Juelz Santana has shed light on the past rift between JAY-Z and Cam’ron, and how their “funny” relationship made Dipset feel “unwelcome” during their time on Roc-A-Fella Records.
During a recent conversation with VladTV, Juelz explained that while he and his Dipset brothers were officially signed to the label, tension between Hov and Killa Cam prevented them from feeling like “true” Roc-A-Fella artists. According to Juelz, the Harlem collective felt like “outcasts” at the Roc.
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“The world pretty much saw the tension that was going on,” he said. “Jay and Cam never really — I’m not gonna say never got along because that’s a weird word, we not kids. But they had a funny relationship. They never really clicked and meshed to where it felt like we were truly Roc-A-Fella artists.
“Dame always showed us that love and we were cool with State Property, but we just never felt like we were like truly welcome over there. We felt like the outcasts of the family, like we gotta fucking knock the cake over to be seen and heard.”
He added: “But I think it worked out, I think it was all in God’s plans. You know, you got what you got from the situation.”
The Diplomats were heavily involved with Roc-A-Fella in the early 2000s after the label signed Cam’ron and released his third studio album Come Home with Me. The success of the platinum-certified project, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, served as a stepping stone for the group to officially join the team.
Cam’ron, Juelz Santana, Jim Jones and Freekey Zeeky continued to play an important role in Roc-A-Fella’s reign in the mid 2000s, a time when the face of the label, JAY-Z, was flirting with retirement.
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Dipset’s debut album Diplomatic Immunity was released in 2003 and featured the hit single “Dipset Anthem,” which became a certified Hip Hop classic. The double-disc record topped the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart while cracking the top 10 on the Billboard 200.
Things went sour, though, when Dame Dash reportedly offered Cam’ron the vice president position at Roc-A-Fella in 2002 while JAY-Z was on vacation. Hov allegedly did not approve of the offer and what came after were a series of sneak disses and tension between the two sides, resulting in Dipset’s departure from Roc-A-Fella in 2005.
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Cam and Jay’s feud would last until they appeared on stage together during the Roc Nation boss’ B-Sides concert at New York City’s Webster Hall in 2019.
