Outside the Beltway

Rapper Cameron Cam’ron Giles Shot in DC Carjacking

James Joyner · Monday, October 24, 2005 · 8 comments

Cameron “Cam’ron” Giles, aka “Killa Cam,” was shot during a carjacking attempt early Sunday morning after a night clubbing in DC.

Rapper Shot in Alleged Carjacking in D.C. (WaPo, B1)

New York hip-hop artist Cameron “Cam’ron” Giles, in the District for Howard University’s annual homecoming and a hot celebrity-studded party in town Saturday night, is not the kind of guy who lives out his violent lyrics. He is nicknamed “Killa Cam,” but he’s known more for his flamboyance — for dripping in diamonds and wearing the color pink — than for beefs with other rappers.

Yet early yesterday morning, his art became life. Giles, driving his royal blue 2006 Lamborghini and wearing what a friend later described as $200,000 worth of diamonds and other jewelry, was shot in both arms after stopping at a red light on New York Avenue NW, police said. “I got shot three times and my album comes out Nov. 22,” Giles said as he left Howard University Hospital yesterday afternoon with an entourage of friends, fellow rappers and bodyguards. “We love Howard.”

The group was with him at the hospital, but minutes before his release, members were finger-pointing and yelling at one another for not being with him at that red light when he needed them most.

Just after midnight, Giles, a platinum-selling artist, left H20, the nightclub on Water Street SW where hip-hop entrepreneur Diddy played host to a throng of celebrities including Venus Williams, hip-hop stars and Howard students and alumni for the Annual Homecoming Blockfest, according to his publicist.

Giles likes to hang by himself or go out with only one or two friends, unencumbered by bodyguards. But he had security at H20. So much, in fact, that owner Abdul Khanu said that although Giles was welcome, his entourage was not. “The problem was he had so many people who were not dressed properly,” Khanu said. “We have a fashionable dress code. He understood. He was cool with it. There was no way for him to vouch for 30 people.”

[…]

Yesterday afternoon, Giles was unmoved as he walked out of the hospital to the waiting TV cameras and the brightly colored vans that had “Duke Da God” and “The Diplomats” written on the sides. “It was a sloppy job on their part. They didn’t get anything,” he said. “I still got my car and my jewelry.” Giles fingered the rows of shiny chains on his neck.

Standing nearby, rapper and Giles protege Juelz Santana linked the incident to the popularity of Cam’ron and the Diplomats. “It is a movement,” he said. “That’s why . . . this happens. A lot of people love us, but then a lot of people hate us.”

Giles has been in a fairly public feud with rapper Jay-Z, who next week plans to give an “I Declare War” concert aimed primarily at Giles. But the two artists are known to keep their animosity to their music. Giles also recently filed a federal lawsuit against another artist over a songwriting credit.

It’s truly a shame that a rapper is not safe wearing $200,000 in bling while driving a royal blue Lamborghini after a night of clubbing with his posse in the hood. This comes a month after a similar incident. (See Wizards Draft Pick Andray Blatche Shot in Carjacking.)

Strangely, one would never have suspected Cam’ron would have been involved in such an incident having read his biography:

Rapper Cam’ron was born and raised in Harlem, attending Manhattan Center High School, where one of his basketball teammates was Mason “Mase” Betha, who also became a successful rapper. Though his playing earned him scholarship offers from top colleges, Cam’ron was unable to take advantage of them because of his poor academic record, and he enrolled at a small college in Texas instead. He quickly dropped out and returned to Harlem, where he became a drug dealer before turning to rap. Hooking up with the Bad Boy posse, he developed a pop-rap style similar to chief Bad Boy Puff Daddy. But Cam’ron didn’t sign with Bad Boy; Mase introduced him to the Notorious B.I.G., who in turn brought in his partner Lance “Un” Rivera. Un signed Cam’ron to his Untertainment label, distributed by Epic Records. Cam’ron first attracted attention with “Pull It,” which earned airplay in May 1998. “3-5-7” was featured in the movie Woo and became his first R&B chart entry in June. Then in July came “Horse & Carriage,” featuring Mase. It made the R&B Top Ten and just missed hitting the pop Top 40, setting up Cam’ron’s debut album, Confessions of Fire, which went gold and made the Top Ten of both the pop and R&B charts. “Feels Good” featuring Usher was another R&B chart entry in December. “Let Me Know” made the pop and R&B charts in June 1999. A year later, “What Means the World to You” heralded the release of Cam’ron’s biographical sophomore album, S.D.E. (the initials standing for Sports, Drugs, and Entertainment). Cam’ron worked with Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Mobb Deep’s Prodigy, and producer Digga to complete the album, which was released in September 2000. After moving to Jay-Z’s Roc-a-Fella label, his single “Oh Boy” became a big hit on urban radio in 2002, and the album Come Home With Me performed well too. Early the following year, his protégés the Diplomats debuted with the two-disc set Diplomatic Immunity. Diplomatic Immunity 2 appeared a year later, and Cam’ron’s own follow-up Purple Haze dropped late in 2004.

According to the WaPo story, Giles’s forthcoming album is called “Killa Season.”