WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.000 Um, you know, there's this, there's this really 00:00:03.000 --> 00:00:07.599 fascinating kind of recurring trope in music 00:00:07.599 --> 00:00:10.279 history. Oh yeah. And I think we've all seen 00:00:10.279 --> 00:00:13.539 it play out a dozen times, right? For you listening, 00:00:13.599 --> 00:00:16.160 you definitely know the vibe. It's that moment 00:00:16.160 --> 00:00:20.120 when an established superstar, someone who's, 00:00:20.120 --> 00:00:22.179 you know, already climbed the mountain. Right. 00:00:22.179 --> 00:00:24.739 They sold the records. Exactly. They defined 00:00:24.739 --> 00:00:26.940 an era and they decide they just aren't done 00:00:26.940 --> 00:00:29.350 yet. But instead of just dropping another high 00:00:29.350 --> 00:00:32.350 -pressure solo album, they grab a newcomer. Someone 00:00:32.350 --> 00:00:34.590 hungry. Right, someone hungry, and they form 00:00:34.590 --> 00:00:37.250 a group. Yeah. It's the classic veteran meets 00:00:37.250 --> 00:00:39.670 the rookie dynamic. It's a tale as old as the 00:00:39.670 --> 00:00:41.810 industry itself, honestly. I mean, it's a way 00:00:41.810 --> 00:00:44.590 to refresh the veteran's brand by injecting some 00:00:44.590 --> 00:00:46.850 new youth into it. Yeah. And at the same time, 00:00:46.909 --> 00:00:49.250 it's a way to launch the newcomer with this massive, 00:00:49.509 --> 00:00:52.880 undeniable cosign. But the chemistry, that is 00:00:52.880 --> 00:00:55.859 always the wild card. Sometimes it's magic, like 00:00:55.859 --> 00:00:58.359 a true passing of the torch. Sometimes it's a 00:00:58.359 --> 00:01:00.200 total train wreck where the styles just clash 00:01:00.200 --> 00:01:04.359 completely. And sometimes it's just incredibly 00:01:04.359 --> 00:01:06.640 interesting to look back on because of what it 00:01:06.640 --> 00:01:08.560 tells us about that specific moment in time. 00:01:08.700 --> 00:01:10.640 Which is exactly what we are doing today. It 00:01:10.640 --> 00:01:13.599 is. We are taking a deep dive into a project 00:01:13.599 --> 00:01:16.379 that dropped right at the start of the last decade. 00:01:17.000 --> 00:01:20.120 We are looking at the 2010 studio album Heat 00:01:20.120 --> 00:01:23.219 and Here, Vol 1. And just to set the stage immediately 00:01:23.219 --> 00:01:25.439 for you listening, this isn't technically a solo 00:01:25.439 --> 00:01:27.700 Cameron album. Right. Even though his name is 00:01:27.700 --> 00:01:29.780 obviously the marquee attraction that gets people 00:01:29.780 --> 00:01:32.519 in the door, this is actually the debut studio 00:01:32.519 --> 00:01:36.019 album by a group called UN. Right, UN, the duo. 00:01:36.819 --> 00:01:40.299 And the lineup for this group, it's the Harlem 00:01:40.299 --> 00:01:43.280 legend himself, Cameron, teaming up with his 00:01:43.280 --> 00:01:46.049 protege at the time, Vato. A really fascinating 00:01:46.049 --> 00:01:48.069 pairing. And to really understand this, we've 00:01:48.069 --> 00:01:50.310 pulled together the album's documented history, 00:01:50.469 --> 00:01:52.030 the production credits. Which are actually quite 00:01:52.030 --> 00:01:54.090 surprising, honestly. Very surprising. We also 00:01:54.090 --> 00:01:57.189 have the commercial data and a really insightful, 00:01:57.189 --> 00:01:59.890 critical review from all music to help us navigate 00:01:59.890 --> 00:02:03.790 this whole thing. Here's the mission for this 00:02:03.790 --> 00:02:05.769 deep dive. We want to look at Heat and hear Vault 00:02:05.769 --> 00:02:09.669 One and figure out one main thing. Was this the 00:02:09.669 --> 00:02:12.250 revolution that the album's intro promised it 00:02:12.250 --> 00:02:15.009 would be? Or was it, as some critics suggested, 