Editing Cam'ron (section)

===1976–1997: Early life and career beginnings===
Giles was born and raised in the [[East Harlem]] neighborhood of [[Upper Manhattan, New York City]].<ref>{{cite magazine | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=0SUEAAAAMBAJ | magazine = Vibe | title = Harlem Knight | last = Meadows-Ingram | first = Benjamin | date = August 2002 | access-date = March 20, 2020 }}{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> He was raised by his mother, Fredericka Giles (July 10, 1955 – February 9, 2023). He went to school at the [[Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics]], where he met his longtime friends [[Mase]] and [[Jim Jones (rapper)|Jim Jones]]. He was a promising basketball player alongside Mase; however, he was unable to take advantage of scholarship offers due to his poor academic standing. Instead, he enrolled in a college in Texas, without even graduating from high school, but was expelled and returned to Harlem where he began selling drugs before starting his rap career. Giles was eventually introduced to [[the Notorious B.I.G.]] through his childhood friend Mase. B.I.G. introduced Giles to [[Lance Rivera]], who signed him to his label, Untertainment.<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/LNLFPmnL6H0 Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20131209061956/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNLFPmnL6H0 Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNLFPmnL6H0 |title=Cam'ron StreetHeat Interview|website=[[YouTube]]|date=May 7, 2009 }}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1004112/bio|title=Cam'ron|website=IMDb|access-date=May 16, 2019}}</ref>

He began his musical career in the mid-1990s, rapping alongside [[Big L (rapper)|Big L]], Mase, and his cousin Bloodshed, in a group called [[Children of the Corn (group)|Children of the Corn]]. After Bloodshed's death in a car accident on March 2, 1997, the group disbanded and the remaining members pursued solo careers.