Jim Jones has been in the rap game so long that he feels like he’s in his third career. After coming out with Cam’ron and then with The Diplomats, he embarked on his solo journey and hasn’t stopped since. Yet, he tells Complex, “I feel better than I ever felt musically, spiritually, mentally, and physically. I feel better than I felt when I was 22.”
To keep himself current, Jim says he perseveres and recreates himself every decade. The fact that he’s still living means he’ll “have something to talk about” in his music. “The more you see, the more you want to do and tap into your creative spirit,” the rapper says. He notes that “keeping a sound mind,” “not being stuck on yesterday” and learning from the young artists he’s advised have helped to “keep me here and keeps me sane.”
Jim adds he’s not sure about retirement, noting he’d be “able to do music forever if I wanted to.” In fact, he just released his new album, Back on My Prime, exclusively produced by Hitmaka.
According to Jim, Hitmaka is “one of the few closer friends that I have in this industry,” along with Takeoff, who he remembers as a “very special individual” with “a big heart.” When it comes to Drake, however, Jim sees the rapper as family. “Drake is Young Money, Young Money is Dipset,” he says. “It’s one big family.”
Jim also reflected on joining Drake during his sold-out show at the Apollo Theater in January. “It was dope. He gave [Dipset] our flowers that a lot of people don’t give us. That we deserve. So, I really tip my hat to him,” he said.
He called Drake “the greatest of all time.”
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