Purple Haze

Having won the attention of the masses with the success of “Hey Ma,” Cam’ron took advantage of the public goodwill and used 2004’s *Purple Haze* to let it all hang out. He never made an album that was more indulgent or more fun—as if the pink-saturated cover art wasn’t indication enough. “Killa Cam,” “Harlem Streets,” and “Get ‘Em Girls” made brilliant use of bizarre samples, and the creativity only seems to spur Cam’s imagination. And while he got weird, he still managed to create street anthems in the form of “Get Down,” “Down and Out,” and “Dip-Set Forever.”

Backed by beats ranging from wistful chipmunk soul to oppressive, bell-rattling NWA jacks and hypnotic electro bounce, Cam'ron bids adieu to Roc-A-Fella.

Released within months of Jim Jones' On My Way to Church, the second volume of the Diplomats' Diplomatic Immunity, and another flurry of mixtapes, Cam'ron's fourth album ("Previously written in 2001," as announced in the intro) is evenly divided between strong and weak tracks.