Purple Haze | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | December 7, 2004 | |||
Recorded | 2003–2004 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 77:47 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer |
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Cam'ron chronology | ||||
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Singles from Purple Haze | ||||
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Purple Haze is the fourth studio album by Harlem rapper Cam'ron. The album was released on December 7, 2004, by Diplomat Records, Roc-A-Fella Records and distributed by Def Jam Recordings. The release of this album was delayed several times from November 2003, the first single "Get Em Girls" was released a year prior to the actual album release. The album debuted at number 20 on the Billboard 200 with 123,000 copies sold in its first week. [1] The album was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Aggregate scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 72/100 [2] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [3] |
Blender | [4] |
Entertainment Weekly | B+ [5] |
NME | 8/10 [6] |
Pitchfork | 8.7/10 [7] |
Spin | B+ [8] |
Stylus Magazine | B+ [9] |
Purple Haze received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 72, based on 7 reviews. [2]
David Drake of Stylus Magazine praised the album for its "bombastic production and surreal lyricism" and Cam's "unique brand of idiosyncratic gangsta" being wildly engaging because of his absurd, poker-faced delivery, concluding that "Purple Haze is such a twisted take on gangsta that it has to be heard to be believed." [9] Blender contributor Jonah Weiner noted how the production throughout the record moves between "aggressively insane ("Shake")" to "ador[ing] pop (the Cyndi Lauper-interpolating "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun")" while Cam matches that balance with wordplay that's "Missy gibberish swathed in 50 Cent menace," concluding that he "writes pop hooks and avant-garde rhymes while staying as close to the streets as a manhole cover." [4] Chris Ryan from Spin gave credit to Cam for tightening his signature flow, choosing quality and risk-worthy beats, and maintaining listener interest while delivering "Harlem symbolism and non-sensical muttering" throughout the album. [8] AllMusic editor Andy Kellman was mixed about the tracks on the record, finding "Girls" and "Harlem Streets" to be weak inclusions but praised the contributions from Kanye West ("Down and Out"), Pop & Versatile ("Soap Opera") and the Heatmakerz ("More Gangsta Music"). He also commented that the "Diplomat-affiliated material" being released alongside it that year may cause their fanbase to suffer burnout from too much content. [3] Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club commended the album for adopting the hyper-soul style of Roc-A-Fella's sound throughout the track listing but criticized Cam's lyric delivery for being similar to nursery rhymes, saying that it "lumbers drearily through a sea of gangsta-rap clichés." [10]
Online music magazine Pitchfork placed Purple Haze at number 114 on their list of the Top 200 Albums of the 2000s. Pitchfork writer Sean Fennessey said, "Call this a personal project for a relentlessly distant artist; an asshole's lament. Purple Haze is simultaneously a refined, perfectly A&R-ed follow-up and one of the most confusing, crude full-lengths ever." [11]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Intro" |
| Skitzo | 2:10 |
2. | "More Gangsta Music" (featuring Juelz Santana) |
| The Heatmakerz | 4:26 |
3. | "Get Down" |
| Chad Hamilton | 2:37 |
4. | "Welcome to Purple Haze" (skit) | Giles | Cam'ron | 1:15 |
5. | "Killa Cam" |
| The Heatmakerz | 4:24 |
6. | "Leave Me Alone, Pt. 2" |
| Nasty Beat Makers | 4:02 |
7. | "Down and Out" (featuring Kanye West and Syleena Johnson) |
|
| 4:08 |
8. | "Harlem Streets" |
| Ty-Tracks | 3:41 |
9. | "Rude Boy" (skit) | Giles | Cam'ron | 1:28 |
10. | "Girls" (featuring Mona Lisa) |
| Charlemagne | 3:43 |
11. | "I'm a Chicken Head" (skit) | Giles | Cam'ron | 1:26 |
12. | "Soap Opera" |
| Pop & Versatile | 4:10 |
13. | "O.T." (skit) | Giles | Cam'ron | 0:24 |
14. | "Bubble Music" |
| Stay Gettin' Productions | 3:51 |
15. | "More Reasons" (featuring Jaheim) |
| Hamilton | 4:30 |
16. | "The Block" (skit) | Giles | Cam'ron | 0:46 |
