S. Samuel
Although many hip-hop crews have been known to boast a strong female presence, SOHH decided to hit up Diplomat Jim Jones for his take on his Harlem collective's boys-only status.
Admitting that he reached out to Minaj for a collaboration a while back, Jones also said his crew do not look to sign artists to copy another rapper’s style.
“I actually sent a record out to Nicki Minaj a minute ago,” Jones told SOHH. “She said she wasn’t really feeling it. I guess she wasn’t feeling it, or maybe she wasn’t feeling me. But you know, we’re on to the next one. Shout-out to Nicki Minaj and to all of her success. She’s definitely doing it and sh*t like that but you know. [Wanting a Dipset version of Nicki Minaj?] I never claim to have what somebody is. If we got something, it’s whatever they are. You heard me? [laughs] We ain’t ever trying to be like nobody else, they try to be like us.” (SOHH)
Dipset’s Freekey Zekey previously with SOHH about the reasons why female artists are difficult to manage.
“We [once] had a girl named Keema, she [rapped on Cam’ron‘s] ‘What Means The World To You.’ We had a female but she came with problems,” Zekey added. “She had a whole bunch of stuff mixed up with her. We had to drop her. And I was kind of locked up but I remember when Cam had ‘Cookies & Apple Juice’ and there was a female on there. I wasn’t too familiar because I was just getting back home — he didn’t mention her much so I guess whatever they had happening kind of fell through. [Currently], we’re making so much money without a female that it’s not a strong point in our mind right now being that we got back together. We’re not ruling it out, our eyes and ears are open, and we know how to make stars from any and everybody. You gotta see what we did with Juelz [Santana], not saying he didn’t help, but we made Juelz a major star and look what we did with Vado. We made him a major star. So making a female a star isn’t an issue, we just haven’t come across one yet.” (SOHH)
Recently, Dipset’s A&R Duke Da God hit up SOHH and explained how difficult reaching Minaj’s claim to fame really is.
“With the females, it’s kinda hard,” Duke told SOHH when asked about giving Minaj some feminine competition. “You gotta find somebody that’s attractive to the eye but can write her own music. Nicki Minaj, man, she’s a phenom. That’s why I have a respect for artistry because Nicki makes it look easy but it’s not. That’s why I have a lot of respect for dope artists like Prince or even like a Ne-Yo. Nicki and them get in and make it look easy. I just think if the talent comes across my desk or my e-mail, I’m gonna know it. It’s so hard. It’s not as much talent as you think. People aren’t always as talented and you think they are. In my opinion, Nicki Minaj is a blessing.” (SOHH)
In May 2010, Def Jam’s Senior VP of A&R Sha Money XL told SOHH how much pressure Minaj has placed on other female rappers.
“Nicki Minaj has set the bar so high that whoever the new female rappers is, and I’ve heard one or two females so far, they’re horrible. I’m real hard on female rappers, seriously. I ain’t with the bullsh*t, don’t come too hard, you gotta be sexy and look like Nicki Minaj and sh*t. She got it. I don’t know about that Sean Garrett record, but she’s got it. That record ain’t it, she’s supposed to come harder than that. That sh*t ain’t it.” (SOHH Guest Star)
Check out a recent Jim Jones interview below:
