Cam'ron | Crime Pays [PA] | CD

Personnel: Lady Lodi, Rod Rhaspy, Sky-Lyn (vocals).
Audio Mixer: Mike Nyte.
Recording information: Galaxy Studios, Newark, NY.
Photographer: Shareif Ziyadat.
Three years after KILLA SEASON was met with mixed receptions, following rifts within his clique and a barrage of industry rumors, the Dipset leader returns with a lot to prove on his long-awaited sixth LP, CRIME PAYS. Lackadaisically boasting over coke-sniffing sound effects that double as percussion on the intro "I got a record company, liquor and clothing line," Cam'ron seems to have long scaled the lonely-at-the-top heights of rap-star/mogul status so that by album six, he finds it a tad boring. However, the brooding arrogance displayed on slow-mo cinematic tracks "Cookin' Up," "Where I Know You From," and "Who" outdoes past efforts. The lyrics of CRIME PAYS reflect a weary sense of the public's relentless love-hate attention and the paranoia that comes with mounting legal troubles and once-strong friendships turned tenuous. Still, Cam shows his mic skills are still there on the straight-forward working-stiff narrative of "My Job" and the autobiographical "Get it Get it."

• Format: CD
• Released: 05/12/2009