00:02:15.129 --> 00:02:17.849 just a return to form for the Die Hard fans who 00:02:17.849 --> 00:02:20.990 missed that specific Harlem sound? Yeah, it's 00:02:20.990 --> 00:02:23.110 the difference between moving the genre forward 00:02:23.110 --> 00:02:25.250 and just giving the people exactly what they 00:02:25.250 --> 00:02:27.310 want. And I think the answer actually lies somewhere 00:02:27.310 --> 00:02:30.110 in, well, in the ridiculous irresponsibility 00:02:30.110 --> 00:02:33.280 of the whole project. I love that phrase. Ridiculous 00:02:33.280 --> 00:02:34.740 irresponsibility. We are definitely gonna unpack 00:02:34.740 --> 00:02:36.620 that later because it sounds like the best kind 00:02:36.620 --> 00:02:38.620 of backhanded compliment. Oh, absolutely. But 00:02:38.620 --> 00:02:40.379 first, let's just get our bearings. When does 00:02:40.379 --> 00:02:43.740 this actually drop? We are looking at May 25, 00:02:44.520 --> 00:02:46.819 2010. Okay, 2010. So let's place this in the 00:02:46.819 --> 00:02:49.930 Cameron timeline. Where is he? in his career 00:02:49.930 --> 00:02:52.870 at this point, because Kam has had several very 00:02:52.870 --> 00:02:55.250 distinct eras. Right. You look at the chronology, 00:02:55.349 --> 00:02:58.629 he's coming off his 2009 album, Crime Pays. Okay. 00:02:58.689 --> 00:03:01.590 And this UN project sits right in that gap before 00:03:01.590 --> 00:03:05.650 his 2011 release, Denzen Butter. So it's sandwiched 00:03:05.650 --> 00:03:08.370 right in there between two major solo efforts. 00:03:08.610 --> 00:03:11.889 It is. And what's fascinating here is how this 00:03:11.889 --> 00:03:14.909 project is categorized by the industry and the 00:03:14.909 --> 00:03:17.990 critics. If you look at the reception, it's referred 00:03:17.990 --> 00:03:20.909 to as a sideline release. A sideline release. 00:03:21.009 --> 00:03:23.370 Yeah. It's not necessarily treated as the next 00:03:23.370 --> 00:03:25.530 main chapter in the Cameron saga, but rather 00:03:25.530 --> 00:03:27.750 something running parallel to it. Which usually 00:03:27.750 --> 00:03:30.310 implies lower stakes. Yeah. Like, hey, I'm just 00:03:30.310 --> 00:03:32.289 having fun with my friends. Don't judge this 00:03:32.289 --> 00:03:34.789 like it's my grand masterpiece. Precisely. It's 00:03:34.789 --> 00:03:37.949 the difference between a summer blockbuster movie 00:03:37.949 --> 00:03:40.650 and, you know, an indie film the director just 00:03:40.650 --> 00:03:42.810 made on weekends with his buddies. Yeah. And 00:03:42.810 --> 00:03:45.969 that sideline nature is really reflected in the 00:03:45.969 --> 00:03:49.389 absolute labyrinth of labels associated with 00:03:49.389 --> 00:03:51.530 this release. I mean, it is a mess of logistics. 00:03:51.770 --> 00:03:53.729 Oh, I saw that list in the notes. It's so long. 00:03:54.229 --> 00:03:55.810 Read that out for us, because it really paints 00:03:55.810 --> 00:03:57.770 a picture of the business side of things. It 00:03:57.770 --> 00:04:00.250 really does. OK. So to get this physical disc 00:04:00.250 --> 00:04:02.710 into stores, you have Diplomat Records, obviously. 00:04:02.710 --> 00:04:05.169 Right. But then you have Asylum Records, Warner 00:04:05.169 --> 00:04:08.469 Bros. Records, Dip Set West, and Killa. Wow. 00:04:09.069 --> 00:04:10.930 Five different entities just to get this one 00:04:10.930 --> 00:04:14.379 record out. Five. It speaks to the business complexities 00:04:14.379 --> 00:04:17.459 behind the scenes in 2010 hip -hop, but also 00:04:17.459 --> 00:04:20.060 it signals that this was a collaborative effort 00:04:20.060 --> 00:04:23.560 on every possible level. You had majors, indies, 00:04:23.740 --> 00:04:26.800 and vanity labels all shaking hands. Which is 00:04:26.800 --> 00:04:30.019 wild. But the most important collaboration, of 00:04:30.019 --> 00:04:32.680 course, isn't the corporate one. No. It's the 00:04:32.680 --> 00:04:35.939 one between Cameron and Vato. Yeah. The duo itself, 00:04:36.139 --> 00:04:38.180 UN. Now, usually, when you have a duo like this, 00:04:38.300 --> 00:04:41.180 think Outkast or even The Throne with Jay -Z 00:04:41.180 --> 00:04:43.600 and Kanye, you want it to feel like a 50 -50 00:04:43.600 --> 00:04:46.420 split. A true partnership. Right. But looking 00:04:46.420 --> 00:04:48.500 at the sources, I get the sense that maybe Heat 00:04:48.500 --> 00:04:51.540 and Here, Vol 1 didn't quite land that way. That 00:04:51.540 --> 00:04:53.600 is a very astute observation. While the group 00:04:53.600 --> 00:04:56.459 is technically UN, the critical response, specifically 00:04:56.459 --> 00:04:58.600 the review by David Jefferies for AllMusic, points 00:04:58.600 --> 00:05:01.279 out a really significant imbalance. He mentioned 00:05:01.279 --> 00:05:04.319 that Vado often gets lost in the shuffle. Ouch. 00:05:04.750 --> 00:05:07.009 That is tough for a debut. I mean, you're supposed 00:05:07.009 --> 00:05:09.110 to be the breakout star, the next up, and the 00:05:09.110 --> 00:05:10.790 critic is saying, I can barely find you on the 00:05:10.790 --> 00:05:13.350 track. It is tough. But I think we have to be 00:05:13.350 --> 00:05:16.069 fair to Vado here. When you are standing next 00:05:16.069 --> 00:05:18.889 to a personality as massive as Cameron. Oh, absolutely. 00:05:19.110 --> 00:05:22.329 Especially when Cam. is in his element, it is 00:05:22.329 --> 00:05:24.290 very easy to become a background character in 00:05:24.290 --> 00:05:26.870 your own group. Yeah, Cameron has this magnetic, 00:05:27.209 --> 00:05:30.149 eccentric charisma that just sucks up all the 00:05:30.149 --> 00:05:33.269 oxygen in the room. He's so unique. He is, and 00:05:33.269 --> 00:05:35.490 the source material suggests this album really 00:05:35.490 --> 00:05:38.170 became a vehicle for Cameron's style, with Vato 00:05:38.170 --> 00:05:40.620 kind of just... along for the ride. It's like 00:05:40.620 --> 00:05:42.360 trying to share a stage with a hurricane. You're 00:05:42.360 --> 00:05:44.740 just gonna get wet. Exactly. Vato is talented, 00:05:44.800 --> 00:05:47.240 but on this specific project, the gravity of 00:05:47.240 --> 00:05:49.759 Kim's persona was just too strong to overcome. 00:05:50.000 --> 00:05:52.240 Well, speaking of Karen's style, we have to talk 00:05:52.240 --> 00:05:54.899 about the sound. Because if Vato was struggling 00:05:54.899 --> 00:05:57.720 to find his footing, the production on this album 00:05:57.720 --> 00:06:00.519 was absolutely locked in. Oh, incredibly focused. 00:06:00.600 --> 00:06:02.819 Yeah, it sounds incredibly cohesive. And that 00:06:02.819 --> 00:06:06.740 is all because of one man. Arab Music. Arab Music. 00:06:07.319 --> 00:06:10.259 The NPC wizard himself. For you listening who 00:06:10.259 --> 00:06:12.660 might not know, this guy is legendary for playing 00:06:12.660 --> 00:06:14.560 the drum machine live with his hands so fast 00:06:14.560 --> 00:06:17.259 it literally looks like a blur. He is a phenomenon. 00:06:17.620 --> 00:06:20.879 He brings a very specific energy and the dominance 00:06:20.879 --> 00:06:23.980 he has on this track list is honestly staggering. 00:06:24.740 --> 00:06:27.740 We are talking about a 14 track album and Air 00:06:27.740 --> 00:06:31.399 of Music produced 13 of them. 13 out of 14. Yeah. 00:06:31.579 --> 00:06:34.240 That is unheard of in modern hip hop. Even back 00:06:34.240 --> 00:06:36.680 in 2010. Usually you have a whole committee of 00:06:36.680 --> 00:06:39.000 producers. You grab a beat from here, a beat 00:06:39.000 --> 00:06:41.079 from there. You try to get a diverse sound. Right. 