Lil Wayne is often on the receiving end of the influence talk, being cited by tons of rappers in the game as one of their biggest inspirations. Jim Jones, however, is claiming that the rapper was inspired by the style and aesthetic of Dipset after spending the summer with the group, touching on the overall stylistic impact the rap group had on Y2K era hip hop.
Speaking to Tuma Basa, the director of Black music and culture over at Youtube, the El Capo rapper dished about the time Juelz Santana spent with Weezy and the influence it had on him and his artistry in a new interview for HipHopDX.
“Well Wayne spent the whole summer with us,” Jim began. “We spent the whole summer with Juelz pretty much. He just adapted all the styles. He pretty much knew what he was doing. He knew what he needed and sh*t like that to persevere in this game. And that was to be able to get an identity shift and shit like that. That’s what he did and shit like that. You dig.”
He then went on to highlight how Wayne's signature aesthetic now has significant parallels to what The Diplomats' style was back then, and the inspiration they played on each other as artists. “They had a different way of moving and dressing coming from the South. Him being blood to correlation affiliation. Us being very drippy and sh*t like that. It was natural. It happens like that," he explained.
He continued, "Most people that hang around us end up moving in one accord and sh*t like that, which is not a bad thing. If I was around some n*ggas like us, I would try to move like that too. These n*ggas looking kind of smooth, they fly, they gangsters. So shouts out to Wayne, shouts out to the whole Cash Money and sh*t like that.”
The fashionable harmony Juelz and Wayne share can be seen in countless videos during their collaborative prime in the late 00s and 2010s era. Watch the clip from the interview above, and check out the full interview below. Be sure to drop a comment letting us know your take on Jones' comments.