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"That record was mine for a year," he explained during an interview with Jenny Boom Boom (via HipHopDX). "It was supposed to be for Pauly D's album and we never did nothing with it."
What he means by that -- in layman's terms -- is that he had Baauer's beat a year ago, and he'd rapped on the instrumental, but never put it out. It was a song -- one of many, most likely -- that was sitting on a hard drive, not being utilized.
Then "Harlem Shake" exploded -- no rapper required -- and Jones decided to release his rendition.
"When I started to hear the 'Harlem Shake' and heard the beat, I was like damn, I had the record for a year," the Dipset Capo explained. "So I just put the record out. I been had that record before anybody even thought about that record. It was a record for Pauly D's album from 'Jersey Shore.'"
All things considered, if Jim Jones had the beat, so did a lot of other rappers.
As for his version of the tune itself, Jones version is nothing if not unremarkable. There are about seven thousand rap versions of thing song out right now, so we can't possibly be certain what makes Jones' any different. But whatever, let us know what you think
Listen to Jim Jones "Harlem Shake (Freestyle)" Video
Watch "A Day in the Life of Jim Jones"
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