00:06:41.240 --> 00:06:44.589 But this. This is a singular vision. It really 00:06:44.589 --> 00:06:47.750 is. It's almost a throwback to the 90s when one 00:06:47.750 --> 00:06:49.769 producer would do a whole album, you know, like 00:06:49.769 --> 00:06:52.230 E .J. Premier and Guru. Right. What was the one 00:06:52.230 --> 00:06:54.750 exception? The only track Arab music didn't touch 00:06:54.750 --> 00:06:57.269 was Sex Tape, which was produced by Schizo. OK. 00:06:57.449 --> 00:06:59.430 But otherwise, from the intro to Ride With Me, 00:06:59.610 --> 00:07:02.500 it is all Arab music all the way down. And how 00:07:02.500 --> 00:07:05.180 is that sound described in the sources? Because 00:07:05.180 --> 00:07:07.639 when I think of aero music, I think of fast fingers, 00:07:07.899 --> 00:07:10.259 crazy drums, and really high energy. Well, the 00:07:10.259 --> 00:07:12.540 source material describes the beats as scrappy, 00:07:12.779 --> 00:07:15.439 fresh, and interestingly, sometimes even silly. 00:07:15.720 --> 00:07:17.699 Silly? That's a weird word for a hip -hop beat. 00:07:17.850 --> 00:07:20.529 Yes, but I think that is meant as a compliment 00:07:20.529 --> 00:07:23.370 in this context. It means it's not self -serious. 00:07:23.649 --> 00:07:25.850 It's not trying to win a Grammy for best engineering. 00:07:26.709 --> 00:07:29.250 It's compared favorably to the level of beats 00:07:29.250 --> 00:07:32.370 on Crime Pays, which was Cam's previous solo 00:07:32.370 --> 00:07:35.310 album. Crime Pays was a bit more polished, maybe 00:07:35.310 --> 00:07:39.000 a bit more standard, but... This album, it has 00:07:39.000 --> 00:07:42.899 that raw unapolished energy that fixed the sideline 00:07:42.899 --> 00:07:44.839 nature of the project perfectly. It sounds like 00:07:44.839 --> 00:07:47.040 they just went into the studio and said, let's 00:07:47.040 --> 00:07:49.040 make something fun. Let's make something that 00:07:49.040 --> 00:07:51.639 knocks in the car and don't overthink it. Exactly. 00:07:52.060 --> 00:07:54.439 Scrappy implies it's a bit rough around the edges, 00:07:54.500 --> 00:07:57.279 but in a very charming way. And that leads us 00:07:57.279 --> 00:07:59.399 perfectly into the critical reception. Because 00:07:59.399 --> 00:08:02.300 that fun aspect is exactly what the critics latched 00:08:02.300 --> 00:08:05.329 onto. Precisely. OK. Let's dig into this review. 00:08:05.810 --> 00:08:08.389 We have David Jeffries from AllMusic giving it 00:08:08.389 --> 00:08:10.709 a rating. What is the score? He gives it a 3 00:08:10.709 --> 00:08:13.629 .5 out of 5 stars. Which is respectable. It's 00:08:13.629 --> 00:08:15.889 not an instant classic. It's not changing the 00:08:15.889 --> 00:08:18.370 world. But it's definitely not a flop. It's a 00:08:18.370 --> 00:08:21.459 solid good. It is. But the reasoning behind the 00:08:21.459 --> 00:08:25.160 score is what is truly fascinating here. Jeffries 00:08:25.160 --> 00:08:27.060 writes, and I think this is the key to understanding 00:08:27.060 --> 00:08:30.759 the whole album, he says, this ridiculous kind 00:08:30.759 --> 00:08:33.500 of irresponsibility is the reason fans signed 00:08:33.500 --> 00:08:36.559 up in the first place. Ridiculous kind of irresponsibility. 00:08:36.659 --> 00:08:38.879 That is such a loaded phrase. I need to pause 00:08:38.879 --> 00:08:40.639 on that. That really is a striking description. 