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Jim Jones is defending himself against comparisons to Nas amid a major debate over both New York rappers' prominence in Hip-Hop.
On Sunday, June 22, Jones appeared on Shannon Sharpe and Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson's Nightcap podcast days after he declared he's better than Nas in 2025. During their discussion, Sharpe brought up Jones' comments and said he strongly disagreed with his claim.
"I'm a real fan of Nas, but he kind of lost me after the movie Belly," Jones said.
"You can't eff with Nas lyrically," Sharpe told Jones. "I know you on that good stuff but you not seeing Nas. Let's be real."
So how did we even get here? It all started last week when Jones sat down with Fat Joe and Jadakiss for the latest episode of their podcast Joe & Jada. During their conversation, Joe brought up a video of a younger fan saying that he was more inspired by Jones than Nas. Jones began his response by emphasizing the Queens legend's impact on his own life and career. However, Jones ultimately argued that the new generation doesn't really know who Nas is the way they know him and his music.
“I admired Nas,” Jones began. “When it came to dressin’, the wordplay, the music, everything. I was a superior Nas fan, period. I’ll never take that away from him.”
“But then, as I got in the game, you gotta realize, your idols become rivals,” he continued. “Not to take away anything from that. I developed my own style and my own lane that these kids started to gravitate towards to, the same way I gravitated towards Nas when I younger.”
Watch Jim Jones debate the issue with Fat Joe and Jadakiss below.