Cam’ron has turned a portion of the Season 3 premiere of his sports talk show It Is What It Is into a monologue on his views on racial classification.
About halfway through the show’s most recent episode, Cam’ron began talking to co-host Ma$e about race and sports fandom. That led Killa Cam into an extended speech about why he thought of himself as a “Black American” as opposed to an “African American.”
“I’d rather fill in ‘Black’ than ‘African American’ [on I.D. forms] because Africans don’t even fuck with us,” he began.
“[When] you go over there [to Africa], they call us ‘yankees.’ They fuck with us, but we’re not from the Motherland. We’re from America. So I’d rather say I’m a Black American.”
Cam then used the Olympics as an example to further his point.
“When we go to the Olympics, as a country, and somebody Black is fighting from the United States, you don’t say ‘African American.’ You say ‘American.’ You don’t even put a color on it. It’s an American fighter… You’re known in the Olympics as an American. It doesn’t matter what color you are…”
He continued: “The point is, they don’t categorize it when it’s world competition, but when it’s other shit, it needs to be categorized. So I consider myself a Black American. I don’t consider myself an African American.”
The rapper-slash-talk-show-host wound down by shouting out “all my n-ggas in Africa.”
“Much love,” he added. “But y’all don’t consider us real Africans. Y’all don’t!”
You can see the whole segment beginning at the 40:34 mark below.
That same It Is What It Is episode began with a headline-making Cam freestyle.
Throughout the three-minute rap, Cam name-drops the likes of JAY-Z, Method Man,Mobb Deep, Ma$e, Donald Trump, LeBron James and more.
Tobe Nwigwe dubbed the freestyle “masterful,” while Twista, Jazze Pha, Kareem “Biggs” Burke, Don C, D. Nice, Wayno, Affion Crockett and more showed love in the comment section.
The clip even inspired producer Conductor Williams to seek out Cam’s attention in hopes of manifesting a collaboration with the Dipset rapper in the future.
The latest episode of the increasingly popular show — which landed on HipHopDX‘s list of nominees for Best Hip Hop TV Shows of 2023 — also featured another controversial moment for Cam, who found himself in the hot seat after taking aim at Odell Beckham Jr.
On Thursday (January 4), a snippet of the new episode of It Is What It Is made its rounds on social media. During the segment, Ma$e and Cam, can be heard criticizing Odell Beckham Jr. and calling him “zesty.”
The commentary was met with immediate backlash, with some viewers wondering where the industry vets find the time to reduce others.
Of course Africans don’t like black Americans because Africans sold other Africans to white Europeans. They don’t want to be associated with captured POWs who were sold into slavery
Fuckin ignorant yo….we’re Africans period.
Negative 😆
Go to Africa and tell them you’re African, then get back with us. Fact is, they sold us into Slavery and they sell each other out on The Continent every day. I don’t like Cam’ron. But a broke clock is right twice a day. Africa is in our DNA, but we ain’t African.
Facts…. I don’t like Cam and dont understand how anyone watches that horrible show but I agree with Cam on this one.
And when you understand that it was Africans who sold other Africans into slavery… F them and that whole continent. I keep hearing people talk about they cant wait to go there like for what to see the people who didnt you there…. Im good
That’s one of the best shows around to me. Cam and Mase speak their minds with courage that they might make an ass of themselves but it’s genuinely them.
I think Black Americans are Advanced Africans… Count urselfs lucky ur accentors were sold. Cos down here in Africa the racism among us is worst. U will hear. Igbo people are this. Yoruba people are that…Nigerians are fcuked. South Africans are killers. Even within them tribes. They still criticize … So Wtf… Human race has been racist one way or the other
No difference between what you’re describing and gang wars and culture wars across cities in any country.
Theres no such thing as “Race” we’re all one human race. The concept of “black” and “white” are man made constructs that change over time.
Ethnicity on the other hand is real. And Ethnically we are African.
Some Africans don’t like black Americans because of all the whining and bitchin. Instead of getting on with life and getting ahead. It’s all reparations and handouts. You can’t keep looking backwards because you will always trip yourself up.
Black Americans don’t care about reparations. It’s those ignorant, liberal black and white Democrats who are pushing that. The MSM is liberal so they make it seem as like all black Americans are down with reparations.
EXACTLY! I’m Black! Just like white people are white! Don’t hyphenate my American-ness. If we’re “African-American” then call white people “European-American”.
I see white Americans all the time talking proudly of their Italian, or Irish, or Scottish ancestry, they’ll even have a tattoo of it. I NEVER hear blacks people mumble one word about their African ancestry. In fact, I think a lot of black people are embarrassed about it because they’ve been taught to hate themselves. They’d be embarrassed if they had to use their ancestral name instead of their slave-name. Think about how backwards that is. I’m not faulting anyone, I’m just pointing out the truth. But, one of the posters was talking about how Africans sold out other Africans therefore he doesn’t want to be associated with them. But listen homey, your brothers right here in America would sell you out too, and for a lot less. So, what’s your point? I say just try to stop finding reasons NOT to like people and start finding reasons to embrace others. All this division is ruining our country for ALL of us of every race. It’s wack.
You’re missing the point. Black Americans shouldn’t embrace Africa if Africans aren’t embracing us.
Black Americans are mixed. Yes descendants of African slaves but most are mixed with whites, natives, etc.
This isn’t the first time Cam has made an ass of himself in the media. And which Africans is Cam talking about? It’s not like Africa is a huge fucking continent and making sweeping generalizations is ignorant. Fact is, many countries in Africa want us to repatriate. Anybody taking anything Cam says as gospel is an idiot.
Cam shouldve learned from 60 minutes when to keep his ignorant mouth shut. Yall some slow n!ggas in the comments too 🤣
Why don’t you fight your government to reclassify the term African-American then? To blame the whole of Africa for slavery that happened over 400 years ago is being retarded….THE PEOPLE who did that were in a minority and they are long gone and have turned into bones and ashes..Stop dwelling in the past….you live in the greatest country on earth with a chance of achieving the American dream.
Signed
All of Africa
I identify as white. Not Caucasian.
Cam’ron sounds like an uncle Tom.