00:08:40.919 --> 00:08:43.759 OK, let's unpack this. What does he mean by irresponsibility 00:08:43.759 --> 00:08:46.860 being a good thing? Because usually, if I call 00:08:46.860 --> 00:08:49.639 you irresponsible, you are not taking it as a 00:08:49.639 --> 00:08:51.700 compliment. If my boss calls me irresponsible, 00:08:51.779 --> 00:08:54.399 I'm getting fired. Right. But in the context 00:08:54.399 --> 00:08:56.740 of hip hop, and specifically Cameron's brand 00:08:56.740 --> 00:08:59.580 of hip hop, responsibility can sometimes mean 00:08:59.580 --> 00:09:03.600 boring. It can mean safe, polished, radio -friendly, 00:09:03.860 --> 00:09:06.519 corporate. It means doing exactly what the market 00:09:06.519 --> 00:09:09.100 research tells you to do. So responsible music 00:09:09.100 --> 00:09:12.549 is music made for a board meeting. Exactly. Irresponsibility, 00:09:12.549 --> 00:09:14.870 on the other hand, implies a complete lack of 00:09:14.870 --> 00:09:17.549 filter. It implies taking risks, being goofy, 00:09:17.769 --> 00:09:20.470 being offensive, being wild. It implies that 00:09:20.470 --> 00:09:22.230 you don't care about the consequences or what 00:09:22.230 --> 00:09:24.629 the pop critics think. So he's saying, we don't 00:09:24.629 --> 00:09:27.029 come to Cameron for a lecture on civic duty. 00:09:27.429 --> 00:09:31.029 We come for the chaos. We come for the unpredictability. 00:09:31.370 --> 00:09:35.269 Spot on. Jeffreys notes that when this irresponsibility 00:09:35.269 --> 00:09:38.049 is delivered with those scrappy -era music beats 00:09:38.049 --> 00:09:41.309 we talked about, it is a winning formula. It 00:09:41.309 --> 00:09:44.570 is about energy, not precision. It's about a 00:09:44.570 --> 00:09:47.509 vibe, not a deep message. Does he give any examples 00:09:47.509 --> 00:09:50.389 of tracks where this energy really works, where 00:09:50.389 --> 00:09:52.809 the irresponsibility shines the brightest? He 00:09:52.809 --> 00:09:55.009 points to Cuffin, which features Gucci Mane. 00:09:55.230 --> 00:09:58.169 Oh, wow. Classic -era Gucci Mane. Yeah. That 00:09:58.169 --> 00:10:01.220 is a heavy -hitter feature for 2010. Specifically 00:10:01.220 --> 00:10:03.919 for those loopy hooks Cam just loves. And again, 00:10:04.019 --> 00:10:06.720 the word loopy, it reinforced that idea of the 00:10:06.720 --> 00:10:09.399 music being a bit off kilter, a bit eccentric. 00:10:09.679 --> 00:10:12.220 A responsible hook is catchy and simple. A loopy 00:10:12.220 --> 00:10:14.679 hook is weird and memorable. Exactly. And what 00:10:14.679 --> 00:10:16.720 about the club vibes? Did they manage to make 00:10:16.720 --> 00:10:18.620 anything for the dance floor with this scrappy 00:10:18.620 --> 00:10:20.779 sound? He highlights Throw It Up. He calls it 00:10:20.779 --> 00:10:23.120 a party time club number, done dipset style. 00:10:23.320 --> 00:10:25.220 Done dipset style. That's a genre in itself. 00:10:25.500 --> 00:10:29.500 It is. It means flamboyant. arrogant, loud, and 00:10:29.500 --> 00:10:32.210 incredibly confident. And that connects to the 00:10:32.210 --> 00:10:34.649 bigger picture here. This album isn't trying 00:10:34.649 --> 00:10:37.009 to reinvent the wheel. It's trying to be a very 00:10:37.009 --> 00:10:39.809 specific kind of wheel that fans were missing. 00:10:39.929 --> 00:10:41.450 But it wasn't all praise, right? We mentioned 00:10:41.450 --> 00:10:44.169 Vato getting lost. Yes, that was a key complaint. 00:10:44.409 --> 00:10:46.190 But there was another criticism that I found 00:10:46.190 --> 00:10:48.450 really interesting regarding the framing of the 00:10:48.450 --> 00:10:51.389 album. Jeffreys points out a massive contradiction 00:10:51.389 --> 00:10:54.210 between the intro track and the reality of the 00:10:54.210 --> 00:10:56.809 music itself. How so? Did the intro promise free 00:10:56.809 --> 00:10:59.309 money or something? Not quite. Apparently the 00:10:59.309 --> 00:11:02.330 intro... makes these dramatic promises of a revolution. 