The Diplomats

On Diplomatic Immunity, N.Y.'s Diplomats crew establish an aesthetic that is perhaps the most original in all N.Y.C. Led by Cat-in-the-Hat rapper Cam'ron, the crew delivers short bursts of nonsensical rhymes over gaudy, lo-fi beats. The end result is the sonic equivalent of costume jewelry, but damn if it don't sound good blaring from your whip!

In his crew Diplomats, Cam'ron, of Harlem, New York, has that rarest of hip-hop
accessories: a posse of hangers-on who are more talented than he is. In the reach of this
double-disc set, comers such as Juelz Santana and Hell Rell paint rough edges around Cam's
pretty-boy stylings. Hell raps over a pay phone from jail on one chilling interlude; Santana
evokes a young up-north version of Scarface's penitent-thug character: "I live th... More >