Jim Jones Claims He’s “Solely Responsible” For Kid Cudi’s Career, Says He Was A “Nobody” Before His Cosign

Jim Jones’ history as an influencer and tastemaker within Hip-Hop culture is widely known, as the Harlem rep built himself into not only a rap star but a trusted music executive during the peak of his career. Around the same period, rapper Kid Cudi began building a buzz for himself, ultimately skyrocketing to stardom and becoming one of the more respected creatives of his era. However, Jones argues that if it wasn’t for his valuable cosign at the time, Kid Cudi’s music career may have never gotten off the ground.

Both Jones and fellow New York rapper Maino recently appeared on DJ Superstar’s VIP Saturdays show on Sirius XM to promote their Lobby Boyz album, with Jones recalling his earliest interactions with Cudi during his tenure on Koch Records.

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“Kid Cudi was nobody,” Jones said. “He worked in a f**king store under Koch Records. I was signed to Koch Records. I didn’t even know Kid Cudi worked down there. Lisa Brunt’s nephew at the time was doing some work for me in my studio, and he’s like, ‘Yo, I manage these video directors, and I want them to shoot a video for you,’ and s**t like that. I’m like, ‘Show me the video.’ They showed me the video, ended up being a Kid Cudi video that they shot for free for him.”

He continued, adding “They like ‘This is the kid that works in the f**king rock-n-roll store under Koch.’ They just did it for him, and I was like, ‘Give me the record, and I’ll let y’all shoot me a video.’ They got me the record. I did the record. They shot the video.” Jones also claims he was on an early version of Cudi’s breakout single “Day N Night,” but was taken off of the record and cut out of the deal once Cudi signed with Fools Gold Records.

“I put it on YouTube. Somebody at Hot 97 ripped it off of YouTube and started playing it at Hot 97,” Jones explains. “When he got his deal, they took me off the record and went for ads without me on the record. DJ Cassidy did that, you dig. You know I bumped into him, but that’s my man, though. It’s always a joke, though, but it happens like that. I’m solely responsible for Kid Cudi’s career. You can go tell him that, and he’s going to tell you, ‘He’s right.’”

Kid Cudi has yet to respond to Jim Jones’ comments.

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