When talking about rappers, one must always make reference to the ego, the bravado and the machismo of its esteemed participants.
Cam’ron has always offered a certainly cool and cocky swagger that would suggest that he’d never own up to naming his favorite rappers. But, lo and behold, Cameron Giles has no qualms about naming his Top 5 rappers, even if he’s had major beef with them.
This is going to be fun.
The Notorious B.I.G
“As for Big, I met Big about two or three times through Ma$e, you know Ma$e took me to his house, I rapped for him. That’s kinda how I got my deal because after he passed away like he had told Un [Lance Rivera] about me and Un signed me after that.”
Tupac Shakur
“I kinda appreciated ‘Pac after he died. You know, they always say stuff like that but I got the Makaveli album soon as he died. I was like, “Yo this album is crazy” and I started going through the archives of his old stuff and I was like, “Wow.” I wasn’t into him like that when he was alive, but after he died I started listening to all his s**t.” And, I was like wow this dude is amazing.”
Nas
“As far as Nas is concerned, I grew up listening to Nas before we even started beefing. You know I wouldn’t say his latest stuff is my favorite even though I like a couple of things on there but you know like “NY State of Mind,” representing first album was one of the classics Illmatic.”
Jay-Z
“Jay-Z’s first album also you know I liked his first two or three albums um as far as “Can I Live” stuff like that, you know vintage vintage Jay-Z definitely. He’s (comparable to) Big, Pac of course they are two of the greatest. If somebody is rappin’ or plays basketball or whatever and says somebody’s better than them, they don’t even need to compete.”
Cam’ron
“With me, my word play is great. I could rhyme with anybody. It’s like I did a song with Mariah Carey then next week with Ol’ Dirty Bastard or I could do a song with Bone Crusher and do a song with whoever you know, John Legend. I think that’s what makes me different also and then at the same time I been South like when I lived in Atlanta. I lived in Chicago. I lived in Ohio. I lived in Englewood, California for a couple years so me being throughout the United States you begin to see different things. I’ll be in Ohio and I’ll do a song with some people that you’ll probably never hear the song and never get to meet them but they take that like, “Wow we did a song with Cam.” Then on top of that, I’m just like a fly n***a too. Like you know my swag is a million like far as jewelry, clothes, anything. All that combined I think that makes me who I am.”
Lil Wayne: Honorable mention
“Right now, (If I have to pick somebody other than myself), I would say Wayne, Lil Wayne. He gotta lot of versatility and a lot of stuff that he does, he rhymes off the top of his head. You know a lot of times people rhyme off the top of they head, but it doesn’t really make sense. They just rhyming of the top of they head. I think he’s one of the better artists that could rhyme off the top of they head and still make sense of what he’s talking about.”
On having highly publicized beefs with Nas and Jay-Z, but still respecting their skill:
“Is Kobe Bryant mad he gotta play Lebron James tonight? You know what I’m sayin? I’m not one of them people that’s beefin’ or battling with people and not gonna say who’s hot. That’s just a hater. Like if you think about like I said, not sayin that there stuff isn’t good now or whatever, but the vintage Nas and Jay’s first two, three albums was crazy. So definitely I would say (they are my favorites). It doesn’t bother me at all but I’m not gonna hate.
THE SIDEBAR
AllHipHop.com needed to know from Cam’ron, why he loves Chicago so much:
“I fell in love with Chicago. To be honest, I grew up watching “Good Times” so when I ever went to Chicago I was like I gotta go to them “Good Times” projects man. They called Cabrini Green and they actually tearing them down now. I went there and Chicago – I been around the whole world – and Chicago is the only city I would say that’s identical to New York. What I’m saying is Chicago’s kinda identical to New York as far as subways, as far as L-trains, as far as projects, as far as tenements. The Southside is like Brooklyn, the West side is like Harlem. The people (of Chicago) have a little more hospitality. They don’t have as much as that rough edge as New York got. Don’t get it twisted, people will die out there and there will be crime . I just get a real homely feeling with Chicago and the same thing with Ohio.”