The song Juelz Santana wrote to prove himself to Cam’ron
Two of Harlem’s most influential artists of the new millennium, Juelz Santana and Cam’ron were major players in the early noughties hip-hop scene through their membership of The Diplomats, the collective founded by Cam’ron in 1997.
The two rappers enjoyed a partnership that easily highlighted each other’s strengths. By 1999 – the year Juelz Santana joined – Cam’ron was already an established artist, having worked with the likes of Biggie Smalls and released his debut album Confessions of Fire, which reached the Top 10 of the Pop and R&B charts. His playful style and tongue-in-cheek lyricism was nicely matched with Santana’s considerably youthful energy and rapid delivery.
As members of Dipset, they collaborated a lot, from Santana’s solo work to Cam’ron’s third studio album Come Home with Me. Santana’s feature on singles “Oh Boy” and “Hey Ma” were particularly successful tracks from their collaborative work; the former held the number one spot on the Hot R&B/Hip-hop Singles for over a month.
So sure, the two enjoyed a flourishing creative partnership, celebrated across sales, by fans, and by critics too. And yet with Cam’ron operating as the already established artist and group founder, it is not necessarily the greatest surprise that Santana had to earn his right to work with him like an equal.
Speaking to REVOLT magazine in an interview, Santana revealed just the extent to which he strove to prove himself to Cam’ron.
“We were doing a lot. Cam was working the shit out of us, man. We would finish a whole mixtape in a day,” Santana said. “That’s one thing about us — Cam was really militant. He was making sure we were in the studio, and we were not bullshitting in the studio.”
The work ethic would eventually pay off. Santana then revealed how when on tour, pressure from both Cam’ron and himself forced the young rapper to miss a show after party in Chicago to work on something new to show Cam’ron. Good thing, because the track ended up becoming “Dipset Anthem”, now a cult classic among Dipset fans and a staple of the early noughties East Coast hip hop scene.
I wrote that while being stuck in a basement in Chicago because I wasn’t writing rhymes; I was slacking,” Santana explained. “We were on tour, I wasn’t writing any rhymes and Cam kept asking me, “Yo, let me hear something.” For three days, I ain’t give him nothing new.”
“So, we did a show in Chicago, and I’m about to go to the after-party with them until Cam asked me again, “Yo, spit something for me.” I told him, “I ain’t got it” and he said, “When you get it, then you can come to the party.” So, I went down to the basement and made “Dipset Anthem.” When they got back from the club that night, it was done. It took me about three hours.”
The track is iconic for good reason. “Dipset Anthem” so energetically captures the raw energy and fever pride of Harlem rap at that moment, combining hard drums and Heatmakerz’ signature soul production. Santana’s verses are saturated in self-swagger; Cam’ron neatly balances the equilibrium with his chilled charisma. Over twenty years later it still stands as a brilliant, head-nodding street anthem that is the collective at their best. An annoying lesson to learn for Santana. But we can’t imagine he’s thought much about that missed after party since.