00:11:02.610 --> 00:11:05.330 You know, a dramatic voiceover saying, we are 00:11:05.330 --> 00:11:07.090 changing the game. This is something never seen 00:11:07.090 --> 00:11:09.669 before. The future is here. Standard hip hop 00:11:09.669 --> 00:11:11.710 bravado. You have to sell the sizzle. Right. 00:11:12.169 --> 00:11:14.129 But Jeffreys argues that the rest of the album 00:11:14.129 --> 00:11:18.169 is actually an obvious return to form. Ah. So 00:11:18.169 --> 00:11:21.809 the intro says we are going to Mars. But the 00:11:21.809 --> 00:11:23.990 album says we are just hanging out on the block 00:11:23.990 --> 00:11:27.440 in Harlem, just like we did in 2004. Exactly. 00:11:27.799 --> 00:11:30.500 He says in 2010, old is new again in the world 00:11:30.500 --> 00:11:34.200 of Cam's sideline releases. So the revolution 00:11:34.200 --> 00:11:37.059 was actually just nostalgia. The marketing promised 00:11:37.059 --> 00:11:39.320 innovation, but the product delivered comfort 00:11:39.320 --> 00:11:42.620 food. Yes. But for the fans, maybe nostalgia 00:11:42.620 --> 00:11:45.200 was exactly what they wanted. If I buy a Cameron 00:11:45.200 --> 00:11:47.440 album. I kind of want camera to sound like Cameron. 00:11:47.740 --> 00:11:50.299 That is the final verdict. Jeffreys concludes 00:11:50.299 --> 00:11:53.679 that Heat In Here Vol 1 is a fan aimed success. 00:11:53.840 --> 00:11:56.440 I love that fan aimed success. It didn't need 00:11:56.440 --> 00:11:58.480 to be a revolution to succeed. It just needed 00:11:58.480 --> 00:12:01.120 to be Cam being Cam. It's basically saying if 00:12:01.120 --> 00:12:03.240 you get it, you get it. If you don't, this wasn't 00:12:03.240 --> 00:12:06.019 for you anyway. Indeed. It defines the target 00:12:06.019 --> 00:12:08.879 audience very narrowly and it hits the absolute 00:12:08.879 --> 00:12:10.779 bullseye for them. Let's look at the track list 00:12:10.779 --> 00:12:13.600 a bit deeper. We mentioned 14 tracks. We know 00:12:13.600 --> 00:12:15.870 Arab music did the heavy lifting. We mentioned 00:12:15.870 --> 00:12:18.529 Goody Mane on Cuffin. Who else showed up to the 00:12:18.529 --> 00:12:21.190 party? Because features can tell you a lot about 00:12:21.190 --> 00:12:23.809 an album's intent. It's actually a fairly tight 00:12:23.809 --> 00:12:26.049 guest list, which again keeps the focus mostly 00:12:26.049 --> 00:12:28.490 on the UN duo. You have Young Chris featured 00:12:28.490 --> 00:12:30.509 on a track called Kill 'em. That's track number 00:12:30.509 --> 00:12:33.210 five. Young Chris from the Young Guns. That's 00:12:33.210 --> 00:12:35.529 another Rockefeller connection. Yes. And then 00:12:35.529 --> 00:12:39.090 you have Felony Fame on Sex Tape, which is track 00:12:39.090 --> 00:12:43.500 10. Sex Tape. Subtle title. really leaves a lot 00:12:43.500 --> 00:12:47.100 to the imagination. Very on brand for the irresponsibility 00:12:47.100 --> 00:12:49.419 theme we discussed. And looking at these other 00:12:49.419 --> 00:12:51.159 titles, I mean you can almost hear the songs 00:12:51.159 --> 00:12:53.440 just by reading the names. You've got Fuck the 00:12:53.440 --> 00:12:55.840 Other Side at track seven. Horror Story at track 00:12:55.840 --> 00:12:59.740 11. On My Shiznit at track 12. And wait for it, 00:13:00.179 --> 00:13:03.740 La Bumba. La Bumba at track 13. La Bumba. You 00:13:03.740 --> 00:13:05.980 have to appreciate the creativity there. Is that 00:13:05.980 --> 00:13:09.139 a play on La Bamba? One can only assume. It definitely 00:13:09.139 --> 00:13:11.639 paints a picture of the content. It's aggressive, 00:13:11.799 --> 00:13:14.320 it's street -oriented, but it has that flair. 