Crime Pays

Rolling Stone (p.70) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he Harlem MC remains one of hip-hop's most compelling eccentrics, enlivening cliched gangsta subject matter and pro forma beats with his deceptively virtuosic flow..." Spin (p.85) - "On 'Crime Pays Intro,' and 'Cookin' Up,' he deals references to old-school prop comics and contemporary point guards....He may have kept his gift hidden, but he didn't lose it." Entertainment Weekly (p.59) - "[W]ith inventive rhyme schemes and a well-developed sense of sarcasm." -- Grade: B

The low sales of 2006's Killa Season took the Dipset member off his album every-two-years-schedule with this follow-up landing in 2009. Even if Cam'ron's delivery -- sort of a rigid mumble -- and his lyrics -- strange and nasty as he wants to be -- all suggest he just doesn't give a damn, Crime Pays seems like a definite reaction to the dwindling numbers right down to the modest gear the rapper sports on the cover. This is a back to basics effort with no superstar Lil Wayne guest shot, and plenty of mixtape flavored production mostly from the hands of Skitzo or araabMUZIK. Best example that the Killa's back on the streets is the "Get It in Ohio," a lumbering behemoth of a single where Cam grinds in the land of "Blue pills and Grey Goose" and takes full advantage of a state hit hard by the 2009 recession. Topical rhymes also fill the great "My Job," a piano-driven, uptempo number that would love to kick down the cubicle walls, but there are bills to pay and no one else is hiring. "Cookin Up" offers the wonderfully Cam "Sledgehammers/Smash his melon/I'm the black Gallagher" while "Who" is his usual clever swagger with ""Who is Mr. Right?/Make sisters fight." There are a couple tracks that would make R. Kelly and maybe even Luther Campbell blush, and there are too many skits, although "Grease" is a drop dead hilarious example of how this Diplomat handles a lover's quarrel. "Cookies -N- Apple Juice" covers the same ground but with an infectious, ridiculous hook. Add it all up and Crime Pays is just what the fans want, without any sense the man is pandering. ~ David Jeffries

ディップセットのファウンダーが久々にシーン最前線へカムバック!　前作『Killa Season』（2006年）以降の長い活動休止状態〜失踪騒動の間に格下だったはずのジム・ジョーンズが大ブレイクしたことで、すっかりクルー内〜ハーレムの勢力図は変わってしまったのだが、それでも高い注目を集めてセールス的な結果もキッチリと残すあたりはサスガ。ビートはスキッツォやアラブ・ミュージックに任せているもののクルーからの援護は最小限に止め、一般的な華やかさも皆無なので、逆に主役自身のラップを味わうのには最適だと言える。“Never Ever”や“Silky（No Homo）”あたりのキャッチーな曲もちゃんと用意されているし、現行シーンなどまったく気にする様子のない余裕とふてぶてしさがまたタマランぜ。キラッ!
bounce (C)升本　徹