Profane from the beginning, Cam'ron's S.D.E. sets an urban reality or suburban fantasy of a violent New York City and candid sexual speech. This sophomore record is consistent but has no high-profile songs such as "Horse and Carriage," a BET favorite that featured Mase at his prime.
Cam'ron
S.D.E.
Epic/Untertainment
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This disc has well-known guests including Ol' Dirty Bastard, but it stands out because of its incredible variety of samples. Besides the overdone "Roxanne" sample, Killa Cam manages to integrate the themes of "Monday Night Football" and "The A-team" into modern hip-hop.
"Sports, Drugs & Entertainment" stands out because Cam uses it to tell about his incomplete college experience. He asks himself "Why'd they let a thug on campus?/ All I did was rob and mug on campus," discussing his difficult adjustment to college life as a basketball player. The Notorious B.I.G. sings the chorus, "Either your sling'n crack rock or you got a wicked jump shot," that was Cam's reality and regret. It is still a situation that faces some college athletes, and the transition was too difficult for him to handle.
"All the Chickens" comes next and has many memorable lines like "Just because I eat chicken doesn't mean I eat 'chickens.'" This song is about sex, raw enough for Eminem, and "chickenheads." Like a locker room story, Cam wants to suggest that he is sexually good enough for any woman. He even adds voices of women, or as the song terms them, "chickenheads," arguing about him in the background.
Cam's best skill is that he can rap over any type of loop or beat from any style. Another skill is that he empowers the listener, moving him into a world where he is aggressive and studly. The down side of this record came when I heard an ethnic slur against Chinese people. It shows that hip-hop, record labels and producers must make improvements on what is published. Overall, S.D.E. is a perverse fantasy and best if it stays within the 70 minutes of the album.
