Jim Jones

Apr 25, 2008

5 min read

Real Name: Joseph Guillermo Jones, II

D.O.B.: July 15th, 1976 Bronx, New York

Label: Diplomat/Koch Records.

Jim Jones, of Puerto Rican and Aruban descent is an original member of The Diplomats, also known as Dipset. He is Co-CEO of Diplomat Records and is director of A&R for Warner Music Group. He has recently set up his own record label called Byrd Gang Records, through Asylum Records and will be releasing albums by the late Stack Bundles and Max B. In October 2007, Jim Jones signed a joint venture deal with Columbia Records and Jones Family Productions.

Joseph “Jimmy” Jones was raised in Harlem’s Taft Projects and the Bronx, and is also a part of a Blood Set, 9 Trey Gangster Bloods, known in Harlem and The Bronx. This is where he would meet his life-long friend, Cameron Giles. He would serve as Cam’ron’s hype man and right hand through the early part of Cam’s career. Meanwhile, Jones made his own record début on the Cam’ron song “Me, My Moms, & Jimmy” from Cam’ron’s 1998 debut Confessions of Fire. He would also appear on the forthcoming Cam’ron album S.D.E..The two would eventually form The Diplomats in 1998, but the group signed their first distribution deal with Roc-A-Fella Records in 2002.

Recording Career

By August 24th, 2004, Jones released his début album, On My Way to Church which featured appearances from the Diplomats, as well as Lil Flip, T.I., The Game, and Bizzy Bone. The album featured the modest hit “Certified Gangstas” a remake of an Eazy-E song. His next album, Harlem: Diary of a Summer was released in 2005. It reached 18th spot on the charts and sold 350,000 copies.

The following year, almost to the day of his début he dropped his sophomore effort, Harlem Diary of a Summer reaching 5th spot on the Hip-Hop charts and selling 400,000 units across the U.S.

Hustler’s P.O.M.E.

Jones struck with the song “We Fly High” from his third album, Hustler’s P.O.M.E. It is Jones’ third studio album of original material with the hit “We Fly High”. The album features guest appearances by Cam’ron, Juelz Santana, Hell Rell, Jha Jha, Max B, Lil Wayne, Stack Bundles, and R&B singer Rell (not to be confused with Hell Rell).

The album sold about 106,000 copies in its first week out, debuting on the Billboard 200 at number six. The album has sold 489,000 copies in the U.S, and 739,000 copies worldwide. The lead single “We Fly High”, is currently enjoying radio spins across the country while the video has been added to the BET and MTV networks rotation. It’s also the #1 most played song at the popular Hot 97 hip-hop station in New York. Another single, “Reppin’ Time” (produced by The Runners) has been released. A video for the “We Fly High” remix has been shot and was shown on BET All Access Granted, the video featured Diddy, T.I., Young Dro, Baby (Birdman), and Juelz Santana. The third single is “Emotionless/So Harlem”, with a video already shot.

Koch Records re-released an expanded edition of the album on August 28, 2007, featuring previously unreleased tracks such as “Lookin’ At The Game”, which features the late Stack Bundles. Jim Jones’ “Hustler’s P.O.M.E” Dropped Out In The U.S. On November 7, 2006

Harlem’s American Gangster

Harlem’s American Gangster is an official mixtape by American rapper Jim Jones, released on November 3, 2007. Jones also released a re-mastered retail version on February 19, 2008. The mixtape is hosted by Dame Dash and features the entire Byrdgang crew. Harlem’s American Gangster was previously available on a limited basis, but the mixtape has been completely remixed/re-mastered and also features new songs. The first single from the retail version is “Love Me No More”.

The album debuted at number 19 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling 24,861 copies in its first week.

industry beef

Tru-Life

According to an interview with Tru-Life in the June/July 2006 issue of Complex Magazine, rumours had spread that Tru-Life was referring to Jim Jones in his diss song “New New York”. Jim Jones reportedly began calling several rappers and telling them that he had a DVD of Tru-Life dissing them. Tru-Life responded by calling Dipset Boss Cam’ron “a bitch.”

Jones responded by challenging Tru-Life to a brawl with US$50,000 at stake. Months later, Jones told an interviewer that Tru-Life did not respond to the challenge, doesn’t count in the rap industry, and lacked the money and heart to accept Jones’ challenge.

The argument continued into 2007, when Tru-Life released his DJ J-Love hosted mixtape entitled Tru York with Dipset diss tracks and whose cover superimposes an image of Jim Jones’ face over a swimsuit-clad Borat picture.

Jay-Z

Jones’ beef with Tru-Life may have stemmed from a dispute between Cam’ron and Jay-Z, as Tru-Life was signed to Jay-Z’s Roc-La-Familia label at the time.(Now sigined to Roc-A-Fella Records) Jim Jones has also dissed Jay-Z’s performance as president of Def Jam Recordings.

Jay-Z has since responded with a diss track called “Brooklyn High” over the beat from Jones’s “We Fly High”. On December 1st, 2006, BET’s Access Granted debuted the video for Jones’s “We Fly High” remix, with Diddy, Baby, T.I., Young Dro, and added Juelz Santana’s verse from his response on the “We Fly High Beef Mix”.

Cam’ron

Rumours begin to spread stating that Jim Jones has been in many rifts and disagreements with fellow Dipset member Cam’ron

On May 7, 2007, Jones was to appear on the “Funkmaster Flex radio show”, but due to unknown reasons Jones was a no show which bloggers and listeners began to wonder if this statement of a possible break up within the group was indeed true. However, Radio-Personality Miss Info caught up with Jones and interviewed him in which he describe the situation with him and Cam’ron. He said: