Jim Jones has stirred up plenty of debate in Hip Hop circles with his latest claims about Nas and the rapper’s lasting impact on the culture.
In a series of interviews, the Harlem rapper argued that while Nas has always held respect as a lyricist, his own career has connected more with younger fans and kept him in the current conversation.
It all went down after a recent visit to the BagFuel podcast, Jones confidently took credit for putting Nas back in the viral spotlight, something he insists has not happened since the legendary “Ether” feud. “What I did for Nas recently probably has never been done in his life. Last time he was in some viral sh*t like this was when he was getting at JAY-Z,” Jones declared, framing his commentary as a catalyst for renewed interest.
Although he admitted he has not spoken to Nas directly about the controversy, Jones is convinced the discussions his comments ignited have brought fresh attention to the Queensbridge icon’s catalog. The buzz originally picked up steam when Jones appeared on the Joe & Jada podcast, where he shared how his admiration for Nas shifted once he became an artist himself.
“I was a superior Nas fan but when you get into the game you realize your idols be rivals,” he explained. “My son can’t tell me one Nas record.” Jones also emphasized his own staying power by pointing to his track record and chart success, saying, “Check my track record, then check everybody else’s… I been spanking a lot of this sh*t.”
Then to double down, Jones later sat down on Nightcap with Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson to hit home on his views. While he praised Illmatic as a classic, he questioned Nas’ continued influence over the years. “He had a little bit of a run,” Jones remarked. “Nas always came up second to [JAY-Z] and DMX.” Reflecting on his own fandom, he added, “He kind of lost me after the movie Belly and sh*t like that.”
What ya’ll think, does Jim have a point or Nas, we mean Nah, ha.