Last time i really nodded my head to a Cam'ron hit was circa 2004. It was a Kanye West-produced joint called 'Down and Out,' a song that encompassed both the best and the worst Cam'ron had to offer. Half of the time it seemed as if he were clinging to a kernel of wisdom, delineating the folly of a materialistic rap-game bubble about to burst. A true master of satire. A few seconds later Cam'ron rhymed on the same word for half a verse, without any structure or apparent logical flow. Depending on how charitable the audience might be, he could be whimsical, almost playful; although his lackadaisical demeanor could easily be interpreted as absurdist and detrimental to his art.
So went Purple Haze, Cam's strongest album to date. Fast forward to 2006, undoubtedly both blessed and cursed by his success, Cam's rap persona became abaffoon hyper-exaggerated version of himself just two years prior. Killa Season was a commercial flop. His rhymes were downright farcical and there was no hit to ignite his fan-base. Further, his crew (Dip Set) and his label (Diplomatic Records) were all but falling apart: Juelz Santana had grown apart from Cam and asked to be essentially sold into another record label, meanwhile forming a fruitful relationship with Lil' Wayne that resulted in several great mixtapes; Jim Jones clipped his own wings after 'We Fly High'; and Freekey Zekey had enough of Cam's dictatorial management style and left Dip Set altogether to form Dip Set South out of an Atlanta record company. Tensions were running high, Cam was losing credibility--and by Cam'ron's own confession, Street Cred is precisely what his industry uses as currency. Times were tough for Cam and so he went underground for a good while.
But Cam's fighting spirit lives on. Despite disagreement with members of his own crew, and yes, despite (perhaps because of) the troubling economic times, Cam'ron has released a single, 'I Hate My Job' for an upcoming album, Crime Pays. Who knows when this thing will actually come out (it's been pushed twice). The sooner it comes out, the more in sync the album would be with the general gloomy outlook of not only the economy, but the spirit of the American people at a time of financial and cultural uncertainty. A closer examination of the song's lyrics would illustrate the point.
Cam'ron
'I Hate My Job'
Crime Pays
Verse 1
This working woman (the voice is revealed later in the verse) starts off the song with a job, which is more than 7% of Americans can say right now. She immediately critiques the knowledge-base of her superior at work,although she fears that her only option is to continue the status quo. The further question regarding of or not following protocol really is her only option isn't discussed. All of this with a backdrop of a mid-tempo, piano-heavy beat.
Her job leaves her with poor personal hygiene, little time to have a meal, and all for meager pay. Her defeated attitude is expressed by along with a lazy, droll soul-tinged sample saying 'yeah' several times. She wants to listen to Public Enemy's It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, an album filled with allusions to the Black Panthers and Das Kapital. There is something left to be desired here: is Cam outright endorsing a Marxist ideology here? It certainly seems that Cam's female worker character is alienated from her job and from the means of production. However, assigning a socialist position to Cam might be premature.
All-too-often remedy for stress: self-medication.
One thing is for sure: she doesn't feel solidarity to her co-worker who is most likely in a position very similar to hers. Both of these ladies have to pay for those things listed, and no money is left over for discretionary spending.
When our worker gets her check, she feels robbed. All of the labor she invested was for a check that was essentially already spent before she received it. Her job is demeaning to her socially: hours are spent and she can't buy material goods she believes are necessary to advance in a materialistic society. Sad part is she might be partially right.
The last lines leave the listener puzzled. If this working woman had a career in Nursing planned out for herself, why isn't she a nurse? Considering her remorse, it could not be that she was forced to stop attending nursing school because of lack of resources. Otherwise she would not be regretful. Just as the listener is allowing for the possibility of putting the blame squarely on the society, the worker admits she had an opportunity to not necessarily reach the upper echelons of society, but at least live comfortably working at a higher-paying job.
So went Purple Haze, Cam's strongest album to date. Fast forward to 2006, undoubtedly both blessed and cursed by his success, Cam's rap persona became a
But Cam's fighting spirit lives on. Despite disagreement with members of his own crew, and yes, despite (perhaps because of) the troubling economic times, Cam'ron has released a single, 'I Hate My Job' for an upcoming album, Crime Pays. Who knows when this thing will actually come out (it's been pushed twice). The sooner it comes out, the more in sync the album would be with the general gloomy outlook of not only the economy, but the spirit of the American people at a time of financial and cultural uncertainty. A closer examination of the song's lyrics would illustrate the point.
