Jim Jones Mixtapes - The Early Years

Even when their rap mixtapes are a success, many artists need to work long and hard before they are successful in the commercial markets. Jim Jones mixtapes are a perfect example of an artist who had to wait quite awhile before finally becoming successful in the mainstream. The early years were difficult but Jim Jones eventually became one of the biggest stars in the hip hop industry.

Jim Jones was born Joseph Guillermo Jones II in 1976. He was born in the Tremont section of The Bronx but was raised in Harlem. While growing up, he attended Catholic school but would often cut classes to hang out at the local train station. The experiences he had around the train station influenced him greatly and appeared in later mixtapes.

After releasing a few mixtapes, he released his first major album, On My Way To Church, in 2004. Two singles were released off of the album, entitled "Certified Gangsters" and "Crunk Muzik." Unfortunately for Jones, they only reached numbers eighty and eighty-four respectively on the hip hop music charts. He returned to the studio and started working on songs that would get better radio play and make him a household name. When he first came out with Cam'ron, no one had any idea who he was, besides Cam'ron's homie.

In 2005, Jim Jones released his sophomore album, Harlem: Diary Of A Summer. Although the album reached number five on the Billboard charts, Jim Jones was once again disappointed with the performance of the singles on the radio. "Baby Girl" made it to number fifty-eight on the charts, while "What You Been Drankin' On" did not get any higher than number one hundred and six.

Not to be deterred by the disappointing reaction to his hip hop songs, he released another album in 2006 called Hustler's P.O.M.E., which stood for Product Of My Environment. The lead single was called "We Fly High" and featured rap superstar Lil Wayne. His perseverance paid off and Jim Jones saw his new record become certified gold.

Jim Jones mixtapes were just one stop on the long road to success for the rapper. He released two albums that had disappointing sales and even more disappointing radio play before finally putting out the album which put him on the map. His willingness to stick it out through the hard times helped launch him into stardom, but there was much more in the future for this rap artist.

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