Harlem, New York. A small section Manhattan that has a rich history of art, creativity and culture. Starting in the 1920's with poets like Langston Hughes and jazz performers like Duke Ellington and Billie Holiday at the legendary Cotton Club, Harlem has always had a vibe and swag all it's own. In the early/mid 1990's, a collective of Harlem MC's came together to create history that wouldn't fully be realized until nearly ten years later. Aside from the Wu-Tang Clan, never before had such a high caliber crew been assembled. Sadly, murder, car accidents, religious events and financial woes broke the crew down before they could ever reach their greatness as a collective. Seperately, each member achieved varying degrees of success, but today we can only wonder what might of been for the super-group that almost was, The Children of the Corn.
Children of the Corn was formed in 1994, with the founding member/leader being Big L (Lamont Coleman). Coleman was a fixture in NYC ciphers and already a hood legend. His slick wordplay and punchlines coupled with a varying flow made him a hot unsigned prospect in the rap game. Coleman tapped his neighborhood friends Cameron Giles (Cam'ron) and Mason Betha (Murda Ma$e) to join the group, along with Cam's cousin Derek Armstead (Bloodshed). Cam and Mase had been buddies since their younger days and were both aspiring basketball stars as well as accomplished wordsmiths. The final piece of the puzzle was the hungry, verbally agressive Herb McGruff. Together, they became a force to be reckoned with on the Harlem streets. They got to work laying down tracks, piecing together over thirty tracks. Their dirty, grimy sound was provided with beats by Digga aka "Six Figga" who also became a slight household name in the rap industry. Their eerie, dusty production and horrocore lyrics evoked comparisons to the Wu-Tang Clan but with their own Harlem swagger and subject matter that included brutal homicides, drug dealing, rape and blasphemous content. For an example, check out "Harlem USA", performed by Bloodshed and Killa Cam:
Enlisting a young Damon Dash as their manager, the sky seemed to be the limit for COC. Big L eventually inked a major label solo deal with Columbia and released his critically acclaimed debut album, "Lifestyles ov da Poor and Dangerous". The album was classic 90's hip-hop, with classic boom-bap and jazz and soul samples. The album featured guest shots from several COC members Cam'ron and McGruff on the classic posse cut "8 iz Enuff", which also featured members of the COC's extended fam like Buddha Bless, Mike Boogie and Terra. Check it out:
Around this time, McGruff linked up with Uptown/Universal Records after shopping his demo tape with Puffy. Puff passed the demo along to his pal Heavy D, CEO of Uptown Records, and he put McGruff on. McGruff was an exceptional, overlooked rapper who seamlessly blended gritty, grimy street talk with made for the club/ladies type of songs. His debut album "Destined to Be" was released in 1998 and was a solid album from top to bottom and featured this awesome COC reunion track, "Dangerzone" featuring Big L and Ma$e:
Ma$e and Cam'ron really need no explaination. Ma$e signed with Bad Boy Records in 1996 and helped usher in the shiny suit era alongside Puff. Cam'ron came onto the scene in 1997 and immediately became a fan favorite. After disappearing for a year or so, he resurfaced in late 2000/early 2001 with Jim Jones and Juelz Santana in tow and began the legendary Diplomats movement that changed Harlem forever and set more trends than probably any other rap group in history.
Sadly, not all stories have happy endings. Bloodshed died in 1996 after crashing his BMW in the Bronx in a terrible tragedy. His name lives in being shout out by Cam'ron on many songs, and including have the song "Tomorrow" off Come Home with Me dedicated to him. An unreleased freestyle of his was also featured on the Diplomats More than Music Vol 1. album, and showed the amazing lyrical dexterity and smoothed out delivery he posessed. A tragic loss and one can only imagine how he would have played into the grand scheme of things in the Diplomats. Here's the classic Bloodshed performance, peep the ill beat:
Big L was really starting to catch in the rap industry, and a rumored deal with Roc-a-Fella was on the table in late 1998. Sadly, Big L was gunned down on his own block in Harlem in February 1999. He left behind an amazing legacy and his tribute album of sorts, consisting of classic and unreleased material entitled The Big Picture was released to massive acclaim in 2000. Another tragedy, as Big L was one of the best pure spitters to ever grip a microphone and would have been even more renowned had he survived. If it wasn't for him, Ma$e and Cam'ron might not have ever gotten their start. Check out this classic L banger from The Big Picture:
As for everyone else, well, it's hard to really say. Ma$e has flip-flopped back and forth since his infamous defection to become a pastor in 1999, only to return years later, leave again, return as a member of G-Unit, leave again, and now be back as the old Ma$e we all love from the Bad Boy era. Having been a fan of Ma$e from day one and having several life changing decisions of my own, I never judged the man, only the music and have consistently been a supporter of his music. His new mixtape I Do the Impossible is now available all over the internet.
Herb McGruff never really recovered on a visible level after Destined to Be failed to sell massive numbers. He remained a fixture in the underground and was around during the early days of the Diplomat movement, appearing on many of their mixtapes and Cam'ron's 2001 album Come Home With Me. Gruff recently got married and released some old demos, and he appeared on Ma$e's new mixtape, so who knows what the future holds for him. I can't see mega platinum fame after all these years, but I think he definitely still has a loyal fanbase out there, yours truly included.
Lastly, and possibly most consistenly successful, Cam'ron. The man has been selling gold or better since his debut album, Confessions of Fire. A successful artist, businessman and film maker, Cam has literally done it all and made a shitload of money in the process. He successfully established a plethora of artists including Juelz, Jimmy Jones, Freekey Zeekey, Hell Rell and JR Writer. After taking a hiatus, he resurfaced with this year's Crime Pays, which has sold close to 200,000 copies with zero promotion or radio play. Cam is constantly hustling, as he has a few new artists (Vado, Byrd Lady, Charlie Clips) and plans to release a couple more movies. It's hard to imagine the rap game without Killa Cam, and he should remain a player for year's to come.
The Children of the Corn. It was a once in a lifetime combination of talent that likely won't be matched ever again, judging by the degeneration of the rap game. For real hip-hop heads, their legacy is undeniable and will remain forever. The original Harlem kingpins, Children of the Corn laid the foundation for the current breed of Harlem spitters and put the little neighborhood on the map.
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