Yesterday marked the GOAT's birthday. Jay-Z turned 51 and everyone spent the day paying homage to one of the greatest to ever do it. There really isn't a rapper who's been able to accomplish what Hov's been able to do both artistically and as a businessman. And regardless of how you feel about him, you gotta give credit to where credit's due.
Jim Jones, who's storied past with Jay-Z has been well-documented, recently sat down with Fat Joe where he went into an array of topics from his recent comments about rappers having one of the most dangerous jobs in the world to the GOAT, Jay-Z. Jones praised HOV for his contributions to the game, declaring Jay-Z as one of his favorite rappers of all-time.
"In my life, um, I can’t lie, Jay's always been one of my favorite rappers from even before we even had a deal. Even from before, when Cam and Ma$e went down to try and get signed to JAY and them," Jones said. He explained that HOV has embodied the aspirations one has to make it out of the hood.
"JAY’s always been a dope person and from where he came from and what he represented was things that made me feel good to see somebody like us really puttin' on and really gettin' to a serious bag," Jones continued. "He went from gettin' a bag to doing good business and the business moves he was makin' was something that can't be duplicated. It's a trip to see a Black person out of rap become a billionaire."
Beyond the business plays, Jones praised Jay-Z's pen game to equally high regard.
"JAY’s a dope dude from the rhymes to what he put on for the industry. He broke a lot of walls down that you probably wouldn’t have been able to do at all if he didn't take that first step," he continued. "Not to mention what Roc-A-Fella did for the culture and sh*t like that. They put on. They made us feel good for New York."
Despite the praise, Jones said that he doesn't regret the feuds they had or how things played out. After all, Jim Jones is a Roc Nation represented artist.