Search - Killa Season on DVD

Cam's epic proves mediocre

ctrx | 'bout to show you how the EAST COAST rocks... | 05/16/2006

(2 out of 5 stars)

"In 2006, Cameron Giles finds himself on top of the hip hop world with a platinum selling crew, a new movie, a high profile rap beef, and a recent gunshot survival. One would think that all this would translate into a great album, hungry with elevated lyrics and themes. Unfortunately, "Killa Season" is flat almost throughout. At a time where DipSet is releasing so much music, with a new group album about every three months, new solos from members Hell Rell, Juelz Santana, and Jim Jones, and countless mixtapes, "Killa Season" fails to bring out the best in Cam. His lyricism is not as entertaining or creative as it was on previous albums. Another glaring disappointment is the production. Unlike on "Come Home With Me" and "Purple Haze", where he brought in the best producers to make sampled loops and good beats to accompany his flow, "Killa Season"'s production is generic and unimaginative. While it is obviously well funded, almost every song has a similar strings-and-bass line, with a horn blast here and there and a rare voice sample. Cam never makes a fun song on this album, such as "Oh Boy" or "Hey Ma", the catchy, fun singles that shot him to the mainstream. There is also no song as powerful as greats like "Down and Out". In addition to these problems, there is also simply too much of it: Cam'Ron could have easily made a more digestible album and sent the same message in a 45-minute album than in this 80-minute spectacle. He only responds to the Jay-Z beef in one song. As one who thoroughly enjoyed Juelz Santana's recent solo and other DipSet music, "Killa Season" disappointed.

The album opens with "Killa Cam (Intro)", which is promising. It opens with a good rock beat and has funny and tough lyrics, before it turns into an epic anthem, it's a highlight. On "He Tried To Play Me", Cam and Hell Rell sing over a piano before going into introspective verses, it's one of the best songs on the album. "Leave You Alone" is annoying and doesn't really go anywhere. "Livin' A Lie" is decent, but the lyrics are lackluster. Partner Juelz Santana outshines Cam on the pretty good "We Make Change". "Wet Wipes" is pretty boring and uncreative. The single "Touch It Or Not" with Lil' Wayne is okay, but nothing special, the lyrics are generic and the beat is decent. The same could be said of "War", and on "Triple Up" he just brags about his ice and clothes. He tells stories on the above average "I.B.S.". "Get Ya Gun" is redundant and unnecessary, generic in all aspects. "White Girls" is a silly track about cocaine. "Girls, Cash, Cars" is about exactly what you'd think from the title, a totally uninspired song. The "Do Ya Thing" and "Get `Em Daddy" remixes are both okay, and "Something New" is nothing special. "You Gotta Love It" is the Jay-Z diss track, but mostly it falls flat. All he seems able to pick at is his age and extravagant clothes. "Love My Life" is the best song, with great piano and bass production, and lyrics talking to his old friends with a good chorus. The two bonus tracks add nothing, nor do the unintelligible "Voicemail" skits.

Although "Killa Season" does have its moments, they are much too few and far between. He fails to break free from the cash, cars, and women talk of other DipSet releases, and unlike Juelz Santana's album, he doesn't make it fun or catchy. The production is lacking and it's just much too long. I see Cam in a situation similar to 50 Cent right now. Both came up from the underground, have switched labels, and have movies, platinum groups, and gunshot wounds. And like 50, Cam appears to have lost his hunger and creativity on his album, simply retreading his older material while on top of mainstream hip hop. On "Killa Season", Cam'Ron fails to gain any ground from his other releases and doesn't supply anything new. This is his worst album in memory, and I think his loyal fanbase deserves better than this."