DJ Cam

French hip-hop is alive and well as long as DJ Cam continues to drop jewels, but it’s been a rocky road over the past few years for this beat-maker. He doesn’t always come correct, and sometimes will downright tumble, sometimes on the same record. The last we heard from this Parisian producer was his 2002 attempt at creating live soul with Soulshine, which boasted smooth vibes, but lacked the hard-hitting hip-hop that we expect. Thankfully he returns with Liquid Hip Hop, and with a title like that you know there’s going to be a return of the beats, and it doesn’t take long for them to drop with "6 Sense” opening the gates. This number consists of classic DJ Cam, taking a thumping break beat and surrounding it with an elegant jazz melody and cut-up vocal samples to create one of the best Cam tracks in years. The obsession with all things Gang Starr continues as "Premier” samples Premo on the answering machine while Cam takes a crack at mimicking the legendary producer’s songwriting style with the help of blaring horns. The other half of Gang Starr is represented as well as Guru drops by to flow on the piano-driven "Espionage” that, had it been on the last Gang Starr effort would have more than likely stood out as one of the better joints, outdoing the mighty Premier. "Kalimba Groove” is classic Cam, sounding like it came straight from his classic Mad Blunted Jazz days, slowing down the tempo and giving life to a scratch-heavy head-nodder that incorporates all sorts of instrumentation from a small string section to Eastern chimes. Like most Cam records, things aren’t always perfect, and shit goes downhill as Cameo (yes, that Cameo) delivers some "Word Up” vocals over a Jay Dee production on "Love Junkee,” a jiggy number that doesn’t seem to go anywhere and doesn’t end soon enough. Not that it’s a horrible track, but it just doesn’t sit well with Cam’s obvious attempt at making a solid hip-hop comeback.