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As far as I know, Cam'ron may as well be a card carrying member of that cadre of people Ghostface once called "smart dumb n—-s" in the opening of the song "Biscuits". And that designation attracts and repels, much like the sight of a horrific traffic accident on the highway. Cameron Giles has been in the rap game for quite some time now. Clever quips that catch you off guard, an easy swagger to his step and an attractive air of arrogance have helped him become known to all. He's had some classic tracks. You may sit there and shake your head "no" but I was at a bar recently and when they played "Oh Boy" the place went nuts. However when you become known more for your antics than your lyrical prowess, it's a sign that you may be speeding towards the end of your career.

I mean, if you ask the average hip-hop fan - or anyone outside of the hip-hop culture, the first thing they'll do is look at you funny or they'll say, "Oh that's that dude with the pink Range Rover!!!" Cam'ron has unwittingly become a clown prince of hip-hop. The Meadowlark Lemon of MC's. With Jim Jones and the rest of the Diplomats in tow, the jokes seem endless. In a realm where machismo and masulinity are both permanent and fleeting, Cam'ron has become a lightning rod of controversy and a figure of influence. To better illustrate how, I'll tell you a story. I was hanging out with an old friend of mine, Kane, about how all of these young cats were rocking different colored bandanas to represent their sets. I joked at the time, "The only color left for these dudes is pink!!" We both laughed hard at that one. The joke was on us and everyone else when Cam'ron began his "pink period". And it was as if everyone started wearing pink t-shirts, bandanas, jerseys…even pink Timberlands. And it made me use a pink product as well…Pepto Bismol to help me get over how sick I was seeing all of this. Now it's not a crime for a man to wear pink. By comparison, people in finance and business wear pink shirts often. But it should be a considerable felony to wear entirely too much. Cam'ron then switched to purple but by then the thrill was gone.

Then there was the fallout between him and Jay-z. Calling a press conference to air your grievances while wearing a pair of jeans that look as if you didn't use the right amount of detergent when you washed them is not a good move. And then there was the infamous Rucker Park incident between him and Jim Jones and Lil Cease's Junior Mafia crew caught on tape. This incident gave birth to a new name for Cam'ron: "Calypso Cam". Because if you look at how he sidestepped his attackers, you could almost set it to a Harry Belafonte song. The recent altercation with Tru Life also puts another black eye on him and the Diplomats crew. We won't even go into the hot mess that is "Killa Season."

It's not as if Cam'ron didn't have an idea of how the rap game is. I found his viewpoint expressed during his recent "60 Minutes" appearance concerning record labels and their reluctance to impose restrictions on artists at the expense of their profits to be highly insightful. But he's known more for being an idiot who either knows better and doesn't care or doesn't know better and chooses to flaunt it believing that any notoriety will help him out. For a clown, the end of laughter sometimes means the end of everything.

And maybe Cam'ron should take a minute to reflect on that.