Jim Jones

Joseph Guillermo Jones II (born July 15, 1976), better known by his stage name Jim Jones (or Jimmy Jones), is an American rapper and record executive. He was a member of the now-defunct hip-hop group the Diplomats (also known as Dipset), which he formed alongside fellow Harlem native Cam'ron in 1997.

Following the commercial success of the group's debut album, Diplomatic Immunity (2003), Jones self-released his debut solo album, On My Way to Church (2004), to moderate success. His second and third albums, Harlem: Diary of a Summer (2005) and Hustler's P.O.M.E. (Product of My Environment) (2006), both peaked within the top ten of the Billboard 200. The release of the former coincided with Jones's appointment as an A&R executive for Entertainment One Music (then known as Koch Records), while the latter was preceded by the single "We Fly High", which peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100, received platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and led to Jones briefly signing with Columbia Records.

Jones' fourth album and only release by a major label, Pray IV Reign (2009), was met with continued success and spawned the single "Pop Champagne" (with Ron Browz featuring Juelz Santana), which peaked within the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100. His fifth album, Capo (2011), was led by the pop rap single, "Perfect Day" (featuring Chink Santana). After a hiatus, he self-released his sixth and seventh studio albums, Wasted Talent (2018) and El Capo (2019).

Jones, the son of a Puerto Rican father and Aruban mother, was born on July 15, 1976, in the Bronx. He was raised in the Taft Houses project in East Harlem, which he called "the gutter within the gutter." In 1996, Jones made a cameo appearance on New York Undercover.

On My Way to Church is Jones' debut album. The album spawned two singles that made the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart: "Certified Gangstas" (featuring Cam'ron, Bezel and The Game), which reached number 80, and "Crunk Muzik" (featuring his Dipset cohorts Cam'ron and Juelz Santana), which reached number 84. The album peaked at number 18 on the US Billboard 200 chart, number three on Billboard's Independent Albums chart, and number four on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.

Harlem: Diary of a Summer, Jones' second album, reached number five on the Billboard 200 and topped the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Independent Albums charts, selling 350,000 copies. Three of its singles placed on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart: "Baby Girl", which reached number 58; "Summer Wit' Miami", which reached number 78; and "What You Been Drankin' On?" (featuring Diddy, Paul Wall, and Jha Jha), which reached number 106.

Jones' third album Hustler's P.O.M.E. (Product of My Environment), was more commercial and once again featured Dipset members along with Lil Wayne. The album spawned Jones' biggest single to date, "We Fly High". Jones introduced a signature dance move in the "We Fly High" video, throwing up a fake jump shot every time the ad-lib "Ballin!'" was stated in the song. This dance move became so popular that it inspired Michael Strahan and Plaxico Burress to do the dance move after big plays during a Monday Night Football game in 2006.

From 2006 to 2008, Jones released a collaborative album with his rap group ByrdGang, titled M.O.B.: The Album, which peaked at number 29 on the Billboard 200, selling 16,000 the first week in stores and eventually selling 65,000 units. He has two Christmas compilation albums, A Dipset X-Mas and A Tribute To Bad Santa Starring Mike Epps, and a load of mixtapes, including Harlem's American Gangster, which peaked at number 19 on the Billboard 200 chart and spawned his single "Love Me No More".

Jones' fourth studio album, Pray IV Reign, released March 24, 2009, was his major record label debut. The album peaked at number nine on the Billboard 200 chart. On July 8, Jones released a promotional single titled "The Good Stuff" featuring NOE. The album features "Pop Champagne", producer Ron Browz, and Juelz Santana. A bonus track on the album is "Jackin' Swagga From Us" with Twista, NOE, and Lil Wayne, which takes shots at T.I. and Jay-Z for allegedly stealing their styles and mocking their song "Swagga Like Us". It is his first solo album under Columbia Records. In 2009, Jim Jones became Vice President of Urban A&R at Koch Records, which is now E1 Music. On June 11, Jim Jones appeared on BET's 106 & Park along with DJ Webstar and announced that they will be releasing an album together titled The Rooftop. He also announced that his documentary, This Is Jim Jones, will be released June 30, 2009. The first single from the album is "Dancin on Me", featuring Juelz Santana. It was officially released via iTunes on April 28. On September 22, hip hop website, RapRuckus, stated the album was scheduled for an October 6, 2009 release. The second single is titled "She Can Get It". In December 2009, Jones left Columbia and signed a deal to release his next solo album on E1, formerly Koch, as well as a mixtape.

Jones introduced ByrdGang in 2006. The group released their debut album, M.O.B.: The Album on his label ByrdGang Records and Asylum Records.

Jones and Damon Dash co-own "Vampire Life Clothing".

Jones made his acting debut in the film State Property 2. He also appeared on the show Crash: The Series. Along with releasing the album Capo, Jones headlined in an off-Broadway musical called Hip-Hop Monologues: Inside the Life and Mind of Jim Jones, produced by Damon Dash and Footage Entertainment.

Jones appeared in a supporting role in seasons 1 and 2 of the VH1 reality show, Love & Hip Hop: New York in 2011. He also later appeared in the final tenth season, in 2020.

Jones also made a brief appearance in the 90s TV Show 'New York Undercover'.

"Pop Champagne" was nominated for Best Collaboration at the 2009 Urban Music Awards.