The Diplomats aka Dipset are one of the more intriguing hip-hop crews of the rather young 21st century. The Harlem-based crew is a product of Uptown New York gang/drug dealing culture, and started making noise as a collective sometime around 2002 or 2003. Featuring MCing talents from the likes of Cam’Ron, Jim Jones, and Juelz Santana, the group had strong ties to Dame Dash, one of the founders (along with Jay-Z-) of Roc-A-Fella Records and was best known for it’s irreverent attitude and swagger. Cam’Ron and Jim Jones are both record industry vets. Cam was in the Children of the Corn crew in the early ’90s, and had three gold records to his name before Dipset was on the map. The legend is that if Biggie Smalls hadn’t have been killed in 1996, we would formed a “super-group” called “The Commission” with Cam’Ron, Jay-Z, and Charlie Baltimore.
Tracks by the Diplomats were heavy on witty rhymes, sped-up soul samples, and shit-talking. Oh, and there was always an abundance of talk about “moving the movement.” The Dipset movement that is. There’s apparently some difference between the Diplomats crew and the Dipset movement, but it’s too convoluted for me to explain or understand. Regardless, the Diplomats/Dipset put out a string of well-received mixtapes in the last five years, most notably Diplomatic Immunity and Diplomatic Immunity 2. The group earned a strong online following, with listeners from around the world embracing their witty rhymes back-to-basics approach to music.
Listening to most Dipset tracks, it’s obvious the guys were always having fun in the studio. Sure, they did corny stuff like rhyme over “They Built This City on Rock and Roll” by Starship, but their slang, swagger, ad-libs, background vocals, and general shit-talking were the stuff of legend. Aside from Cam and Juelz, none of them were really that good rappers, but they were always entertaining as Hell. The Diplomats were also notorious through rap beefs with artists like Mase and Nas, and their four-minute plus rants against them on their mixtapes of the stuff of magic. At the height of their popularity, Dipset affiliates started pooping up in Canada and England, and they even started their own skating crew. Cam’Ron’s Purple Haze album went gold and the NY Football Giants adopted Jim Jones’ “We Fly High” as its unofficial theme song during the 2006-07 season.
It’s rap beef that ultimately sunk the crew. Around 2005, as Jay-Z was named president of Def Jam records while still enjoying his “retirement,” Cam’Ron signed to Asylum Records and began to start promoting his new album, Killa Season. He simultaneously began promoting a direct-to-DVD film of the same name, which he starred in and directed. The latter wasn’t that much of a stretch: Cam’Ron had actually earned a lil’ critical acclaim with a supporting role in the film Paid in Full. So in hopes of gaining a little more publicity for the album and movie, Cam’Ron started playing up a rift between him and Jay-Z, claiming that Shawn Carter has left the hood behind from the board room and wasn’t a “real” representative of the streets. Dame Dash basically took Cam’s side, claiming Jigga had left him behind as he climbed the ladder to further success. Cam’Ron started recording dis tracks aimed at Jay-Z, started bragging that he was basically stalking Beyonce via text message, insulting Jigga for wearing sandals in public, and called him a “camel” whenever possible. The whole thing seemed orchestrated to elicit an angry response from Jay-Z, which would ultimately boost Cam’Ron’s record sales. Hey, it worked for 50 Cent. It was clear that Cam saw all this dissing as Dipset’s ticket the Big Boys Table.
The problem was, throughout all the antics, Jay-Z publicly ignored Cam’Ron. And in the end, none of Cam’Ron’s blustering connected at all with his audience. No one cared, because most of his core audience liked Jay-Z’s music, and why do they want to hear him rail against one of their favorite rappers, “retired” or not. The proof was in the sales: Killa Season sold over 110,000 units in the first week, and then completely disappeared from the public consciousness. The DVD, as expected, was an embarrassment. Jim Jones, Cam’Ron’s “capo,” made some noise with “We Fly High,” but once Jay-Z un-retired and released Kingdom Come in late 2006, (complete a few pointed disses towards Cam’Ron, without actually mentioning him by name), and it sold 680,000 units in the first week, it was pretty clear who the people had chosen.
Things went completely off the rails for Dipset during 2007. Cam’Ron apparently didn’t learn from his failed Jay-Z beef, and decided to go after 50 Cent, someone who sold just about as many records and was (at the time) just as respected on the “streets.” Unlike Jay-Z, 50 Cent was happy to oblige Cam’Ron in a rap battle; after all, similar beefs are what made 50 Cent who he is today. After a few lame rounds of battle tracks by each of them, Cam’Ron proclaimed it was going to be “a long hot summer” or 50, and then promptly disappeared from the public eye. He’s yet to resurface from seclusion; he’s apparently in Columbus, Ohio, though he released the Public Enemy #1 mixtape in late 2007/early 2008.
Now, for all intents and purposes, the Diplomats are no longer a functioning group. Jim Jones hasn’t recorded much music of note since “Ballin’,” his next album went completely un-noticed. This is likely because besides being very charismatic while talking shit, he’s actually a terrible rapper. Jones popped up in late 2007 to claim that he, not Jay-Z, should have been the one to record the unofficial “American Gangster” soundtrack, due to his Harlem roots. He recently aligned himself with 50 Cent. Juelz Santana, once signed to Def Jam Records and one of the more lyrically talented members of the group, has been quiet since his solo debut, What the Game is Missing. Diplomat b-teamers like JR Writer, Hell Rell and 40 Cal, have all released albums that few besides hardcore Dipset fans have noticed.
Mostly, the crew has been beefing with each other. There are rumors of money mismanagement, court battles over who between Cam’Ron and Jim Jones owns the Diplomats’ name and logo, and general ill will. During Cam’Ron/50 beef in 2007, Jim Jones told a New York radio personality that to say he hadn’t spoken to Cam’Ron in a year, but held him no ill will. Cam’Ron later responded that he wished Jim Jones the best, but was a little surprised that he chose to run with 50 Cent.
Personally, I’m not sure if Dipset ever could have been as big and successful commercially as, say, G-Unit, but they definitely had more talented, made better music, and were more entertaining than many of what pass hip-hop “super-crews” these days. For my next entry, I’ll take a quick look at one of their newest releases, which is actually filled with material from their salad days.
No comments:
Post a Comment