00:13:14.399 --> 00:13:17.259 That sense of humor. Yes. It's not taking itself 00:13:17.259 --> 00:13:19.360 too seriously. And it's a substantial listen, 00:13:19.620 --> 00:13:21.759 too. This isn't a quick EP they threw together 00:13:21.759 --> 00:13:24.600 in a weekend. No, the total length is 54 minutes 00:13:24.600 --> 00:13:27.940 and 57 seconds. That's practically an hour. In 00:13:27.940 --> 00:13:30.240 the streaming area today where albums are 25 00:13:30.240 --> 00:13:32.740 minutes long, that would be considered a double 00:13:32.740 --> 00:13:35.600 album almost. It was a full serving of content. 00:13:35.700 --> 00:13:38.320 They gave the fans their money's worth in terms 00:13:38.320 --> 00:13:41.100 of runtime. So let's recap the situation. We 00:13:41.100 --> 00:13:43.980 have a fan -aimed success. We have critics saying, 00:13:44.139 --> 00:13:46.620 hey, it's irresponsible, but we like it. We have 00:13:46.620 --> 00:13:49.440 a legendary producer locking it down with consistent 00:13:49.440 --> 00:13:51.279 sound. Right. This sounds like it should have 00:13:51.279 --> 00:13:53.600 been a massive hit. Right. Well, this is where 00:13:53.600 --> 00:13:55.700 we have to look at the commercial reality. And 00:13:55.700 --> 00:13:59.460 it creates a very stark contrast to the artistic 00:13:59.460 --> 00:14:01.580 vibes we've been discussing. Lay the numbers 00:14:01.580 --> 00:14:05.059 on us. How did UN do in the marketplace? The 00:14:05.059 --> 00:14:07.600 album debuted on the Billboard 200, which is 00:14:07.600 --> 00:14:10.100 the main chart for albums in the US. OK, that's 00:14:10.100 --> 00:14:12.919 good. It charted. Getting on the 200 is a barrier 00:14:12.919 --> 00:14:15.120 of entry a lot of people don't cross. It did. 00:14:15.220 --> 00:14:18.240 It entered at number 133. Number 133, OK. Well, 00:14:18.240 --> 00:14:20.019 it's on the list. It's on the list. It's not 00:14:20.019 --> 00:14:23.120 top 10. It's not top 40. It's number 133. But 00:14:23.120 --> 00:14:25.259 to give that context, let's look at the sales. 00:14:25.620 --> 00:14:27.860 In its first week in the United States, Heat 00:14:27.860 --> 00:14:33.240 In Here Vol. 1 sold 3 ,700 copies. 3 ,700. Wait, 00:14:33.240 --> 00:14:36.960 are you missing a zero? No. 3 ,700 flat. That 00:14:36.960 --> 00:14:39.200 feels surprisingly low for a name like Cameron. 00:14:39.620 --> 00:14:42.059 I mean, we were talking about a guy who had massive 00:14:42.059 --> 00:14:45.240 platinum hits before this. Oh, boy. Hey, Ma, 00:14:45.539 --> 00:14:48.019 these were global smashes. How do you go from 00:14:48.019 --> 00:14:51.389 that to... 3 ,700 copies. It connects back to 00:14:51.389 --> 00:14:53.330 what we said earlier about this being a sideline 00:14:53.330 --> 00:14:55.590 release. Right. It reinforces that this wasn't 00:14:55.590 --> 00:14:58.429 marketed as a blockbuster. It wasn't pushed to 00:14:58.429 --> 00:15:01.129 the masses. There was no massive radio campaign, 00:15:01.370 --> 00:15:05.669 no huge MTV push. It was a niche product for 00:15:05.669 --> 00:15:08.070 a specific audience. So when the critic says 00:15:08.070 --> 00:15:10.409 fan -aimed success, he really means the core 00:15:10.409 --> 00:15:13.350 fans. The absolute diehard. The 3 ,700 people 00:15:13.350 --> 00:15:15.730 who are checking for new Cameron in May of 2010. 00:15:15.990 --> 00:15:18.110 Exactly. It shows the difference between cultural 00:15:18.090 --> 00:15:20.730 impact and commercial dominance. You can have 00:15:20.730 --> 00:15:23.029 a project that perfectly satisfies a fan base, 00:15:23.509 --> 00:15:25.870 that gets a decent critical nod for being fun 00:15:25.870 --> 00:15:27.929 and irresponsible, but barely makes a ripple 00:15:27.929 --> 00:15:30.409 on the national sales charts. And honestly, 3 00:15:30.409 --> 00:15:33.149 ,700 sales for a project that sounds like it 00:15:33.149 --> 00:15:36.529 was made to just have fun? Maybe that's not a 00:15:36.529 --> 00:15:38.409 failure. Maybe that's just accurate to what it 00:15:38.409 --> 00:15:40.759 was. I would agree. It served its purpose. It 00:15:40.759 --> 00:15:43.340 kept the name alive. It bridged the gap between 00:15:43.340 --> 00:15:46.639 crime pays and guns and butter. Yeah. It established 00:15:46.639 --> 00:15:49.860 the U .N. brand, even if Votto didn't quite shine 00:15:49.860 --> 00:15:51.940 as brightly as he might have hoped on his debut. 