Cam'ron
Rapper Cam'ron was born and raised in Harlem, attending Manhattan Center High School, where one of his basketball teammates
was Mason "Mase" Betha, who also became a successful rapper. Though his playing earned him scholarship offers from top colleges,
Cam'ron was unable to take advantage of them because of his poor academic record, and he enrolled at a small college in Texas
instead. He quickly dropped out and returned to Harlem, where he became a drug dealer before turning to rap. Hooking up with
the Bad Boy posse, he developed a pop-rap style similar to chief Bad Boy Puff Daddy. But Cam'ron didn't sign with Bad Boy;
Mase introduced him to the Notorious B.I.G., who in turn brought in his partner Lance "Un" Rivera. Un signed Cam'ron to his
Untertainment label, distributed by Epic Records. Cam'ron first attracted attention with "Pull It," which earned airplay in
May 1998. "3-5-7" was featured in the movie Woo and became his first R&B chart entry in June. Then in July came "Horse
& Carriage," featuring Mase. It made the R&B Top Ten and just missed hitting the pop Top 40, setting up Cam'ron's
debut album, Confessions of Fire, which went gold and made the Top Ten of both the pop and R&B charts. "Feels Good" featuring
Usher was another R&B chart entry in December. "Let Me Know" made the pop and R&B charts in June 1999. A year later,
"What Means the World to You" heralded the release of Cam'ron's biographical sophomore album, S.D.E. (the initials standing
for Sports, Drugs, and Entertainment). Cam'ron worked with Ol' Dirty Bastard, Mobb Deep's Prodigy, and producer Digga to complete
the album, which was released in September 2000. After moving to Jay-Z's Roc-a-Fella label, his single "Oh Boy" became a big
hit on urban radio in 2002, and the album Come Home With Me performed well too. Early the following year, his protégés the
Diplomats debuted with the two-disc set Diplomatic Immunity. Diplomatic Immunity 2 appeared a year later.
Jha Jha
Dip Sets 1st lady Jha Jha has made her official video debut in the new Jim Jones video What You Been Drankin On? The lavish
promo was shot on location in her home city of Miami and also features Paul Wall and P.Diddy.
Not only does Jha Jha get plenty of shine in the video, she is also credited as being the main writer of this infectious
track, and Jim Jones has nothing but praise for his young protg stating, she is destined to go straight to the top. Jha Jha
shes one of the most incredible artists that I know, male or female. She just knows music. I really believe in her sound and
her music. I follow her lead. She gave me the single, What You Been Drankin On? and Puffy just jumped on the record. So that
goes to show you the type of artist she is.
Modest to the very end though, Jha Jha is unfazed by all the positive feed back that she is currently receiving, only describing
herself as being diverse, soulful and most importantly a workaholic. So its now back to work, as this young rap vixen prepares
to embark on a lengthy promotional tour with Jim Jones to promote his sophomore release, Harlem: Diary of a Summer (KOCH/Diplomat
Records).
Juelz Santana
Juelz Santana (born LaRon Louis James on February 18, 1984) is an African-American and Honduran rapper from Harlem, who is
best known for his "featured" status on Cam'ron's 2002 hits, "Oh Boy" and "Hey Ma". Juelz began writing rhymes at the age
of 12. He was originally signed to Priority Records as one half a duo called Draft Pick. The group had several shows around
New York City while together, including Amateur Night at the Apollo Theatre, where they won two weeks in a row. Some time
after this, he was introduced to Cam'ron through a cousin; in 1998, he became a member of the hip group, The Diplomats. He
is now signed as a solo artist to DipSet but unlike the rest of The Diplomats, who are signed to Koch Records, Santana is
currently signed to Def Jam.
He was voted #2 in the VIBE Vixen top 50 sexiest rappers behind T.I. at # 1.
He
is well known for the controversy over his words about the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks, "I worship the late prophet/The
great Mohammed Omar Atta/For his courage behind the wheel of the plane/Reminds me of when I was dealing 'caine".(The August
2nd New York Post called the lyrics "detestable.") "I didn't say nothing bad about September 11th," says Juelz. "I just stated
the fact of Atta's courage. A lot of people are not willing to do what he did, and that's the same way I feel about my Diplomat
family. I'd do anything for them, and he did anything for what he believed in."
Juelz's debut album, From Me To You,
was released on August 19th, 2003, featuring the single "Santana's Town."
Juelz Santana is slated to release the album
"What the Game's Been Missing", due in September. Two singles have been released, "Mic Check" and "There It Go (The Whistle)".
DukedaGod
JR Writer
Freekey Zekey
Jim Jones
The great British folkie Donovan had a hit called "To Susan on the West Coast Waiting," and it comes to mind when considering
the plight of Bim Skala Bim, one of the Boston area's premiere party bands. By 2004, the party seemed to be in a holding pattern.
"Jim is out west and we are in hibernation" is about the total report for a 12-month period in which a functioning band on
this level would have plenty of accomplishments to boast about. The Jim who is on the West Coast while the band is waiting
is none other than guitarist Jim Jones, not to be confused with the guitarist with Pere Ubu, to bring up just one of many
potential mistaken identities involving someone with this name carrying an instrument case.
Jones has been with Bim Skala Bim ever since the group's first recording sessions on the edge of the mid-'80s. The group's
history actually begins in the summer of 1983, but lack of certain attributes such as a steady drummer kept the group out
of action for as much as ten months in a row. Boston scenesters might find it ironic that drummer Jim Arhelger was finally
put into play through a Boston Phoenix classified ad; in the ensuing decades it would be hard to find an issue of this publication
that didn't list Jones and company performing somewhere in the city. Once the guitarist announced his intentions of moving
to Los Angeles these became a set of final promotions, last of which was a New Year's show on Cape Cod. The Joint Chiefs was
a late-'90s side project involving Jones.
