You were trouble when you walked in…
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[5.12]
Anthony Easton: Can women make some sort of solemn vow never to fuck Cam’ron again?
[0]
Daniel Montesinos-Donaghy: On one of the many Youtube uploads of “You Know This”, a commenter posts that Araabmuzik’s instrumental “sounds like cnn beat”. Youtube grammar aside, that seems a fair conclusion: the pillowy bass drums, heavy snares and gentle guitar loop recalls glossy Trackmasters 90s productions like Nature and Noreaga’s “I’m Leaving” and Nas’s “The Message”. Cam isn’t considered a relic of that era despite having been one of Harlem’s most recognisable non-Mase representatives – instead, he’s considered by many a relic of his absurdist mid-noughties prime when he and the Diplomats practically recreated NY hip-hop in their image. So “You Know That”, like every Dipset-related release, carries that baggage. And yes, Cam isn’t the arrogant somnambulist that once got computers ‘putin, but he’s acquired more audible character than before, pushing his voice in funny new directions. You can even hear him rap through a smile at one point, something that was once inconceivable. Also, he still gets more out of simple words than many of his peers: listen to what he does to “showboat”, “oxtails” and “chauffer”.
[7]
Alfred Soto: or “50 Ways to Ball A Lover.” Clever to foil Cam’s smut-rap with Spanish gee-tar, even when the music drops so he can go rimshot with “Not Jamaican but I gave her my jerk sauce.”
[5]
Ian Mathers: There’s almost always something intrinsically compelling about Cam’s delivery, and there are always memorable lines (jerk sauce, hope floats, Detox — I didn’t say they were always good), but it’s hard to get away from the feeling that he’s an even bigger creep than he prides himself on being. The production’s nice, but it’s so languid I’m not sure menacing lethargy (admittedly, his usual mode) is the best fit. That total nonstarter of a chorus isn’t helping either.
[5]
Ramzi Awn: The guitar riff has a way of bringing me back to the island life I never had. Throw in Cam’Ron and a few mai tais and I’m good.
[7]
Brad Shoup: That Spanish guitar sounds like early Swizz Beatz in 2D: nagging as hell, but at least it’s got some decay. Mr. Cam’ron has a decent return rate on the big jokes, but mostly he’s just bopping from rep maintenance to deft rhymes to sly puns. Probably too draggy for the club, but our local station could use some NY hip-hop.
[6]
Jonathan Bradley: I do have time for Cam’ron explicating his sexual escapades in endless detail, but not when he’s neither as inspired as in “Suck It or Not” (in which he made a Proactiv joke as well as a hot sauce one) or as depraved as in “You Know What’s Up” or “Bottom of the Pussy.” The Spanish guitar helps some though.
[5]
Andy Hutchins: Cam’ron has been an object lesson in diminishing returns with every year that passes from his Purple Haze heights, and though he’s still capable with the wordplay, it involves his penis lamentably often, and bars like “When the sun hit the jewels, turn to Avatar” regrettably infrequently. And setting up a quatrain packed with dizzying multis of internal rhyme for a fucking “showboat” pun is just insulting. On the bright side, if Gunplay’s eventually going to name a project Medellin, he should rap on at least a few beats with guitar filtered through something watery like this.
[6]