I meant fukking with them to the degree like the Lox had NY on lock.
I was around big goons throughout the 90s and 00's. It was always our wants that dictated radio play and it was always based on your entire team spitting bars. That shyt changed when Dip Set got big. Jim J and Juelz would NEVER have been given a mic in the 90s yet were big in the 00's. They rep NY street's loosening grip on what was hot. Real talk....
i understand the point you're making.
but i don't agree 100%.
cam popped in the late 90's originally, co-signed by big. the lox were in the horse and carriage video, and DMX was on pull it. jim and juelz getting on wasn't about the streets as you feel they should be respected and represented in hip hop. but cam used his influence to make his team matter, and when the labels wouldn't fukk with it he said fukk them and BUILT their brand from the mixtape level up.. how is that not street?
(and to be fair... rakim was in the mic check video. there is no way in hell i'm saying juelz wouldn't have found a lane in the 90's/00's if he got a rakim co-sign. just sayin'.)
also, i dont think it's fair to punish dipset for the changes that hit urban radio when it became less about the DJs and more about nationwide playlists. again, i give cam credit for recognizing the sea change early and adjusting. i get that some people might not like it, but it worked for them when a lot of other artists IN NEW YORK were struggling to stay relevant... and then jumped on the same trends later. more power to them.
cam wasn't the person who started that change either. big had too short and bone thugs on his second album. hov had too short. mase had 8ball and mjg on his debut. outkast had raekwon. nas gave everyone the blueprint of putting all the best producers on one album. the artists that followed them took their formulas and used it in ways that worked for them, but no idea is 100% original.





