History has shown us that as a declining empire crumbles in its last days, its ruling tyrant will often grow paranoid of the people around him, behave erratically and unpredictably, and lash out viciously. With the release of his newest album, Crime Pays, Cam’ron mirrors this trajectory- and it pays off.

He once rapped that they’d be ‘Dipset forever’ but his former Diplomat associates, Jim Jones and Juelz Santana, have abandoned him, leaving the Harlem-based emcee to fend for himself. After this falling out, many had written Cam’ron off, but it looks like leaving the glitz of the Diplomats has freed him to truly express himself through grittier, grimier tracks, which are what his most loyal fans want to hear in the first place. The glossy Heatmakerz-style beats are gone, replaced by a more bleak, hollow production from Araabmuzik and Skitzo. Pitchfork criticized the album for having a “lonely, defensive, and vaguely desperate… vibe.” But far from being the album’s weakness, this is what makes it intriguing. The fact that there are few guest spots on the album is telling- a verse from 40 Cal here, a verse from the previously unheard of Bird Lady there, and that’s it. Cam’ron is stating that he doesn’t need any of his former cohorts to make a quality album or any big names like a T-Pain or Lil’ Wayne to sell albums.

There’s little talk of floor-length minks or pink furs on this album- Cam’ron seems to have forsaken these themes in favor of transporting narcotics across state lines. The lyrics of the album further advance the feeling that Cam’ron is ‘going it alone’: Much like the aforementioned demonic despot trying to keep control of a dying empire, Cam’ron lashes out violently at whoever opposes him. In ‘Get It In Ohio,’ a gritty anthem about selling drugs in America’s rust belt, Cam’ron confronts his critics, rapping “So go ahead and hate me hater, ‘cause I’m flyer than an aviator? Go ahead and get smacked with the radiator.” This increasing allegiance to the rust belt states suits Cam’ron well; this once thriving industrial region has been hit hard by the recession, just as Cam’ron has been hit hard by a seemingly indifferent mainstream media that once adored him. So in an intangible way, his defiant lyrics echo their plight. Not everything is dark and gritty- there are a few songs where Cam’ron shows us glimpses of his memory of a better time, when Purple Haze was flying off the shelves and the Dips briefly seemed to rule New York City. The downright sunny beat on ‘Never Ever’ would have fit right in on Purple Haze while ‘Spend The Night’ is Cam’ron’s take on Wiz Khalifa’s techno-influenced nightclub rap masterpiece ‘Say Yeah.’

The ridiculous rhymes that made hip hop fans fall in love with Cam’ron in the first place are still here, and are sometimes better than ever. Cam’ron has a great imagination, and it shows on songs like ‘Cookin’ Up,’ where he raps, “Silencers on calibers, but I do it louder brah, sledgehammers crush his melon, I’m the black Gallagher.” I’d venture to say that this is the first time Leo Gallagher has been mentioned in a rap song, and the fact that Cam’ron is able to use the image of this wacky 80s comedian to illustrate how he is going to vanquish a foe proves just how innovative he is.  One lyric that stands out, not so much for technical skill but for the resilient sentiment expressed is on 'We Got it for Cheap' when Cam'ron raps "I move the work from New York to New England, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New London... New Zealand..."

Fans of ‘conscious rap’ and others concerned with the progressive and the politically correct may want to steer clear of ‘Crime Pays,’- when Cam’ron isn’t rapping about selling drugs all over the Midwest, he’s talking about shooting whoever comes in his path and saying what's honestly some pretty horrible stuff about women. We’re not going to really get into this last point, but let’s just say that Cam’ron isn’t going to be getting any props from anyone on The View anytime soon. It’s one thing when an album has a song called ‘Bottom of the Pussyhole,’ it’s quite another when this is only the third or perhaps fourth most offensive song to women on the album. Jesse Cataldo of Slant Magazine summed it up well by writing, “Like his maniacal devotion to the stop snitching campaign, Cam’ron’s material often verges on the disturbingly amoral.”

In conclusion, Crime Pays may not match Purple Haze or the Diplomatic Immunity mixtapes, but it’s certainly nice to have Cam’ron back. Cam’ron took care of his mother for three years after her stroke, was abandoned by his long-term associates in Dipset, and was relentlessly ridiculed by 50 Cent- and on his comeback, he has responded by becoming more maniacal and more out there than ever- which is what makes Crime Pays a truly fascinating album. A true character in the world of hip hop, Cam’ron has always hovered between the roles of sociopath and joker, and now, free from major label constraints, he’s delved into both of these personas even further. No one besides Cam’ron knows where Cam’ron will go from here, but I think its safe to say that we haven't heard the last from Killa.