2007, Bleek released a track dissing the entire Diplomat roster. The feud has died down, but is still very active as Memphis Bleek has plans to “ether” Cam and his crew.

Discography

 * 1998: ‘’Confessions of Fire’‘
 * 2000: ‘’S.D.E.’‘
 * 2002: ‘’Come Home With Me’‘
 * 2004: ‘’Purple Haze’‘
 * 2006: ‘’Killa Season’‘