Cam’ron and A-Trak ‘U Wasn’t There’ Review – slantmagazine

A brief 9-track collaborative release from Harlem rapper Camron and Canadian DJ A-Trak, U Wasnt There successfully evokes a now-antiquated era of hip-hop that dominated New York City during the early aughts, typified by the splashy sonic and visual aesthetics of the larger-than-life rap collective the Diplomats. But while the project boasts a consistent production palette that faithfully replicates Dipsets stadium-sized soundwith their namesake even alluded to on the triumphant closer Dipshitsit also serves little practicality beyond providing its central performer one more low-stakes opportunity to relive his past glory days.

Camron is content to take a victory lap here, often restating his now decades-old accomplishments. On What You Do, he claims that his rsum speaks for itselfhe cursed Bill OReilly out, produced a few movies with Queen Latifah, condemned snitching on national televisionand then proceeds to end his verse on a dated punchline about receiving oral sex from Monica Lewinsky, dulling any impact those previous triumphs may have had.

Camron eventually back-peddled on the snitching remark, and OReillys verbal lashing was far more Damon Dashs doing than Killah Cams. The former co-founder of Roc-A-Fella Records makes three separate (yet all equally overcooked) appearances on the albumtwo DJ Khaled-esque spoken-word outros and a never-ending skitwhere his grandiose assertions about his friendship with Cam are so po-faced they lack any real sense of camaraderie.

This brand of dour bravado, thankfully, isnt an issue when it comes to Camron, whose reliably daffy, buoyant personality instills a brash flippancy into many of the songs on U Wasnt There. Theres an offhanded charisma to the way he delivers his absurdist punchlines, like how he twists his cadence on the lovesick Cheers and turns a rational explanation of public affectionI liked the picture cause I liked the pictureinto a comically flirtatious gesture.

The rappers tendency to go leftfield with his humor can be both a blessing and an intermittent curse. The wisecracks he sprinkles throughout Ghetto Prophets take the form of either genuine witthe numerical wordplay of she about a seven, so I took her a four-staror cheap payoffs that are beneath him, like the unimaginative sarcasm found in his voice when he grades a dates sexual performance rather poorly (a C plus).

Ghetto Prophets, though, still finds Camron at his most unwavering. His strong-armed flow works in lockstep with the tracks bombastic production; he seems unfazed by everything else going on around him as he muscles on through. Its also notably one of the few moments on U Wasnt There where Camron isnt resting on his laurels, where hes finally able to surpass the low expectations hes set upon himself and his collaborators.

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Cam'ron and A-Trak 'U Wasn't There' Review - slantmagazine