“I’m watching people go absolutely batsh** crazy”: Jim Jones shocked by Nas fans’ reaction after viral comparison

The Jim Jones and Nas debate isn’t going away anytime soon, and the former chimed in with his two cents when he recently appeared on Angie Martinez’s IRL podcast. The comparison between Jones and Nas began after a 22-year-old New Jersey college student on the Don’t Quote Me podcast stated that Jim Jones has had more influence on him than Nas.

The fan argued that Harlem rapper Jim Jones’s music and fashion resonated with the younger generation. The comment went viral and sparked a debate on which hip-hop icon had more influence than the other.

Jim Jones revealed to Angie Martinez that he was shocked that Nas had so many fans who were going out of their way to defend him:

"Man, I didn’t know how many people loved Nas, though. I’m watching people go absolutely batsh– crazy, like goddamn. But that’s hip-hop. There’s people that I adored as a fan too that I’ll probably go batsh– crazy for in the same situation."

The We Fly High hitmaker stated that he enjoyed the debate and found it a necessary part of the hip-hop genre:

"I love it, that’s what the game was built on. Let’s not make no mistake, I put in a lot of work and I did a lot of incredible things that a lot of people have not gotten to do in this industry.”

“I’m not a troublemaker, but I like trouble if that’s the case,” Jim Jones says as he speaks on the Jones v Nas online debate

Angie Martinez pointed out that Jim Jones seemed to add more fuel to the debate with some of the statements he’s made in other podcasts. Jones was a guest on the Joe and Jada podcast on June 19, 2025, and commented on the viral video.

The 48-year-old rapper stated that while he admired Nas as a young artist, he had grown to regard the latter as more of a rival. The rapper added that his son didn’t know Nas’ records and asked the hosts to pull up Billboard stats of himself and Nas.

Jones defended his statements in his interview with Martinez, adding that he was only answering questions being asked. He said that he didn’t start the controversy:

"Even from the beginning of the year, when I did the Justin [Laboy] interview — I didn’t start it. They asked me how I felt about what was said about me from another platform from some other people. I’m not a troublemaker, but I like trouble if that’s the case. I’m built for it. My whole type of thing has been that engagement, and here we are.”