Catalog Catch Up: Juelz Santana – “Feel It In The Air Freestyle”
by Karen
“Plus I promised Cam I’ma make him a million
Well guess what, we headed to the promised land
Oh yeah, they cant break what’s unbreakable (My loyalty)
They can’t take what’s un-takeable
I ain’t just with you to the end of a session, the end of a show
I’m with you to the end of the road
Till death do us, part that is
You got a piece of my heart my nig…”
Juelz Santana’s Back Like Cooked Crack 2, to this day, remains a personal favorite mixtape of all time. And looking back on this era in the Dips career as well as my own life, it’s both depressing and exciting, as Future would say, at the same damn time. Seven years ago (it’s crazy to believe that much time has passed), The Diplomats were obviously on their way out at Rocafella but had the luxury of having arguably the most insane street buzz in rap at the time.
Cam was the general. Jim Jones was the live wire who was quickly becoming a star of his own. Hell Rell was the street muscle. J.R. Writer was the flamboyant lyricist. And Juelz, for all intents and purposes, was on course to become the next huge star. BLCC2 dropped during the spring semester of my freshman year in college and literally was in rotation for the remainder of the the year well into 2006. This was during the era when rapping on industry instrumentals was all the rage. Santana’s outing over Beanie Sigel’s paranoid, soul exposing “Feel It In The Air” was an instant standout from a project which had several and, given the gift of hindsight, hits so much harder almost a decade later.
Nothing lasts forever, and maybe this was a young, dumb and blind to the fact rap music is fickle 19-year-old college freshman, but hearing Juelz pledge allegiance to Cam gave me the impression and belief Dipset would last forever. To be young and innocent, I tell ya.