DJ Cam - My Playlist (2005)

Cam eases listeners in to My Playlist, his first widely available mixtape in four years, beginning with a half-dozen jazz-rap instrumentals sparked by JMDee-Beat's horn-led "A Fool Like Me" and Kenny Dope's effortless Tribe Called Quest rewrite "Get on Down." Once the vocals kick in with Athletic Mic League's "R.U?," though, it's clear that a vocal track can have a large impact after a spate of heavyweight warm-ups. The only problem is that the rappers can't compete with all the hero instrumentalists on display; for every DJ Spinna or Jay Dee or Pete Rock in the producer's chair, there's not even one rhymer present able to keep it up while their ace tracks bang in the background. Cam would have been much wiser keeping it just to the instrumentals; as such, there's a wealth of great music to be heard here, with only the occasionally annoying vocals chirping along in the background keeping it from a stellar grade. -- John Bush ~