Its safe to state there was an evolving void when Cam’ron announced his retirement from the rap game in 2014. Hip-hop culture just got that void filled with the secret release of Cam’s mixtape, The Program. The veteran rappers’ significant themes throughout the mixtape, touch heavily on the pitfalls and glamour of drug culture, fashion and fast cars, loyalty, beef, hoes, ex-lovers, Instagram facades, and the everlasting truth that New York has more dialect and slang idioms than the rest of the world can keep up with. Cam’ron has earned his veteran credentials, not only through age and maturity, but more so from the perfecting of his craft and staying true and consistent to the dope art of metaphors and similes. He is nothing short of a rap genius.
The first track “Its Killa”, produced by up-and-coming producer DollaVision, gives fans get a taste of how drug laws really work, and how beneficial the statute of limitation laws can be. Now that Cam’ron can exercise his First Amendment right without penalty, he is able to suffice his burning desire, to share his illicit heroin tales with us hungry fans. Staying true to the course and shrewd New Yorker stereotype, Cam’ron introduces us to ReRe, the pesky Instagram follower. The “Curve” interlude, shows how the façades of Instagram, give people an unhealthy delusion that they actually know you in real life. When the real life encounter occurs, the curving act, is inevitable.
Mid mixtape, we get smacked with “Coleslaw,” a track produced by Zombie. A well-crafted and articulate metaphor for the “overlooked and unwanted ” members of the hip hop culture, comparing them to yucky coleslaw. When you really think about it, who the fuck really craves coleslaw ever? What stands out most about this track, is a very blunt calling out of infamous shit talking rapper, Kanye West. Can the hip-hop culture smell a lucrative beef creeping upon us? It would be very un- Kanye of Kanye not to respond to such an apparent “Fuck You.” Of course if fellow New Yorker Jay-z is publicly beefing with Ye’, it is only natural for Cam to exacerbate the quarrel. This track did stimulate a burning question: Kanye did you really check into the psych ward? If so, Cam give your fellow veteran word slanging mate a pat on the back for being responsible with his mental well being. But we get it, the first rule of beefing, attack with no mercy. Cam’ron 1, Kanye 0.
To wrap up his vibrant tales of getting money, hoes and clothes, all while saying fuck you to the law, Cam’s last track “UWASNTThere”, produced by JB Music, gives the listeners a briefing of his rocky family foundation, a view of the beauty in drug trafficking, and his ever lasting love for the Westside of Chicago. His last track is an emotional narrative of how far he has come, reminding you, you were not there to witness the actions, which have now rightfully earned him the right to compare himself to Michael Jackson. Thank You Cam for not retiring.
Rating: 8.2/10
