Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	68/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
DJBooth
Entertainment Weekly	B
NOW
Pitchfork Media	5.7/10
PopMatters
RapReviews	6.5/10
Rolling Stone
Slant Magazine
Spin

Crime Pays is the sixth studio album by Harlem rapper Cam'ron. The album was released on May 12, 2009, by Diplomat Records and Asylum Records.

My Job, the rapper's first video in two years released to the internet in January 2009, shows a more mature approach to life in an economically struggling America. Though My Job was not intended to be a single, the response to the song was so positive that it was released as a single on March 10, 2009.

XXL Magazine shortly after announced cover of their April issue, due out February 24, which will go more into detail about his status, the 2007 feud with 50 Cent and the status of the once dominating crew The Diplomats. In this interview, Cam'ron stated that the original Diplomats Jim Jones, Juelz Santana, and Freeky Zeeky were no longer together.

Miss Info also released an exclusive "Where's Cam'ron?" segment on her website, where the rapper continues to explain many unanswered questions and the future of the MC. Despite the fact that none of the singles charted, the album proved to be successful, charting at #3 on the Billboard 200 selling an estimated 45,000 copies its first week.

Crime Pays received positive reviews but music critics found criticism in its length, production and lyrical content. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 68, based on 13 reviews.

David Jeffries of AllMusic praised Cam for re-tooling his production and lyrical content to bring back the grit and humor he lost in Killa Season, concluding with, "Add it all up and Crime Pays is just what the fans want, without any sense the man is pandering." Chris Ryan of Spin also praised Cam for delivering material that was reminiscent of his better efforts, concluding that "He may have kept his lyrical gift hidden, but he didn’t lose it." Andrew Rennie of NOW praised the album for containing less featured artists to focus on tight wordplay and sprinklings of topical tracks like "My Job" and "Silky", concluding that, "Cam'ron has evolved on this no-frills release, and it is disarmingly effective."

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