Cameron Giles, professionally known as Cam’ron, made a name for himself as a Harlem-raised rap star in the late 1990s. Fast forward to 2023, Cam is now the host of the online sports talk show It Is What It Is.
“So look, Hip Hop is 50 years old and I’ve been doing this [25 years], so if you don’t reinvent yourself, you’ll be looking at a 1997 Cam’ron,” said the Confessions of Fire album creator on Good Day New York.
Fellow Harlem-bred rapper Ma$e co-hosts the It Is What It Is podcast. Cam’ron’s Come And Talk 2 Me YouTube channel has already amassed more than 7 million views since its launch in January 2023.
“I’m like, ‘I love sports and I need to be on television.’ People always offer me things to do on television. So I’m like, ‘Let me create my own show, not somebody giving me a show, and see how it goes,'” explained Cam’ron.
Before sharing their sports takes on It Is What It Is, Cam’ron and Ma$e went through some rocky times as frenemies, including a heated verbal exchange on Hot 97 in 2004. Additionally, the “Horse & Carriage” collaborators traded diss tracks about each other in 2017.
“Ma$e got me my first record deal, ever. So doing this show and creating this show and having him be a part of it, it felt like I’m giving back to him for helping me even be an entertainer,” Cam’ron also told Good Day New York.
The Dipset leader added, “I may not have been where I’m at if [Ma$e] didn’t take me to Biggie Smalls [The Notorious B.I.G.] and get me my first record deal… I wanted to pay him back, and hopefully, this show will do that.”