Cam'ron
'I Hate My Job'
Crime Pays
Verse 1
Yo, I hate my boss
Dude think he know it all
And I know I know it all
But I follow protocol
This working woman (the voice is revealed later in the verse) starts off the song with a job, which is more than 7% of Americans can say right now. She immediately critiques the knowledge-base of her superior at work,although she fears that her only option is to continue the status quo. The further question regarding of or not following protocol really is her only option isn't discussed. All of this with a backdrop of a mid-tempo, piano-heavy beat.
Hope he sit in a casket
Got me sittin’ in traffic
It’s 7 a.m. (sheesh) (yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)
And I woke up late
Didn’t even have a shower
Lunch break, gimmie a break
A damn half-an-hour
All this bullshit for twelve bucks an hour
Plug me to Chuck D, wanna fight the power
Her job leaves her with poor personal hygiene, little time to have a meal, and all for meager pay. Her defeated attitude is expressed by along with a lazy, droll soul-tinged sample saying 'yeah' several times. She wants to listen to Public Enemy's It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, an album filled with allusions to the Black Panthers and Das Kapital. There is something left to be desired here: is Cam outright endorsing a Marxist ideology here? It certainly seems that Cam's female worker character is alienated from her job and from the means of production. However, assigning a socialist position to Cam might be premature.
Instead I light the sour before I go in the office
Being here eight hours sure will get you nauseous
All-too-often remedy for stress: self-medication.
Lady across from me telling me her problems
I’m looking at her like yo
How the fuck I’m gone solve ‘em
You know her (our?) ethnicity
Car note, rent, don’t forget electricity
Internet, cable and the phone all connected
Food, gas, tolls oh now it’s getting hectic
Brand new clothes?
Nah, you’d rather see me naked
One thing is for sure: she doesn't feel solidarity to her co-worker who is most likely in a position very similar to hers. Both of these ladies have to pay for those things listed, and no money is left over for discretionary spending.
Yo check it, I got my check
Now I’m feelin’ disrespected
Why am I workin’ here
It ain’t workin’ here, It ain’t worth it here
I’m never gone persevere
Ain’t no money for new shoes or purses here
When our worker gets her check, she feels robbed. All of the labor she invested was for a check that was essentially already spent before she received it. Her job is demeaning to her socially: hours are spent and she can't buy material goods she believes are necessary to advance in a materialistic society. Sad part is she might be partially right.
I should’ve done my first career, huh
Nursin’ yeah
Now I’m sittin’ here thinkin’ ’bout the work I put in
This verse from the everyday working woman
The last lines leave the listener puzzled. If this working woman had a career in Nursing planned out for herself, why isn't she a nurse? Considering her remorse, it could not be that she was forced to stop attending nursing school because of lack of resources. Otherwise she would not be regretful. Just as the listener is allowing for the possibility of putting the blame squarely on the society, the worker admits she had an opportunity to not necessarily reach the upper echelons of society, but at least live comfortably working at a higher-paying job.
Cam in a still from the video.
Chorus
The chorus switches to Cam's voice lamenting his own situation. This version of Cam'ron is fictionalized twice, however. Rapper is spitting from the perspective of how he (Cam) might've been, had he not been a rapper. This Cam is feeling sorry for himself, trying to make a name for himself, ready to quit. Perhaps this financially troubled Cam'ron mirrors his down-but-not-out career has been like for the last several years. The 'yeah' sample creeps from lazy to uninspired, yet this shift is befitting for a song with what is ultimately a recession theme.
Verse 2
In case there was any doubt, the narrative is now fully Cam'ron's. Layoffs abound as Cam tries to find a job. It's a tough market out there and he knows it; all he's left to do is admire the status of those in a higher class.
