Regarding the intersectionality of hip-hop, street politics, and the Black community, we’re not just on a slippery slope; we’re halfway down the steepest, iciest mountain. As the snowballing continues to accelerate, the cold-hearted character of those once worshiped with impunity is finally being called into question.
Cam’ron is one such figure.
As the frontman of the infamous Dipset, Mr. Giles is a legend in his own right. With award-winning albums, iconic movie roles, groundbreaking fashion influence, and his up-and-coming brands, he has accomplished far more than the average boy from Harlem could ever hope for—but at what point do boys become men?
Despite his success, it doesn’t seem that his mentality has evolved much, if at all, since his career began. As the saying goes, “You can take the boy out of the hood, but you can’t take the hood out of the boy.” But is this age-old adage true, or is it simply a way to justify their unwillingness to try fixing themselves?
Cam’ron is an interesting entity.
Throughout his career, he has remained offensive and outspoken and has become known for his outrageous antics during interviews, in particular. This behavior might have seemed cute or funny a decade ago, but these days, it’s giving arrested development.
Indeed, those who have watched his breakout role as Rico in the infamous film Paid in Full have long since suspected Mr. Giles may not have had to study or act very much while filming.
Cam’ron’s Ratchet Interview History
Assuming they’d done their research, CNN should’ve known interviewing Cam’ron is risky at best. His Bill O’Reilly interview is one of the most infamous in history.
Although the interview was chaotic in general, Cam’ron was the only one who resorted to childish, antagonistic antics once he felt he was losing the debate. This is a horrible example of how to conduct oneself in a business setting and probably why Jay-Z notoriously dropped Cam and the label when it was time to level up.
At any rate, points were made on both sides.
What’s most interesting is that Cam’ron didn’t refute anything. Instead, he essentially skirted his accountability as a man by pointing out that these children should have better role models so they wouldn’t have to look up to him.
The “I am not a role model” argument is always valid. However, if you are bold enough to engage in a debate on the mainstream news, you should come armed with more than distractions and excuses.
The CNN Interview
In retrospect, we can all be very critical of how his past interviews were handled. Nevertheless, his actions could also be chalked up to being young and inexperienced in the industry. Fast-forward almost 20 years, and Cam’ron’s CNN interview proves that not much has changed.
Cam’ron’s unwillingness to have a simple conversation only demonstrates that he is complicit in Diddy’s and others’ behaviors. Although Cam’ron has an entire podcast with fellow artist Ma$e, where they regularly discuss Diddy and others extensively, he played coy and refused to answer direct questions about the artist.
Despite denouncing the abuse in the video, Cam’ron pretends not to know Diddy well enough to answer any questions about his character. When asked whether he recognized that side of Diddy, he began to sound paranoid. He responded in the same way a common criminal would when being interrogated about the whereabouts of his fellow gang members.
It’s one thing to avoid being involved in a case against a comrade. It’s quite another to knowingly go on the national news to troll, deflect, and make light of a dire situation involving violence against a much younger woman.
If he genuinely didn’t want to be associated with the case, he wouldn’t have been on the show. This was Cam’ron’s attempt to re-assert himself as the “real” street dude he’s always been. His response was more in line with the “stop snitching” street code than that of an intelligent businessman who has learned how to respectfully redirect questions that may cause him to go against his personal value system.
He had no intentions of lending his voice to indeed denounce abusers or uplift the abused in any meaningful way. Instead, he sought to exonerate himself in the hip-hop court of public opinion. This shows the community that despite not having the best experiences with Diddy, he is still unwilling to help his victims get justice actively.
Unfortunately, this is considered commendable among those abiding by street politics—a depraved subculture that champions turning a blind eye to anything that doesn’t directly affect you and blatantly lacking cooperation with authorities in virtually all circumstances.
Oh Boy
Although the majority of his fans found his lewd antics comical and “real,” those with critical thinking skills have already started to question his actions. For instance, well-known Buffalo blogger DJ Bandana Black made a very interesting video on this topic.
He attempted to justify his actions by saying he was offended by the fact that they invited him to gossip rather than discuss his positive ventures. However, as many know, these companies clearly clarify what they want to discuss when they ask you. So, the intelligent thing would have been to decline the interview altogether. Nevertheless, he felt justified in publicly disrespecting a Black woman news anchor and attempting to defiantly promote his products and brands instead of doing an actual interview.
Ultimately, this did nothing to help his business as those unfamiliar with him before this interview were likely unimpressed by his lewd, impromptu ad placements. Moreover, if there is a possibility that the feds are interested in speaking to Mr. Giles about the Diddy case, this likely gave them an even better reason to interrogate him over his direct/indirect association with Mr. Combs. Either way, he’s an actual character, and a Fed interview would likely end similarly to Rico’s during Paid in Full’s final scene.
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