00:15:52.139 --> 00:15:54.879 And it gave us a whole album of era music beats. 00:15:55.120 --> 00:15:57.720 Which, for production heads, is worth the price 00:15:57.720 --> 00:16:00.639 of admission alone. Getting 13 tracks from him 00:16:00.639 --> 00:16:03.679 in one package is a resource. Absolutely. So 00:16:03.679 --> 00:16:06.419 let's wrap this up. We're looking at Heat In 00:16:06.419 --> 00:16:10.009 Here Volume 1. a 2010 collaboration between Cameron 00:16:10.009 --> 00:16:13.450 and Vado. dominated by Air Music's scrappy, silly, 00:16:13.669 --> 00:16:16.169 and fresh production. A critical success in terms 00:16:16.169 --> 00:16:19.190 of being irresponsible and fun, delivering exactly 00:16:19.190 --> 00:16:21.529 what the fans wanted. But a modest commercial 00:16:21.529 --> 00:16:24.149 blip on the radar proving it was a sideline project 00:16:24.149 --> 00:16:26.450 through and through. It really is a perfect case 00:16:26.450 --> 00:16:28.549 study in fan service. Just giving the people 00:16:28.549 --> 00:16:31.570 exactly what they want, loopy hooks, dipset style, 00:16:31.690 --> 00:16:33.529 even if it doesn't change the world or top the 00:16:33.529 --> 00:16:35.529 charts. And I think that is a valuable lane in 00:16:35.529 --> 00:16:38.049 music. Not every album needs to be a masterpiece. 00:16:38.190 --> 00:16:40.149 Sometimes you just need energy, sometimes you 00:16:40.080 --> 00:16:42.059 just need something to drive to. Which brings 00:16:42.059 --> 00:16:43.840 me to a thought I want to leave with you the 00:16:43.840 --> 00:16:47.720 listener as we close out this deep dive. We live 00:16:47.720 --> 00:16:51.899 in an era right now where music is so incredibly 00:16:51.899 --> 00:16:54.799 data -driven. Highly curated. Everything is tested, 00:16:55.000 --> 00:16:57.679 it's polished, and it's optimized for streaming 00:16:57.679 --> 00:17:00.899 playlists. Algorithms essentially decide what 00:17:00.899 --> 00:17:04.720 hits. And because of that, it feels like irresponsibility 00:17:04.720 --> 00:17:07.579 has been completely engineered out of the process. 00:17:07.779 --> 00:17:10.299 That is a very valid point. We've lost the rough 00:17:10.299 --> 00:17:13.400 edges. We've lost the silly. So my question is, 00:17:14.440 --> 00:17:17.019 is there something valuable that we have lost 00:17:17.019 --> 00:17:20.589 as listeners? When we lose the scrappy, silly, 00:17:20.849 --> 00:17:23.390 ridiculous irresponsibility of projects like 00:17:23.390 --> 00:17:26.650 Heat in Here Vol. 1, do we lose a bit of the 00:17:26.650 --> 00:17:28.809 soul of the genre? It definitely raises the question 00:17:28.809 --> 00:17:31.349 of whether perfection is actually the enemy of 00:17:31.349 --> 00:17:33.049 personality. Oh, that's great. If you polish 00:17:33.049 --> 00:17:35.049 something until it shines perfectly, you might 00:17:35.049 --> 00:17:36.829 just rub off the fingerprint that made it special 00:17:36.829 --> 00:17:39.029 in the first place. Exactly. Sometimes you just 00:17:39.029 --> 00:17:40.890 need a La Bomba in your life. You need that track 00:17:40.890 --> 00:17:43.210 13 energy. I couldn't have said it better myself. 00:17:43.289 --> 00:17:45.029 Thanks for diving in with us today. Until next 00:17:45.029 --> 00:17:45.190 time.