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Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jim Jones Defends Himself Against Nas Comparison: ‘Pull Up My Billboard Entries'
Jim Jones makes his case after a 22-year-old college student from New Jersey said he was influenced more by the Harlem rapper than by Nas on the Don't Quote Me podcast. While stopping by the Joe and Jada podcast posted Thursday (June 19), Jimmy discussed the viral video. 'I admired Nas,' Jones admitted. 'When it came to dressin', the wordplay, the music, everything. I was a superior Nas fan, period. I'll never take that away from him.' More from Billboard U.K. Prime Minister on Kneecap's Glastonbury Set: 'I Don't Think That's Appropriate' Fans Choose KATSEYE's 'Gabriela' as This Week's Favorite New Music Jay-Z Joins Beyoncé for 'Crazy in Love' & More in Surprise Duet in Paris However, once Jones became a professional rapper and found himself on the frontlines of the Jay-Z and Nas beef when the Diplomats were signed to Roc-A-Fella during the early 2000s, the rapper he once looked up to became an adversary. 'But then, as I got in the game, you gotta realize, your idols become rivals,' he said, 'Not to take away anything from that. I developed my own style and my own lane that these kids started to gravitate towards to, the same way I gravitated towards Nas when I younger.' Jadakiss pushed back a bit on that claim, though, and said his son is around the same age and is aware of Nas' impact on the genre, but Jim brushed it off, attributing it to him being around Jada. 'He's your son,' he retorted. 'My son can't tell you one Nas record. Let's keep it a buck here. There must be some type of misconception when it comes to Jim Jones and what Jim Jones has done in this game. A lot of these rappers have done a tremendous job. And I take nothing away from them. But they forget, I got a helluva catalog. Gold records, platinum records. Gold albums, platinum albums … Check my track record. Then check everybody else track record.' 'I'm not taking anything away from nobody,' Jones adds. 'But I hear the comparisons. N—as be trying to act funny. No, I been spanking a lot of this s–t. I'm talking about the industry. I been putting on … If you want to go to the Billboard entries, pull up Nas' Billboard entries and pull up my Billboard entries.' For the record, Jim Jones has two songs ('We Fly High' and 'Pop Champagne') in his catalog that have hit the Billboard Hot 100 with one top 10 hit and no No. 1s. Nas, on the other hand, has 27 songs that reached the Hot 100 with two top 10 hits while also having no No. 1s. When it comes to albums, Jim has nine entried in the Billboard 200 with three top 10 albums and no No. 1s, while Nas has 27 entries, 16 top 10 albums, and six that have reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200. You can watch the full episode below. Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Memphis Bleek Shares The Real Reason Why JAY-Z Left Roc-A-Fella Records
Memphis Bleek is shedding new light on the long-discussed fallout between JAY-Z and the original Roc-A-Fella Records crew, offering insight into Hov's decision to distance himself from Dame Dash and others during the early 2000s. In a recent appearance on The Breakfast Club, Bleek—one of the few Roc artists who has consistently stood by JAY-Z's side—broke down the mogul's mindset at the time and explained why he never felt abandoned or slighted by his longtime friend's meteoric rise. 'I knew he had to,' Bleek said, referring to JAY-Z's departure from the Roc-A-Fella fold as he transitioned deeper into the corporate world. 'For Jay to be where he at, he couldn't be around us everyday. I'm a liability. Me now being married, being a businessman, of course, things have changed. But the reckless Bleek? You couldn't be around us. Anything could happen, and then it spills right back to you.' For Bleek, the split wasn't personal—it was strategic. He emphasized that lifestyle differences and business responsibilities meant JAY-Z had to make a clean break, even from people he cared about. 'It's not that he don't rock with you, or don't rock with us,' Bleek explained. 'It's, 'Aye, dawg, I'm over here gettin' to these millions, ya still in the club poppin' bottles. I don't need that look.'' When asked why his perspective on JAY-Z's departure differed from former Roc affiliates who have criticized Hov in the years since, Bleek pointed to his attempts to prepare others for the inevitable shift. 'I don't know. I tried to tell these guys,' he said. 'That's the thing, if you really sit down — see, a lot of people, when these cameras cut on, they got an image, they gotta keep it up. But if they really sit down and have a real conversation with the reality pills on the table, they'll tell you that I told these guys this was coming.' The Brooklyn rapper also recalled trying to look out for Beanie Sigel, who has publicly aired grievances about JAY-Z in the past. Bleek recounted a conversation in which he warned Beans to carefully review the contracts tied to his State Property clothing line, especially since the label read, 'Manufactured by Rocawear.' 'So, I'm telling him as a brother, 'Yo, bro, check your contracts and all that. Make sure everything is right because I see it's manufactured by Rocawear — I don't think Rocawear was making their own clothes, so how they making your clothes?'' Bleek said. 'And he looked at me — this is when I knew me and Beans' relationship wasn't the same — because he was like, 'Yo, it sound like you hatin' on me, fam,' and I'm like, 'What you mean?' And he's like, 'If Jay your man like you say, why you ain't got no record label?'' Bleek's candid reflections provide rare clarity on the inner workings of one of Hip-Hop's most storied empires—and why its members eventually went their separate ways. Watch Memphis Bleek's The Breakfast Club interview below. More from Memphis Bleek Urges Nicki Minaj To "Chill Out" Following JAY-Z Diss On "Banned From NO" Flau'jae Johnson Says She And Angel Reese Are No Longer Friends Angela Yee Talks Post-'Breakfast Club' Relationship With Charlamagne Tha God And DJ Envy
