In a revealing sit-down with The Art of Dialogue, Jim Jones opened up about pivotal moments throughout his tenure as Vice President of Urban A&R at Koch Records in 2009—moments that may’ve modified the course of hip-hop historical past. The Harlem rapper mirrored on passing up early possibilities to signal now-household names like J. Cole, Drake, and The Weeknd, citing both intuition or circumstance as the explanations behind every resolution.

Jones shared that J. Cole was usually round his studio again then, and he recalled being launched to Drake’s music by means of Koch govt Alan Grunblatt. But regardless of recognizing Drake’s lyrical expertise, Jones wasn’t offered on his general enchantment. “Alan Grunblatt let me hear some of Drake’s music, but I kept telling him that he had no image. It just didn’t resonate with me,” he mentioned, in line with AllHipHop.

Jim Jones on Loss, Legacy, and Challenging Hip-Hop’s Icons

His encounter with The Weeknd got here below completely different, extra somber circumstances. On the day they have been supposed to attach, Jones discovered that his shut buddy Stack Bundles had been killed, a loss that solid a heavy shadow over any skilled focus. “Would it have been nice? Sure, that could have been dope,” Jones mirrored. “But who’s to say they would have achieved the same success if they had gone through the channels I had to offer?”

Outside of reflecting on missed trade strikes, Jones has drawn consideration for remarks about fellow New York rapper Nas. Over the previous yr, he’s questioned Nas’s modern relevance and argued that his personal catalog has aged extra gracefully within the streaming period.

Speaking on the Bagfuel Podcast, Jones went even additional, suggesting his critique could have introduced Nas again into public dialog. “What I did for Nas recently probably has never been done in his life,” he claimed. “The last time he was involved in something as viral as this was during his feud with Jay-Z.”

Though some followers known as the feedback disrespectful, others noticed it as typical Jones—unfiltered and unbothered. His remarks proceed to spark dialogue about generational shifts and legacy in hip-hop.