Another case of remorse? How serious is Cam's use of 'could've'? Of course anybody could be a fireman or learn how to be an electrician, but what, in specific, precluded Cam from picking up either of those professions? And how is the environment to blame? Maybe it was the educational system that failed him in some way: It didn't teach him the basics of science required to work with electricity. Or the educational system might have done more to impede him than to help him in recognizing basic nutritional facts he'd have needed to be a fit fireman. Neither of these explanations seem likely prima facie.
This section of the verse is a specific attack on hiring practices by most corporate entities. Cam'ron essentially asks us "Why should having a criminal record have such a negative impact on the likelihood of being hired?" The only possible justification is that the prison system has failed in one of its main purposes: allowing for a seamless reintegration of ex-convicts to society. If society at large has reservations about hiring excons, that means society at large does not believe those individuals were properly rehabilitated to a point where they can be functioning members of society. This section is also revealing for a couple of additional reasons. First, note the individual's effort in reintegrating himself in society by finding a legitimate source of income. Cam is rejected by society, so he has no choice but to return to his block--probably the same block that got him into activities which led him to commit felonies to begin with. Secondly, Cam is throwing a jab at the availability of information. Most often (and rightfully so) this availability is seen as a positive thing. However, When 'google' becomes an action verb one can do to a name to find intimate details, this can pose a serious threat to our right to privacy.
Cam finishes the song with a gruesome scene: him getting kicked out of the house by the mother of his children. She can't keep feeding another mouth with her income, and Cam is left to live with his mother or who knows where else.
Reality is that this kind of situation is not unique to Harlem, the south side of Chicago nor Dayton, Ohio. It's happening in Michigan, California, Arizona, and Florida alike, as well as countless other locations around the U.S. and the World. For all that it's worth, the female worker at the start of the song should feel lucky she even has a job at this point.
Or is she? Put to the side that the slight Marxist undercurrent in this song is belied by Cam'ron himself, who infamously likes to drive pink and/or purple Lamborghinis and Range Rovers. At some point in the song the listener is pushed to decide: who has it better or worse off? A woman worker who is smokes marijuana to escape the mundane reality of her poorly-paying job, or an unemployed man unable to get a job anywhere because of his previous time in the penitentiary? Easily the woman, no? Not so fast: the man is at a point in his life where he really could place all of the blame on the system: he has done his time. However the woman seems to be more in control of her life choices and still fails to advance. The question has more force than it might seem.
The song marks lyrical depth hinted at in Purple Haze and completely missing from Killa Season. Issues of individual responsibility and societal responsibility addressed in this song are eerily similar to other timeless, probably unanswerable questions (e.g. the feasibility of free will), and Cam's take on this subject is nuanced, though predictably unresolved. What Cam is missing is a way out, a solution to the puzzle, as it were. Does the woman stay at her job? Does Cam find a job? From a narrative standpoint, Cam leaves us with two cliffhangers imbued with political commentary yet no resolution, neither to the characters involved nor to the deeper societal flaws. But what more can we expect from a man who once said, 'I rock mostly Dolce/I roll mostly doely/I'll leave you wholly holy/You'll say, "Holy Moly".'
I put on my pants, put on my shoes
I pray to God, paid all my dues
I’m tryin' to win, seem like I was born to lose
All I can say is (yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)
I say let me through
But they don’t let me through
You wanna quit, goddamn I’m ready to
Lifestyle I’m livin’ ain’t steady boo
All I could say (yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)
The chorus switches to Cam's voice lamenting his own situation. This version of Cam'ron is fictionalized twice, however. Rapper is spitting from the perspective of how he (Cam) might've been, had he not been a rapper. This Cam is feeling sorry for himself, trying to make a name for himself, ready to quit. Perhaps this financially troubled Cam'ron mirrors his down-but-not-out career has been like for the last several years. The 'yeah' sample creeps from lazy to uninspired, yet this shift is befitting for a song with what is ultimately a recession theme.
Verse 2
Hey yo I’m lookin’ for a job
Ain’t nobody hiring
Then I asked the boss
When y’all doing firing
You I’m admiring
Nice job, family man, car and
Lookin’ in these want ads are tiring
In case there was any doubt, the narrative is now fully Cam'ron's. Layoffs abound as Cam tries to find a job. It's a tough market out there and he knows it; all he's left to do is admire the status of those in a higher class.
