Cam’ron had to be on top of a young Juelz Santana back in the day in order to get him to focus on Dipset‘s future hits.
Killa and his Is What It Is co-host Ma$e were guests on the latest episode of Million Dollaz Worth of Game, shared on Monday (November 13). When the topic of his former protegé came up, Cam broke down how they used to have to force Juelz to work in Dipset’s early days.
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“We used to have to lock Juelz in the house, straight up and down, when he was 15, 16,” he said. “All them songs you hear, the bangers, was forced. [I’d be like], ‘Yo, write the song, my n-gga. Write the song!’ But it got to the point where I can’t treat you…you’re a grown man now. I can’t yell at you. I can’t scream at you.
“All them hits. ‘Gangsta Music,’ ‘Santana’s Town,’ all the hot shit, ‘Hey Ma,’ was when we about to walk out to the club, we had a crib in Chicago. And he’d be like, ‘Come on.’ I’d be like, ‘You did that 16?’ He’d be like, ‘Uh…’ I said, ‘We’ll bring you a bitch back. You’re not coming out until you finish the fucking song.’ Straight like that. ‘We’ll bring you a hoe back and if you finished the 16, you can have her.'”
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He went on to note that Juelz promised to drop another album once he got out of his deal with Cam and Dipset, but when he was released in 2008, no album ever materialized — and still hasn’t.
“When we stopped working together, I’m not saying the work ethic got poor, but for some reason, it’s not translating into the public hearing it,” Cam added. “Like I said, you go to his page now, every month he’s saying something’s coming out, something’s coming out. And the reason I know this ‘cause I’m waiting. I’m a fan! I’m sitting here saying: ‘When’s the shit coming out?’ ‘Cause I would like to hear it!”
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But it’s all love regardless. Even though Cam noted they hadn’t spoken in some time, he still placed Juelz on his ‘Top Harlem Rappers of All Time’ list and even in a spot above the late Big L, who Cam was very close to.
Watch the full interview below:
Amid Juelz Santana’s departure in 2008, Cam’ron was already beefing with fellow Dipset member Jim Jones as well – and the group did not appear together for a few years. In 2010, the guys reunited for a brief period and performed a couple of shows, but issues arose soon after and once again they were on the outs.
In 2015, they came together again under the guidance of Funk Flex and even released a song titled “Salute,” but that too was short-lived.
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In 2021, all three members (and Freekey Zekey) appeared together for their Verzuz battle against The Lox – which they unceremoniously lost, and the last time they performed together was as special guests at the first of Drake’s two January shows at Harlem’s Apollo Theater earlier this year. However, Jim and Juelz have been together quite often since.
Earlier this year, Jimmy shed some light on his friendship with Cam’ron on his song “Status Update.”
On the track, Capo reflects on several things in his life that have gone down, such as his incredible run in the second half of his career. However, one of the more interesting lines he dropped was about his relationship with his Dipset brothers.
“I be in the streets, they are asking where Juelz at/ I wouldn’t know the real reason why he fell back,” Jim raps before going into his verse about Cam. “Been in the cold freezing we would sell crack/ Boy, I put some demons in this hellcat/ And it’s hard for me and Cam to see eye to eye/ I love him, and I still hug him but when I see him it’s like hi and bye/ It’s kinda crazy, I thought it was ride or die…next subject.”
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Throughout the years, both sides would throw shots, from Cam making t-shirts mocking Jim’s relationship with Chrissy Lampkin to Capo appearing on stage with Killa’s rival at the time, 50 Cent. Things have cooled in recent years, however, with no shots taken from any side.
