Cam’ron explained the numerous shout-outs on his new cut “U Wasn’t There” during a recently published interview with The FADER.
Throughout the cut, which was released yesterday (January 20), Cam’ron shouts out some of the lesser known family members, friends and foes who have been involved in his career since its inception in the mid ‘90s.
“Everybody knows the usual suspects when it comes to me, the people I rap with or the people I always shout out,” Cam says. “This is giving me a chance to shout out some of the people I never have. I feel good doing something like this. It’s kind of the story behind the story.”
It’s widely reported that the track will feature on Cam’ron’s forthcoming Purple Haze 2 – the rapper’s so-called retirement album that, according to The FADER, is scheduled for release this fall.
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The song’s music video, which is directed by Cam’ron himself, is comprised of photos collected from Facebook, Instagram, and his Mother’s own archive.
“Thank god for Toy Dawkins, she took care of me,” Cam’ron raps at the start of the song.
“That’s my son’s mother,” the rapper elaborates while discussing the lyric with The FADER. “I’ve known her since I was eleven years old. During my teenage years, when I really wasn’t doing that well financially, she helped out a lot. Even though me and her were basically the same age, she always made sure I had a couple dollars in my pocket and clothes on my back—and that was before we even had a child. I never really shouted her out like that, so I just wanted to give her a shout out.”
Another line Cam’ron explained was one where he shouts out Big L.
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“Digga did tracks for me, Big L rapped for me,” he raps on the cut.
“Digga was the dude who when I was rapping back in the day in this group call CLC, he did all the beats for us. We actually was going to start the Diplomat company together, but he started his own company called Six Figure Entertainment. He did all the beats for us back in the day and I never really shouted him out. He was on my first album a lot, a little bit on my second album too. After that we kind of stopped working together, but I kind of wanted to shout him out because he was there in the very very beginning when I wasn’t taking it that serious. He’s the person who took it more serious than me. Big L, we grew up one block away from each other so that’s my boy.”
The pictures used to accompany the aforementioned lyrics throughout the song’s music video can be viewed below:
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To read the full interview whereby Cam’ron explains the shout-outs on his new song “U Wasn’t There,” please visit The FADER.
Watch the music video to Cam’ron’s “U Wasn’t There” on HipHopDX here.
