Harlem is a neighborhood notorious for breeding rap stars, as a number of emcees have achieved greatness after walking its hallowed grounds. Yet, in 2001, Harlem appeared to be falling behind in the ever-present rat race to produce talent that not only moved the streets but the needle on radio and in the clubs. With Brooklyn’s own Jay-Z touted by many as the best emcee in the game, Fat Joe taking his reign of Terror from the Bronx to the Billboard charts, Queens poet Nas having returned to form with a comeback album, and Staten Island and Westchester County keeping some semblance of the gritty golden era vibes that defined the decade prior, Harlem was losing steam.
Around that same time, Harlem rapper Cam’ron was at a career crossroads, a quagmire that had the usually cocksure spitter in a state of uncertainty. After having been discovered by The Notorious B.I.G. and signing to the late rapper’s business partner Lance “Un” Rivera’s imprint Untertainment following Big’s death, Cam released his debut album, Confessions of Fire, in 1998. Scoring the Ma$e-assisted single “Horse & Carriage,” the album was certified gold, a promising start for the Uptown native.
Yet, trouble in paradise quickly arrived in the form of Untertainment’s distribution deal with Epic Records, resulting in Cam’ron’s contract being absorbed by the label. Resurfacing in 2000 with his sophomore effort, S.D.E., despite the album producing the street banger “Let Me Know” and the modest hit “What Means The World To You,” Cam’ron became disillusioned with Epic’s marketing and promotional rollout for the album, leading to the album’s underperformance in comparison to his previous effort.
Reaching out to longtime friend and fellow Harlem native Damon Dash to help facilitate a release from Epic, Cam’ron gained his walking papers in 2001, making him a free agent at an opportune time. Deciding to remain with Dash and sign to the brash mogul’s own label, Roc-A-Fella Records, Cam’ron began to put his plan for domination into motion.
Hungry for a bonafide star to occupy the space vacated by former Bad Boy Ma$e, who had abruptly retired from rap two years prior, Harlem was prime for the taking. And Cam’ron did just that, employing Harlemite DJ Kay Slay to help him and his crew, The Diplomats, feed the streets with mixtape material at a constant clip. Within months, Cam’ron had reemerged as a dark horse contender vying for the title of King of New York, which he would make a major run for with the release of his Roc-A-Fella debut, Come Home With Me.
Released on May 14, 2002, Come Home With Me was an instant success, debuting at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 226,000 copies sold in the first week. Powered by the singles “Oh Boy,” “Hey Ma,” and “Day Dreamin,” Come Home With Me was certified platinum by summer’s end, moving over one million copies in the U.S.
Featuring appearances from The Diplomats, Jay-Z, Beanie Sigel, Memphis Bleek, Daz Dillinger, McGruff, DJ Kay Slay, and Tiffany Calin, as well as production by Just Blaze, Kanye West, Heatmakerz, Ty Fyffe, D/R Period, and more, Come Home With Me is an undeniable classic. Cam and his Dipset brethren’s uptown swagger left listeners around the globe infatuated and helped spark one of the biggest movements of a generation. It remains Cam’ron’s most commercially successful album of his career and is believed by many to be his best to date.
In celebration of the album’s impact and Cam’ron’s cult status, VIBE ranked every song on Come Home With Me for its 20th anniversary to determine how the album stacks up, track-for-track.
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"Tomorrow" Feat. Eric Robertson
Image Credit: Gregory Bojorquez/Getty Images Paying tribute to his late cousin, Derek Michael Armstead, aka Children of the Corn member Bloodshed, Killa delivers a somber yet uplifting offering with this heartfelt number.
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"Stop Calling" Feat. Freekey Zekey & McGruff
Image Credit: Frank Micelotta/ImageDirect No punches are pulled on this blistering cut, as Cam’ron has a blunt verbal exchange with a cuckold who’s confronted him about his lady’s dealings with The Diplomats. Detailing their various exploits and encounters involving the woman in question, Cam and company get explicit, resulting in a cautionary tale about ending up on the wrong side of infidelity.
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"Dead Or Alive" Feat. Jim Jones
Image Credit: Johnny Nunez/WireImage Industry beef gets cooked as Cam’ron conjures memories of attempted jewelry heists gone awry on this collaborative deep cut, which includes an impressive showing on the part of co-star Jim Jones.
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"Intro" Feat. DJ Kay Slay
Image Credit: Johnny Nunez/WireImage A triumphant entrance is made on this introductory salvo, as DJ Kay Slay assists his fellow Harlemite in setting the tone for what’s to come.
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"I Just Wanna" Feat. Juelz Santana
Image Credit: Gregg DeGuire/WireImage Cam’ron is joined by Juelz Santana on this rollicking number, which finds the pair professing their heart’s desires atop production courtesy of Neek Rusher & Ty Fyffe.
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"On Fire Tonight" Feat. Freekey Zekey
Image Credit: Johnny Nunez/WireImage Cam recalls contracting a venereal disease while exploring the dangers of unprotected sex on this hilarious slow jam, which finds Ty Fyffe flipping a sample of “You, Me and He” by Mtume.
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"Daydreamin" Feat. Tiffany Carlin
Image Credit: KMazur/WireImage Matters of the heart are broached on this breezy duet, as Cam’ron is joined by songstress Tiffany Carlin for a remake of soul legend Aretha Franklin’s timeless ballad of the same name.
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"Losing Weight Pt. 2" Feat. Juelz Santana
Image Credit: Johnny Nunez/WireImage Interstates get crossed as Cam’ron and Juelz Santana concoct plans to flood the Eastern seaboard on this grisly sequel to Cam’s S.D.E. collaboration with Prodigy.
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"Come Home With Me" Feat. Jim Jones & Juelz Santana
Image Credit: (Photo by Frank Micelotta/Getty Images) The Heatmakerz and Ty Fyffe craft a soulful backdrop over which Cam’ron paints a vivid picture of Harlem’s avenues and boulevards for Come Home With Me‘s titular track, which includes additional stanzas from Juelz Santana and Jim Jones.
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"Boy Boy"
Image Credit: Photo by Scott Gries/Getty Images. Bars galore are dropped on this festive offering, as Cam’ron lays his mack down amid recollections of a raunchy rendezvous with his harem of female companions.
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"Live My Life (Leave Me Alone)" Feat. Daz Dillinger
Image Credit: Gregory Bojorquez/Getty Images Cam’ron’s game was certainly on point on this remake of 2Pac’s “Ambitionz Az A Ridah,” the first of many nods to the West Coast the Harlemite would make throughout the years. Throwing down the gauntlet while announcing his impending takeover in his opening bars, Killa is joined by Daz Dillinger, who lends his vocals on the hook while Cam plants the Dipset flag firmly on Roc soil.
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"Hey Ma" Feat. DJ Kay Slay, Juelz Santana, Freekey Zekey & Toya
Image Credit: Scott Gries/Getty Images The backdrop for this radio smash came from an unlikely source, as D/R Period, the producer of M.O.P.’s earliest hits, reconstructs a sample from The Commodores to create this feel-good ditty. A call-and-response record that showcased Cam’s versatility and helped broaden his reach, ”Hey Ma” sees Juelz Santana taking center stage, stealing the show with an opening verse that encapsulates the youthful exuberance and charm that made him an instant fan favorite. The second single released from Come Home With Me, “Hey Ma” shot to No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remains the highest-charting single of Cam’s career.
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"The ROC (Just Fire)" Feat. Beanie Sigel & Memphis Bleek
Image Credit: Johnny Nunez/WireImage Listeners are welcomed to extravaganza on this rollicking cut, with Just Blaze making the speakers bleed with a soundscape that Cam’ron and his co-stars obliterate with the swiftness. Summoning fellow Roc spitters Memphis Bleek and Beanie Sigel for added reinforcement, the triumvirate reel off a succession of hard-boiled stanzas that make this salvo one of the more underrated posse cuts of its time.
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"Oh Boy" Feat. Juelz Santana
Image Credit: Scott Gries/Getty Images Upon Cam’ron’s arrival at Roc-A-Fella Records, the rapper was eager to make his presence felt and deliver a record that would shake up the game. Stumbling across a Just Blaze instrumental that was actually meant for Jay-Z, Cam and Juelz allegedly swiped the record for themselves, which would ultimately become “Oh Boy,” the lead single from Come Home With Me.
Taking the song directly to Hot 97 to be premiered by Angie Martinez, the record became Cam’s biggest hit to that point, peaking at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topping the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart for five straight weeks. Driven by a sample of Rose Royce’s 1975 hit, “I’m Goin‘ Down,” “Oh Boy” introduced Juelz Santana as a budding star, produced an accompanying music video that set off various style trends, and officially put Harlem back on the map.
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"Welcome To New York City" Feat. Jay-Z & Juelz Santana
Image Credit: Carley Margolis/FilmMagic, Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images When opposing forces are in proximity of one another, a clash of the titans is bound to occur, which is exactly what took place when Cam’ron and Jay-Z faced off on this monstrous collaboration. With rumors of competitive tension between the two having brewed for years, it was initially unclear if Cam’ron’s alliance with Damon Dash and The Roc would translate into the cross-borough rivals working in concert. As fate would have it, the pair would ultimately put any reservations or grudges aside for the sake of making a classic record, which “Welcome To New York City” is in every sense of the term.
Produced by Just Blaze, who opts to provide his own vocals to bolster the hook as opposed to a sample, and featuring Juelz, the track finds Cam and Hov, both New York City natives, paying homage to their respective boroughs and the city as a whole. Trading a verse apiece, the BK banger and Harlem’s own gangster then go mano a mano in the final stanza, exchanging couplets in an epic bar-fest that left listeners salivating for more.
Yet, while the song received an overwhelming amount of acclaim from fans and pundits, and even peaked at No. 55 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks, “Welcome to New York City” would be their first and last joint effort, as Cam’ron and Jay-Z never appeared on a song together thereafter. However, the two created magic in one shining moment, accounting for one of the greatest odes to The Big Apple of all time, which still rings off to this day.