Jim Jones has been consistently delivering some truly impressive New York hip-hop, including his most recent Harry Fraud-produced album The Fraud Department. Given that he's been at it for decades now, having played an integral role in the legendary Dipset movement and beyond, Jones is about as solid an authority as they come. Today, the rapper spoke to The Breakfast Club about his own experiences navigating the New York scene, sharing what he feels to be a major downside to coming up in the Big Apple.
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The conversation occurs after Charlamagne notes that New York tends to miss out on some of the best artists from the city, with the host citing Nicki Minaj and 50 Cent's deals with Cash Money and Shady/Aftermath respectively. "It seems like it’s the hardest thing for a New York artist to get signed in their own town,” remarks Jones. “Not only signed in their own town, but get radio play in their own town. As you can say, I made some of the best music out of New York in the past couple of years but I don’t get played on the radio at all."
He notes that he's not calling out The Breakfast Club, but rather the belief that "research" should drive what ultimately gets radio play. "The whole playing field is kinda backwards right now for a New York artist," he continues. "I think we need to invest more in New York artists, because we getting kinda hot. And these young kids out here are drilling, they got this music that's going crazy -- New York feels good. And we know our music, you go to any lit spot and they'll play ten New York records back-to-back -- but we'll never heard them ten records on the radio."
Earlier, around the twenty-two-minute mark, Jones reflects on how his close friend Fred The Godson didn't receive the flowers he deserved, explaining that he believed a label should have done their part in supporting the elite lyricist. "I don’t think too many people in New York understand how nice Fred was. He was one of the few who didn’t get his flowers when he was supposed to,” Jim said. “One of these labels was supposed to scoop him up, help him get a dope ass deal, and make an incredible album because he had the mindset and flow to go with it when it came to making music.”
For more from Jim Jones, including his take on whether or not he'd ever consider taking on an executive position, check out the full Breakfast Club conversation below.