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[Samoan Enforcer]

Apr 04, 2007
Cam’Ron – “Get ‘Em Girls” · by Nikhil P. Yerawadekar



http://www.zshare.net/audio/camron_killa_cam-get_em_girls-whoa-mp3.html

Around the time I stopped paying close attention to new developments in hip-hop (it was around two years ago), the Diplomats were one of the hottest topics on the internet. It seemed as though every other week, another little bastard from their crew was putting out a mixtape that got ripped and uploaded faster than it could possibly hit the streets. Each minor, borderline unprofessional collection of gibberish they came out with added fuel to the fire of internet debates ranging from heated accusations of homosexuality aimed at just about anyone to high-minded pontifications on intentionality in art.

To a much greater degree than the mixtapes, Cam’Ron’s 2004 Purple Haze album had a ton of hype surrounding it, both from real life people in New York City and faceless people on the message boards I went to. As anyone should have been able to predict, it was too long, had too many skits and too many over-the-top attempts at commercial or crossover success. I recall the discussion behind the record dying out sometime between its internet leak and its official release date—even for those in love with the Dip Set style, Purple Haze was unfocused and mediocre, basically not worth talking about as an album. Of course, these qualities are not at all unique to commercial hip-hop albums of the new millennium. What makes Purple Haze notable is that if you’re willing to fast forward through some really transparent pandering and laziness, you can find mountains of hilarious lyrical gold from Cam’Ron.

The Dip Set/Byrd Gang Volume 1 edition of “Get ‘Em Girls,” presumably the first release of the song, features some really great production. It sounds like the work of the Heatmakerz, judging by the doubletime hi-hats and the overall thin and unmatched sound of the beat, although it is tough for me to confirm this online (and no I don’t own the CD—would somebody like to come through with the correct information?). The super-dramatic choral sample that underlies the production stands out against the busy drums, and the overall affect of the two combined is a bit awkward. By itself, it isn’t much, but the beat is perfect for Cam’Ron, whose approach to rhyming on the song is unrepentantly silly.

The version of “Get ‘Em Girls” that was officially released as a single and a track on Purple Haze is nearly identical to the one on the mp3 above in composition, but the choral sample seems to have been reworked, presumably for sample clearance reasons. Although it is louder in the mix and is supported by new low-frequency synth tracks, the original presentation makes more sense. With a less prominent beat, there is greater emphasis on the vocals, from the detailed stupidity of the verses to the punch-ins, which make the bulk of the song quite catchy.

Cam’Ron’s lyrics on “Get ‘Em Girls” are alternately esoteric and accessible (the most clear example being the “I’m gettin’ money niggaaaa” call-and-response in the second verse). He is often criticized for saying any old thing just to maintain his rhyme schemes, but it’s not like he ever tries to hide it. In fact, he flaunts his addiction to the NYC mixtape rhyme structure, and uses it as a justification for rhyming “boom boom room” with “vroom vroom.” Anyone who knows his earlier material (I’m thinking specifically of Children Of The Corn shit) knows he’s capable of making sense the way rappers are often expected to, but without the inane lyrics, this song would have very little going for it. Cam’Ron is in fine form on this song, and if his lazy, too-comfortable flow doesn’t cause your mind to wander, you will be laughing your ass off the whole way through.

Cam’Ron’s music simply doesn’t warrant the kind of awe that I have for other hip-hop goofs like ODB, but I do wonder if he steps back and realizes just how retarded the shit he writes is, and how much more appealing it is because of its retardation. I feel like it is moot for me to consider this since his persona is ridiculously deadpan and he would never speak about something he did negatively. It’s strange too, because it’s not like he isn’t consciously and admittedly cynical—does anybody else remember the Dip Set Sizzurp liqueur? We are used to a bizarre representation of authenticity in commercial hip-hop, where a rapper openly treats his albums, his overall artistic product, as something to be marketed, but somehow his rhymes are still expected to be true to his self, or in some other way “real.” I think you would have to be kind of an idiot to be comfortable with these circumstances, and it makes sense then that Cam’Ron’s dummy rhymes make for some of the most interesting pop hip-hop in recent years. People certainly seem to like talking about him, whatever their opinions of him might be. But whether it’s a front or not, when I listen to “Get ‘Em Girls,” I can’t help believing that Killa Cam is truly retarded and somehow brilliant at the same time.