It was Mase who connected Cam'ron to the late Notorious B.I.G. "At the time I met Biggie, he was working on Life After Death, so he had all sorts of fly tracks around his apartment," Cam remembers. "He flipped on about twelve or thirteen beats, and I flowed to every one of them. Big said, 'yo, you nice—I wanna sign you!' He called Un [B.I.G. partner Lance Rivera] and I was put on. On the spot, I was the first artist signed to their new label, Untertainment."

Cam'ron introduced himself to the listening audience with his songwriting for some of hip-hop's hottest names, including the platinum single "Crush On You" by Li'l Kim. Cam later revealed his own rhyme skills on two soundtrack cuts: "Casanova," a collaboration with Lil Cease, from How To Be A Player; and the savage single "3-5-7" b/w "Pull It" (featuring DMX), as heard on the Woo soundtrack album.

In late '97, he began recording Confessions Of Fire. "The first few months were hard for me," he admits, "because I wasn't used to writing in the studio. But after a while, I got used to the schedule and I was in there almost every day for about eight months. Once you feel you're making one hot joint after another, your confidence and your output go way up."

Confessions Of Fire begins with Cam'ron being led through a jungle swampland filled with eerie howls and ghostly screams, into a promised land where money and success are there for the taking. What follows is a sonic theater, portraying the life and good/bad times of Cam'ron and thousands of street kids just like him. The album depicts all the pain, glory, fear and triumph to be found in the American inner city today.

The tracks come fast and furious. From the fearful intro, Cam'ron goes straight into "Glory," its victorious horns perfectly illustrating the range of emotions to be found in the artist's life story. "3-5-7" loops the theme from tv's Magnum P.I. as its lyrics match the hectic feel of a chase scene. Another jam, "D-rugs," likens addiction to a neglectful mother who chooses a tragic, cheating man over her own children. "That's my favorite song, because it's a universal story," Cam'ron declares. "Addiction is so common in America today—everyone can relate to it." Cam'ron guides the listener through his life story, song by song. He puts the curb on a relationship with his best friend's girl in "Wrong Ones"; flosses mack-style in a Caddy on "Pimp Is A Pimp"; and in the haunting dialogue titled "Death"—one of the set's most compelling tracks—negotiates for a longer life with the Grim Reaper himself.