When the Killa Season movie dropped last year, I made the bold claim that Camron was the funniest man in America. Many men hated, but with the passage of time, this statement has gone from being "bold" to just "true," so I guess there's only one thing left to say... in the words of MC Serch, "It's time for you to STEP OFF!"
Most recently, the two 50 Centdiss videos he released on YouTube exhibited his mastery of the "user-generated" video for comic effect. Along with the notorious Piano Man (YES, the Piano man!) retort from Scott Storch, Cam's comedy shorts (I mean video clips, not those joints he rocks in "Paid in Full") prove that YouTube is the best thing to ever happen to rap beefs. Listening to MCs talk shit and make empty threats on a mediocre track has limited appeal, but it's always hilarious to watch bootleg, poorly edited home movies of dudes trying to look hard in their garages, kicking with their real friends and the real, busted-ass chicks that they actually chill with when the labels are not paying for Superhead on the set.
For a long time now, Cam has been one of entertainment's most enigmatic figure in my mind, perhaps second only to R. Kelly and Stephen Jackson. The "Evolution of Lil Weezy" receives more ink than Mister Cartoon, but the transformation of Cam from hungry battle rapper on Confessions of Fire to "Pink Panther of Rap" on Killa Season is just as drastic. By the time "Oh Boy" dropped, Cam had already infiltrated more playlists than Bon Jovi off the strength of "Hey Ma." With a major label (sort of) at his back, he was ready to blow. He approached that fork in the road between the mainstream and the underground, but decided to roll into the no-man's land of somewhat profitable ignorance. While I don't think anyone can argue against Cam being the "hoodhold" name that brought Dipset into the public eye, he's certainly let the other Dips take the reigns on the music-making front in recent times. He doesn't seem to be at all concerned with being the "Cuuuurtissss" of his camp. Not surprising, to be fair. (While I've always put Cam on my Top 10 list and think he has at least two classic albums to his name, I am convinced Juelz is on the verge of coming into his own as a bonafide powerhouse and can pick up the slack on Killa's recent releases. So all is well.)
I guess Cam just amazes me time and again with his lack of concern for fostering a "star-friendly image." I remember reading a story in URB a while back about how some dudes saw Cam at Six Flags (Dipset gets it cracking at amusement parks!) and started yelling, "Dipset in the building!" like a bunch of maniacs. He responded by immediately throwing them on his street team, and I feel that this is indicative of his business decisions in general. Then I saw him get crazy ignorant on Bill O'Reilly and catch a few bullets in a purple Lamborghini, but still manage to drive to Howard hospital and refuse to snitch after the fact. I saw him brazenly call out Jay-Z for rocking sandals with jeans. And I saw him release a feature-length film that is essentially a home video of him murking fools and selling drugs. In the process, he manages to spit on a young girl's head, steal some bread to lure a bodega owner to his death, and piss all over another dude while saying "no homo" repeatedly.
In spite of what all the conspiracy theorists will tell you about labels micro-managing their artists' image, all the evidence seems to point towards a man who is not really concerned with being a superstar. I mean, no A&R could ever conceive of Killa Season as a good marketing move. But that's what's really really good, so that's what he did, ya dig? What I like about Cam is that I can't imagine him hobnobbing out in Hollywood or Farmington, CT, going to A-list parties and hanging out with the nouveau riche. Instead, I imagine him chilling in Harlem most of the time, shooting videos on a Handycam, laughing and convincing strangers to yell "Currrrrtissssss."
Last week, Cam called into Miss Jones' Hot 97 morning show to talk more shit about Fiddy and announce that he has officially changed the name of his next album to Courtesy Curtis (I like that he always calls into radio shows rather than actually being on them). Now, I hear the haters saying, "He can't sell records without a high-profile beef and now he's sunk so low as to invoke another rapper's name in his album title," and I'm here to tell you, "No, you're wrong. Cam is more hilarious than Nick Cannon and, for better or for worse, he now cares more about creating albums based around faux-products like bootleg movies and internet sitcoms than making music that is actually good." Cam said that a full sitcom, also named "Courtesy Curtis," will air on the Diplomat/Koch TV channel, "available on YouTube." In other words, it will just be on YouTube. And maybe www.u-mad.net. (Side note: Apparently "Curtis Pt. 2" was the pilot!?!?!)
Needless to say, I have not been more excited for a show since "Planet Earth" came out on the Discovery Channel and I got to see slow-motion footage of Great White sharks murking seals. I envision "Courtesy Curtis" as a mix between "Cops," the "Wayans Bros.," and "Belly." It will definitely be incredible, but I have to say I'm still patiently waiting for the DVD where Cam and his manager confront pedophiles 20/20 style. As Cam explained, "When they get there, it's gonna be me and Big Joe like, 'What the hell are you doing, you damn pervert? What the fuck is wrong with you, coming to meet a 13-year-old boy?'" Last year, he claimed that they needed to catch like 8 more pedos on camera to get the DVD ready, but maybe they're more slippery than he thought or maybe he decided that the "stop snitching" credo even extends to sex offenders. I've always wanted to be on a Dipset DVD, but -- and I'm very strict about this -- I am not willing to break the law under any circumstances.
By the way, did you syndromes hear they found Cam's rhyme book? After a thorough investigation, I have decided that this is definitely real (peep it here). Wyle out, retarded kids!
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