Could’ve been a fireman, learned to do wiring
Then get retirement, I blame my environment
Another case of remorse? How serious is Cam's use of 'could've'? Of course anybody could be a fireman or learn how to be an electrician, but what, in specific, precluded Cam from picking up either of those professions? And how is the environment to blame? Maybe it was the educational system that failed him in some way: It didn't teach him the basics of science required to work with electricity. Or the educational system might have done more to impede him than to help him in recognizing basic nutritional facts he'd have needed to be a fit fireman. Neither of these explanations seem likely prima facie.
I’m on an interview, for delivery
Locked up, felony, now the dude quizzin’ me
I’m workin’ on my future
Why you need to know my history
All he did was Google me, no big mystery
He ain’t diggin’ me
Politely he was dissin’ me
No we’re not hiring
But thanks for the visit, please
He ain’t want me, my grandmother warned me
Them goddamn felonies would haunt me, taunt me
No second chance, back to the same block
This section of the verse is a specific attack on hiring practices by most corporate entities. Cam'ron essentially asks us "Why should having a criminal record have such a negative impact on the likelihood of being hired?" The only possible justification is that the prison system has failed in one of its main purposes: allowing for a seamless reintegration of ex-convicts to society. If society at large has reservations about hiring excons, that means society at large does not believe those individuals were properly rehabilitated to a point where they can be functioning members of society. This section is also revealing for a couple of additional reasons. First, note the individual's effort in reintegrating himself in society by finding a legitimate source of income. Cam is rejected by society, so he has no choice but to return to his block--probably the same block that got him into activities which led him to commit felonies to begin with. Secondly, Cam is throwing a jab at the availability of information. Most often (and rightfully so) this availability is seen as a positive thing. However, When 'google' becomes an action verb one can do to a name to find intimate details, this can pose a serious threat to our right to privacy.
Go home my baby’s mom done changed locks
This a game, huh, okay the game’s on
Then she opened the door with the chain on
Said she been reaching out for several days
I ain’t helpin’ out, we need to go our separate ways
I was just amazed, wanna go another route
Let me get my clothes
Said she took ‘em to my mother’s house
She was pissed off, yeah P.O.’ed
And said go head and wild out
I’ll call your P.O.
Cam finishes the song with a gruesome scene: him getting kicked out of the house by the mother of his children. She can't keep feeding another mouth with her income, and Cam is left to live with his mother or who knows where else.
Reality is that this kind of situation is not unique to Harlem, the south side of Chicago nor Dayton, Ohio. It's happening in Michigan, California, Arizona, and Florida alike, as well as countless other locations around the U.S. and the World. For all that it's worth, the female worker at the start of the song should feel lucky she even has a job at this point.
Or is she? Put to the side that the slight Marxist undercurrent in this song is belied by Cam'ron himself, who infamously likes to drive pink and/or purple Lamborghinis and Range Rovers. At some point in the song the listener is pushed to decide: who has it better or worse off? A woman worker who is smokes marijuana to escape the mundane reality of her poorly-paying job, or an unemployed man unable to get a job anywhere because of his previous time in the penitentiary? Easily the woman, no? Not so fast: the man is at a point in his life where he really could place all of the blame on the system: he has done his time. However the woman seems to be more in control of her life choices and still fails to advance. The question has more force than it might seem.
The song marks lyrical depth hinted at in Purple Haze and completely missing from Killa Season. Issues of individual responsibility and societal responsibility addressed in this song are eerily similar to other timeless, probably unanswerable questions (e.g. the feasibility of free will), and Cam's take on this subject is nuanced, though predictably unresolved. What Cam is missing is a way out, a solution to the puzzle, as it were. Does the woman stay at her job? Does Cam find a job? From a narrative standpoint, Cam leaves us with two cliffhangers imbued with political commentary yet no resolution, neither to the characters involved nor to the deeper societal flaws. But what more can we expect from a man who once said, 'I rock mostly Dolce/I roll mostly doely/I'll leave you wholly holy/You'll say, "Holy Moly".'
