Dipset + Fool's Gold = Movie!
"Uptown it ain't nothing sweet—Just guns and grief, tons of beef," observed young Cameron Ezike Giles on "Harlem Nights," a track by the mid '90s rap crew Children of the Corn featuring Bloodshed and Big L, both of whom are now sadly deceased. As Cam emerged as one of Harlem's greatest lyricists, it was Murda Ma$e, another former CotC member, who introduced Killa to Biggie Smalls. Big Poppa, in turn, tried to sign Cam but the Harlem hot boy held out for a quarter mill—and then on March 9, 1997 Biggie too was gone. By getting down with childhood friend Dame Dash at the Roc and establishing his own crew, the Diplomats, Cam'Ron cemented his status as both a survivor and a hip-hop iconoclast—as if the pink furs and matching Land Rover didn't make that abundantly clear. But that was 10 years ago, and Dipset has been relatively quiet for a minute. Who could inspire Killa to show the world he was still "The realest since Kumbaya"?
Enter Alain "A-Trak" Macklovitch. The former 15-year-old world DJ championship winner from Quebec who progressed from the Invisibl Skratch Picklz to Kanye West's tour DJ to co-founder of Fool's Gold Records. Although A-Trak's best known for EDM turntable domination, his Federal Reserve project with Cam is straight hip-hop, featuring additional production from Party Supplies, Just Blaze and AraabMuzik and guest spots from Jim Jones and Juelz Santana. Ever since hearing "Humphrey," the first track of Federal Reserve, Killa's been back in fighting form. Consider the rare DipSet's trifecta to be just an added bonus. To celebrate this crucial MC/DJ connection, Complex collaborated with A-Trak and Cam on a cover story that took on a life of its own. We all know how annoying it can be to hear rappers hype themselves up by yelling "Movie!" But trust and believe—this Complex cover quickly escalated to become a major motion picture. The trailer for said film, with the pause-worth title Two The Hard Way, is presented here as a fully immersive digital cover experience, making full use of parallax-scrolling technology—3-D classes and popcorn sold separately. Deputy Editor Donnie Kwak chopped it up with Dame Dash, Cam, and A-Trak for the Q&A while Rik Cordero directed the lights, camera, action and photographer Justin Hogan captured some cinematic stills. Our April/May issue will be hitting newsstands in a few weeks but you're green-lit for full access to "Two The Hard Way" right now.
Read the full Cam'Ron & A-Trak Cover Story CONTINUE READING
Related:- Cam'Ron: Complex Individual
- The 50 Greatest Dipset Songs
- A-Trak and Dave 1 Fashion Story
