In recent months, reports surfaced involving Jim Jones and Freddie Gibbs having some unresolved issues and animosity. In 2014, Freddie Gibbs and his team were targeted in a shooting in Brooklyn, New York after performing a show. Speculation due to Gibbs' comments on Jim Jones' authenticity and him "not being a real gang member" started talks of Jones' team being allegedly involved. While these rumors remained unproven, that issue seemingly lingered over time and developed into something more.
On December 14th, 2021, reports state that there was some form of altercation between Jim Jones and Freddie Gibbs at Prime 112, a restaraunt in Miami. The story gained traction on social media due to witness reports. Akademiks, already having issues with Gibbs for weeks prior, had a field day with the story. Freddie Gibbs spoke after the incident, seemingly unphased by the entire thing.
In a January 24th interview with The Breakfast Club on Power 105.1, Jim Jones had few words to say about the rumored scuffle between the two artists. When DJ Envy referenced "Allegedly, you and Freddie Gibbs got into a little tussle," all Jones had to say was "I don't tussle, baby. I don't know what they talking bout, man. Rumors fly."
Much more importantly, Jim Jones had some serious advice for rappers on the come up currently. In recent years, we've seen the lives of numerous artists taken by violence. While artists and hometown legends like Young Dolph were killed by senseless gun violence, rappers like Drakeo The Ruler have been victim to stabbings.
Jones' tone got more weighty, alluding to the nature of the topic. When asked what advice he gives to artists about how to move, while still protecting themselves, he states "You wanna be doing music, right? You're the artist? You're the rapper? These dudes around you need to take you as the most important thing in this group." He continues "If something happens to you, nothing's ever gonna amount to nothing for them. They won't get to where they wanna go with you as their vessel. Therefore, they need to hold you to the highest regard of all."
Jones went into more detail, for the sake of honesty and safety in the times we're in: "If there's something that you used to carry, they have to carry it now. If there's something that would've happened through you, they need to do it now. They have to react fast. You have to trust in them that they're gonna hold you up, because they see the future and believe in you... That you're gonna take them out of this threshold where they have to do these things for you now."
"It's war. There's gonna be some casualties and some people not gonna make it. But, the principle has to be protected at all time if you wanna have any success in the situation." He finalizes the topic by saying "I'm not telling you to stop doing what you're doing, I'm telling you to move a little smarter to give you better chances at your being successful. Helping your dudes out to not having to do them same things anymore because you'll be having the money for the proper security and everybody can be a little easier."
We hope that 2022 is much safer for the hip-hop community. It would be a wise decision for rappers to squash beef and artists move smarter, as the ones who came before them have been suggesting.