Typically thought of as a machismo-dominated culture, in 2004 hip-hop took an improbable turn when fans began to don a seemingly unmanly pink. The trend - which quickly crossed over from the urban community and into the mainstream - can be traced to a single source: platinum-selling street-favorite rapper and business mogul: Cam'ron.
To set himself apart from other rappers, Cam'ron donned nothing but pink to promote his 1.2 million-selling 2002 album Come Home With Me, even going so far as to purchase a custom bubble-gum pink Range Rover. Fans all over the world took note. The seed was planted, a trend born, but like a true leader, Cam'ron quickly moved on. After all, by that point, he had an empire to run.
In fact, Cam'ron is the only CEO to maintain three different distribution deals across three different record labels. 2002's Come Home with Me was a major hit for the Harlem rapper, spawning several hits and even a limited-run sell-out cologne titled "Oh Boy" (the name of one smash hit from the album), and his follow up, Purple Haze, seemed like a lock. But when his record label failed to properly promote the 600,000-selling Purple Haze, Cam'ron decided to take his business matters into his own hands. He paid for and shot his own video for radio-favorite "Down and Out" featuring Kanye West and began to look for a new home for himself and his crew, the result being the three separate deals. Cam'ron himself is now signed to Diplomats Records/Asylum with an unprecedented $2.5 million three-year deal.
It is the same mentality of owning his own businesses that brought Cam'ron to launch his own liquor in 2004, the cognac-based punch liqueur SIZZURP. Cam'ron owns 50% of the company (the only artist to hold such a large stake in a liquor brand) and personally frequents conventions and stores to increase its sales, as well supporting the brand by cross-promoting it in his videos, music, movies, and print ads. Sold in all the major markets across the nation, the brand is gaining in popularity.