17. | "The Dope Man" (featuring Jim Jones) |
| Bang | 3:26 |
18. | "Family Ties" (featuring Nicole Wray) |
| Skitzo | 4:17 |
19. | "Adrenaline" (featuring Twista and Psycho Drama) |
| The Legendary Traxster | 4:39 |
20. | "Hey Lady" (featuring Freekey Zekey) |
| Pop & Versatile | 3:07 |
21. | "Shake" (featuring J.R. Writer) |
| Self Service, Music Mystro | 3:28 |
22. | "Get 'Em Girls" |
| Skitzo | 4:23 |
23. | "Dip-Set Forever" |
|
| 3:54 |
24. | "Take 'Em to Church" (featuring Juelz Santana and Un Kasa) |
| Amadeus | 3:48 |
Sample credits
Credits for Purple Haze adapted from AllMusic. [12]
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
| Certifications
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Cam'ron Giles, known mononymously as Cam'ron, is an American rapper. Beginning his career in the early-1990s as Killa Cam, Giles signed with Lance "Un" Rivera's Untertainment, an imprint of Epic Records to release his first two studio albums Confessions of Fire (1998) and S.D.E. (2000); the former received gold certification by the RIAA. After leaving Epic, Giles signed with Roc-A-Fella Records in 2001 to release his third studio album, Come Home with Me, the following year. It received platinum certification by the RIAA and spawned the singles "Oh Boy" and "Hey Ma", which peaked at numbers four and three on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively. His fourth studio album, Purple Haze (2004) was met with similar success and likewise received gold certification by the RIAA.
LaRon Louis James Sr, better known by his stage name Juelz Santana, is an American rapper and member of East Coast hip hop group, the Diplomats. He is best known for his appearances on group cohort Cam'ron's 2002 singles "Oh Boy" and "Hey Ma", which peaked at numbers four and three on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively. His guest appearance on Chris Brown's 2005 single, "Run It!" peaked atop the chart for five weeks and received triple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). As a lead artist, he is also known for his 2005 single "There It Go ", which peaked at number six on the chart and received platinum certification by the RIAA.
Joseph Guillermo Jones II, better known by his stage name Jim Jones, is an American rapper and record executive. He is a founding member of the hip hop collective the Diplomats, which he formed in 1997 with fellow Harlem native Cam'ron.
The Diplomats is an American hip hop collective formed in 1997 by childhood friends Cam'ron and Jimmy Jones in Harlem, New York. The group was originally composed of Cam'ron, Jim Jones and Freekey Zekey, all of whom grew up together in Harlem. In 1999, fellow Harlem-based rapper Juelz Santana joined the group.
Come Home with Me is the third studio album by American rapper Cam'ron, released on May 14, 2002, by Cam'ron's Diplomat Records and Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records; distributed under Def Jam Recordings. There are featured guest appearances from Jimmy Jones, Juelz Santana, Freekey Zekey, DJ Kay Slay, Daz Dillinger, Tiffany, Jay-Z, McGruff, Memphis Bleek, and Beanie Sigel. To date, it is his most commercially successful album; it peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 226,000 copies, and eventually sold one million copies in the United States, being certified Platinum by the RIAA.
S.D.E. is the second studio album by Harlem rapper Cam'ron. The album was originally titled "The Rough, Rough, Rough Album" and was set for a 1999 release, however the project was pushed back to 2000 and many new songs were recorded. The album was finally released on September 19, 2000, by Epic Records. It features guest appearances from Destiny's Child, Noreaga, Dutch & Spade, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Prodigy, Freekey Zekey, Juelz Santana, and Jim Jones. The album debuted and peaked at number 14 on the Billboard 200, selling 73,000 copies in its first week.
Diplomat Records is an American hip hop record label co-founded by Harlem rappers Jim Jones and Cam'ron.
What the Game's Been Missing! is the second studio album by American rapper Juelz Santana, released on November 22, 2005, by Diplomat Records and Def Jam Recordings. The album yielded the singles "Mic Check", "There It Go ", "Oh Yes", "Make It Work For Ya" and "Clockwork".
