Cameron Giles is the Rap Game Bill Murray—a master of his craft with inimitable, endearing peculiarities.
Marching to the beat of his own drum sequence, Cam'ron effortlessly glides through every facet of life with an understated coolness that is easily appreciated and difficult to duplicate. He has provided the universe with countless hours of entertainment that go way beyond basic LOLs and cry-laugh emojis. It would be difficult to find someone who has been more critical to the canon of rap, pop culture, fashion and modern language.
When he released Ghetto Heaven Vol. 1, his first solo project since 2009's Crime Pays, the plate tectonics began shifting. Rapping over The Golden Girls theme, a sped-up "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" sample, an Opera Steve/"Killa Cam"-esque track, an ode to Catfishing…it was evident Cam had returned, and that he was just warming up.
Cam'ron is a legend whether you are willing to admit it or not. However, the difference between Cam and other living legends like Andre 3000 is that his importance goes beyond music. Other than the three verses he drops a year, what has Andre 3000 given us in the past few years? A Gillette commercial. Jay Z? Awkward dad memes. Nas? Nothing.
Why do we continue to question his genius? This is why he is special.
Simply being blessed with Cam'ron's presence is the gift.
When he posted a photo of him wearing a satin Dipset cape on instagram two weeks ago with the hashtag #KillaCapeSeason, we were in disbelief. "Haha. Wow. That's funny…wait, is Killa Cam really going to make capes happen? No way. This can't be." Everyone was incredulous.
That was a tremor. We should have known; we should have prepared.
Then the earthquake hit. Mark McNairy released photos of their collaboratively-designed custom capes.
There were fur capes! There were flannel capes! There were camo capes! It was breathtaking. If Cam'ron puts his mind to something, it's going to happen, and #KillaCapeSeason is proof. There is no other artist or person currently breathing that could make capes fashionable, or even desirable. Only Cam'ron. If Cam'ron were the one wearing kilts instead of Kanye, we'd all have a kilt or two in our closet. We all looked at these cape pictures saying, "Damn. I never really thought about it before, but capes are dope. I need one." We did the same thing in 2004 when Cam'ron paraded about in all pink. Why do we continue to question his genius? This is why he is special.
The aftershock was when Cam'ron and Juju stepped out at Mark McNairy's Fall/Winter Fashion Week show. They resembled royalty in every aspect— the Queen and King of Zamunda. Cam looked like half-foreign-dignitary, half-Batman.
He is both the hero we deserve and need.
Sure. New Cam'ron music is always welcome, but society really just needs him to be alive and do things. His return to semi-prominence gives us "Outkast Reunion Festival Tour" hope for Dipset, which could singlehandedly fix our broken economy, end racism, pay off everyone's student loans and combat childhood obesity…but it's not necessary. Cam'ron is a larger-than-life celebrity whose constant quest to have fun reminds us all that we too should have fun; don't take life so seriously. In a world that seeks to crush our spirit daily, that is a vital reminder. Cam'ron stands as a shrine for all that is good, and all that can possibly be good. Through his life, we are able to better ourselves and our world.
We should all be ecstatic for Cam'ron's renaissance because who knows what's next! Who knows what his next gift to mankind will be. This is an exciting time to be alive; and, though it may end up mirroring Jordan's return to the Wizards, at least we were able to witness his greatness once more…at least we got a few more highlights. For that, we should be thankful.
Justin Roberson (@BauceSauce) loves creating and sharing content more than life itself. He can often be found on the Internet having fun.
