The LOX were the undisputed champs after they faced off against Dipset this past summer. ‘Kiss, Styles, and Sheek went bar-for-bar with Harlem’s finest who admittedly wasn’t as prepared for the massive New York showdown at Madison Square Garden. There was no love lost between the two crews, but one Dipset member is interested in getting it in for round 2.
Jim Jones recently joined us for HNHH’s 12 Days Of Christmas series for the second year in a row. Prior to the interview, he explained how he was interested in going hit-for-hit against another New York artist for a solo Verzuz. The Internet pitched a few contenders, including N.O.R.E. and Ghostface Killah. However, Jones said that there would be an evident generational gap if he were to face off against either MC.
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“By the time I was on fire, N.O.R.E wasn’t on fire. It depends on how it’s brought up and s**t like that. Music is heard from different generations, so who knows?” Jones explained. “N.O.R.E has a s**t load of hits. Ghostface Killah has a s**t load of hits. Those are the hits I know. I know all those hits. Those are from my era from when I was outside. Their kids know all my music. I came out 10 years, 12 years after they came out.”
No matter what, Jones said that he would be able to hold his own against any New Yorker that wanted to step into the ring with him. “It doesn’t matter if it’s Ghostface, if it’s N.O.R.E, if I did have a chance to go up – if it’s Fat Joe, if it’s Fab, if it was anybody, I know Jim Jones himself has 20 records that’s undeniable in New York City. I don’t know about anything else, but in New York City, Jim Jones can hold his own,” he added.
Last year, B.Dot’s top 10 MCs list caused a rift among the several names that were listed. Both Conway and Jim Jones, who worked together in the past, landed on the list before they engaged in a quick back-and-forth. Jones ultimately proposed that Complex sets up a boxing ring with a booth in the middle so he and Conway can get busy and the public can determine a winner. However, that isn’t to say that Jones would be eager to go against Conway in Verzuz.
“I love Conway to death, but he just got in the game not too long ago, so how many records can he go inside and perform? He has to put that much time under his belt for him to be able to go in there and do a successful Verzuz,” he explained. “You need 20 records that the masses all know. I don’t know how many records Conway can actually go inside the Madison Square Garden and actually perform that everybody would know.”
However, Jim still isn’t opposed to his original idea in going bar-for-bar with the Griselda MC. “Not a Verzuz, but a bar for bar,” Jones added. “It’s not like we’re rapping at each other. We’re rapping to create the best record we can create. Whether it be a subject or a producer be added to it, we get a chance to make some of the best music that anybody has heard. In that, we give people a chance to critique and say whose verse they like better. That’s the competition. Like, ‘Nah, that s**t was fire, but I like Conway’s.’ Just like when Jay-Z and Biggie did the “Varsity” record. N****s was like, ‘Nah, Jay killed that.’ N***s was like, ‘Nah, Biggie went crazy on that s**t.’ It’s the same type of format.”
Watch out the full interview with Jim Jones below.