Killa Season is the fifth studio album by Harlem rapper Cam'ron. The album was released on May 16, 2006, by Diplomat Records, Asylum Records, and Atlantic Records. Cam'ron was also the executive producer of the album. The album received positive reviews but critics found the production and content lesser compared to Purple Haze. Killa Season sold 114,000 copies in its first week, debuting at number two on the Billboard 200.
"Oh Boy" is a 2002 Grammy-nominated hip hop single by Cam'ron from his album Come Home with Me, and features Juelz Santana. The single was released through Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records, Cam'ron's Diplomat Records and Def Jam Recordings.
From Me to U is the debut studio album by American rapper Juelz Santana. The album was released on August 19, 2003 as planned, under Diplomat, Roc-A-Fella and Def Jam. The album was seen as the introspective introduction of the rapper to mainstream entertainment. Following appearances on various street mixtapes and the success of The Diplomats, Santana was the second member of the group to release a solo album, after de facto leader Cam'ron.
Harlem: Diary of a Summer is the second studio album by American rapper Jim Jones. The album was released on August 23, 2005 through Diplomat Records and Koch Records. The production on the album was handled by various producers including Pete Rock, Antwan "Amadeus" Thompson, Develop, and Tuneheadz including more. The album also features guest appearances by Juelz Santana, Trey Songz, P. Diddy, and Max B among others.
Diplomatic Immunity is the debut studio album by American hip hop group The Diplomats, released via The Island Def Jam Music Group, Def Jam Recordings, Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records, and Cam'ron's Diplomat Records.
The Professional 3 is the third and most recent studio album by American record producer DJ Clue. It was released on December 19, 2006 via Roc-A-Fella Records, serving as a sequel to his 2001 The Professional 2.
On My Way to Church is the debut studio album by American rapper and record executive Jim Jones. The album was released on August 24, 2004, through Diplomat Records and Koch Records. The production on the album was handled by various producers including Chad Hamilton, Boola, Ryan Press, Heatmakerz and Jones himself among others. The album also features guest appearances by T.I., Cam'ron, Bun B, Juelz Santana and more.
American rapper Jim Jones has released seven studio albums, five collaborative albums, three compilation albums, two extended plays (EPs), nineteen mixtapes and 47 singles. Jones is perhaps best known for being a member of East Coast hip hop group The Diplomats, with whom he recorded several mixtapes with before releasing their debut album Diplomatic Immunity, in 2003. In August 2004, Jones released his solo debut album On My Way to Church, under Diplomat Records and E1 Music. The album was preceded by the release of the singles "Certified Gangstas" and "Crunk Muzik", the latter of which features his Dipset-cohorts Juelz Santana and Cam'ron, and also supported the release of Dipset's second album Diplomatic Immunity 2 (2004).
Tough Luv is the debut studio album by American hip hop duo Young Gunz. It was released on February 24, 2004 via Roc-A-Fella Records. Recording sessions took place at Sony Music Studios, Baseline Studios and Quad Recording in New York, and at The Studio and Homebase Studios in Philadelphia. Production was handled by Chad Hamilton, Just Blaze, Bink!, Boola, Darrell "Digga" Branch, Ez Elpee, Ruggedness and Scott Storch, with Jay-Z, Damon Dash and Kareem "Biggs" Burke serving as executive producers. It features guest appearances from Denim, Beanie Sigel, Cam'ron, Chingy, Freeway, Jay-Z, Juelz Santana, Omillio Sparks and Rell.
Crime Pays is the sixth studio album by Harlem rapper Cam'ron. The album was released on May 12, 2009, by Diplomat Records, Asylum Records, and Warner Bros. Records.
"We Fly High" is a song by American rapper Jim Jones, released as the lead single from his third studio album, Hustler's P.O.M.E. (2006). The song is Jim Jones' highest-charting single to date, charting at number five on the Billboard Hot 100. It was written by Jones and produced by Zukhan Bey who produced his previous single, "Baby Girl".
"Dipset Anthem" is a song by Harlem rap crew The Diplomats. It features rapping from Juelz Santana and Cam'ron. Originally released with the title "Gangsta Music" on the Purple City Matrix Vol. 3 mixtape in 2003, the song was released as a single for the album Diplomatic Immunity that released in March that year.