In the Blog Era, Lil Wayne and Cam'ron's protege Juelz Santana collaboration album, Can't Feel My Face, was the most anticipated project for years. Cam’ron is setting the record straight about long-standing rumors that he blocked the highly anticipated project. On a recent episode of his YouTube series Talk With Flee, the Harlem rapper broke down the business complications that ultimately shelved the album. Killa Cam cleared up all the rumors and revealed the real company that stopped fans from getting what they desired.
According to the Harlem native, industry politics—specifically Universal’s control over Wayne’s releases—were to blame. “Juelz and Wayne had a project,” he explained. “Def Jam is under Universal, and Wayne was signed to Universal. When they tried to release it, Universal told Def Jam, ‘Wayne hasn’t turned in his album yet, so if you want to drop this project, we’re taking 95 percent of the profits, and you get 5 percent.’” Cam pointed out the unfavorable terms of the deal by Universal. “Shout out to Steve Gawley—he’s now the head lawyer for Universal, but back then, he was Def Jam’s lawyer,” Cam’ron said. “We’re still cool to this day. Go find Steve Gawley and ask him. People don’t know Steve Gawley; they just want to blame me.”
Cam'Ron, Juelz Santana, Lil Wayne & Can't Fell My Face LP
Cam’ron also reminded fans that he had a joint venture deal with Def Jam, meaning any project under that contract would have split revenue: “If the album came out, Def Jam would take 2.5 percent, and Juelz and I would get 2.5 percent. Def Jam told me, ‘Cam, we love you, but we’re not doing that.’” Rejecting the idea that he ever stood in Juelz’s way, he reinforced his commitment to his protégé’s success. “Why would I want to stop making money? My goal was to make Juelz a star, to make him rich. However things played out, we did what we set out to do. Juelz said it himself: ‘Cam’s gonna make me a star, he’s gonna make me a million.’ And that’s exactly what happened.”
Lil Wayne spoke on the album’s potential back in 2006. He told MTV News that it might become an official LP instead of a mixtape. “We just sat down and listened to it and realized we didn’t use any outside beats,” he said on the set of his “Shooter” video. “It’s all original production. We could go album with this.” While the project remains one of hip-hop’s great “what ifs,” its legend endures, fueled by speculation and the undeniable chemistry between Wayne and Juelz.
[Via]
