Confessions Of Fire

In the short window after the Notorious B.I.G.’s death and before Jay-Z’s ascent to superstardom, Cam’ron arrived on the scene with *Confessions of Fire*. He used the same slick R&B-oriented beats that had made Bad Boy’s stable of artists so successful, but his talent as a rapper was legitimate. He had the street awareness of Jay-Z and Biggie but was a more playful and slippery stylist than either. While others boasted about “spitting” their verses, Cam braided complex rhymes with the ease of a child inventing a game. Though simple on the surface, songs like “Horse & Carriage” conceal verbal schemes as intricate as an M.C. Escher drawing.

Following in the footsteps of Sean "Puffy" Combs, Cam'ron created an accessible fusion of rap and pop that manages to keep some sort of street edge.