Cam'ron

He was raised by his mother, Fredericka Giles (July 10, 1955 – February 9, 2023).

He went to school at the Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics, where he met his longtime friends Mase and Jim Jones.

He was a promising basketball player alongside Mase; however, he was unable to take advantage of scholarship offers due to his poor academic standing.

Instead, he enrolled in a college in Texas, without even graduating from high school, but was expelled and returned to Harlem where he began selling drugs before starting his rap career.

Giles was eventually introduced to The Notorious B.I.G. through his childhood friend Mase.

B.I.G. introduced Giles to Lance Rivera, who signed him to his label, Untertainment.

Cameron Ezike Giles (born February 4, 1976), better known by his stage name 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. (Sports Drugs & Entertainment) (2000); the former received gold certification by the RIAA.

He began his musical career in the mid-1990s, rapping alongside Big L, Mase, and his cousin Bloodshed, in a group called Children of the Corn.

Aside from his solo career, Giles was first a member of the short-lived hip hop group Children of the Corn, which he formed alongside Big L and Mase in 1993 before disbanding in 1997.

He subsequently formed the hip hop collective the Diplomats (also known as Dipset) the same year, alongside his longtime affiliate Jim Jones and cousin Freekey Zekey.

He later performed as one half of the duo U.N. (Us Now) with fellow Harlem native Vado; the duo released two collaborative projects.

After Bloodshed's death in a car accident on March 2, 1997, the group disbanded and the remaining members pursued solo careers.

His debut album, Confessions of Fire, was released a year later in July 1998 and included singles such as "3-5-7" (which was also featured in the movie Woo), and "Horse and Carriage" featuring Mase, which reached the R&B Top Ten.

The album achieved gold status and made the Top 10 of both the pop and R&B charts.

Two years before Big L's murder in 1999, Cam'ron was introduced to The Notorious B.I.G. by Mase who was signed to Bad Boy Records at the time.

Biggie was so impressed by Cam'ron that he introduced him to his partner Lance "Un" Rivera who signed Cam'ron to his Untertainment label, distributed by Epic Records.

In 2000, Cam'ron was working with music executive Tommy Mottola and released his second album S.D.E. (Sports Drugs & Entertainment) on Sony/Epic Records.

With features from Destiny's Child, Juelz Santana, Jim Jones, N.O.R.E., and producer Digga, it included the relatively successful singles, "Let Me Know" and "What Means The World To You".

The album reached Number 2 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and Number 14 on the Billboard 200.

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" (featuring Juelz Santana) and "Hey Ma" (featuring Juelz Santana, Freekey Zeekey and Toya), which peaked at numbers four and three respectively on the Billboard Hot 100.

After demanding a release from Sony/Epic Records, Cam'ron signed with his childhood friend and new manager Damon Dash to Roc-A-Fella Records in December 2001, alongside artists such as Jay-Z, Beanie Sigel, Freeway and Memphis Bleek.

A reported $4.5 million record deal was agreed upon with Damon Dash and his Roc-A-Fella partners Kareem Biggs and Jay-Z in the form of a record advance.

In addition to the Killa Season film, Giles has acted in other works including the Roc-A-Fella films Paper Soldiers and Paid in Full in 2002.

Giles was born and raised in the East Harlem neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, New York City.

His third and most successful album Come Home with Me was released in 2002 featuring guests such as Jay-Z, Beanie Sigel, and Memphis Bleek, and production from Just Blaze, Kanye West and The Heatmakerz.

It included the hit singles "Oh Boy" and "Hey Ma", which both featured the Diplomats newest member Juelz Santana.

The album achieved platinum status and served as a stepping stone for Cam'ron's group the Diplomats to sign with Roc-A-Fella.

In 2002, Cam'ron went on to appear in the Damon Dash produced film, Paid in Full, in which he played one of three main characters alongside Mekhi Phifer and Wood Harris.

In March 2003, Cam'ron teamed up with his fellow Diplomats Members Jim Jones, Juelz Santana, and Freekey Zeeky to release the Diplomats' debut double disc album, Diplomatic Immunity, under Roc-A-Fella/Diplomat Records, which was quickly certified gold by the RIAA.

The album featured the lead single "Dipset Anthem", a remix to Cam'rons hit "Hey Ma", and the (street anthem) single "I Really Mean It", as well as featuring production from Kanye West, Just Blaze, and The Heatmakerz.

A year later, the Diplomats released their second album, Diplomatic Immunity 2.

His fourth studio album, Purple Haze (2004) was met with similar success and likewise received gold certification by the RIAA.

After Giles and his label Diplomat Records parted ways with Roc-A-Fella in 2005 due to disagreements between himself and label-head Jay-Z, Giles signed the label to a distribution deal with Asylum Records.

In 2006, Giles released his fifth studio album Killa Season, accompanied by a film of the same name in which Giles starred and made his director-screenwriter debut.

In 2006 he started shooting his movie for his album titled Killa Season; the film would mark both Cam'ron's screenwriting and directorial debuts, as well as his return to acting.

Killa Season was released to DVD on April 25, 2006, after a special two-day theatrical release.

In 2009, after taking a hiatus due to his mother's health, Giles returned to music and released his sixth studio album Crime Pays (2009), which peaked at number three on the Billboard 200.

A decade later, he released his seventh album Purple Haze 2.