Certified Gangstas

"Certified Gangstas"
Single by Jim Jones featuring Cam'ron and Jay Bezel
from the album On My Way to Church
Released	July 13, 2004
Format	12" single, CD
Recorded	2004
Genre	Gangsta rap
Length	4:03
Label	Koch
Writer(s)	Joseph Guillermo Jones Cameron Giles P. Corley III Dwayne Holmes
Producer	Dwayne Holmes[1]
Jim Jones singles chronology
- "Certified Gangstas" (2004) "Crunk Muzik" (2004) Cam'ron singles chronology "Get 'Em Girls" (2004) "Certified Gangstas" (2004) "Down and Out" (2005)

"Certified Gangstas" is the debut single of Harlem based rapper Jim Jones off his album On My Way to Church. The song features Cam'ron and Jay Bezel.

Background

The song was released as the first single off of Jim Jones' On My Way to Church. The song features fellow Dipset member Cam'ron and Jay Bezel. A music video was created and was directed by Jim Jones.

The song was fairly successful compared to the next single, Crunk Muzik. It reached number 80 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs in the United States. Jim Jones commented that the song is an ode to Eazy-E's single "Boyz-n-the-Hood" The song also samples Boyz-n-the-Hood.

Two remixes were released. The first remix Lil Flip replaces Cam'ron. The second and more popular remix scraps off Jay Bezel and replaces it with a verse from The Game and Lil' Eazy-E. The second remix was used for the music video.

The song was a major start/boost to The Game's career.

Part 2

A sequel to Certified Gangstas was released in January 2010 entitled "Certified Gangstas Pt. 2".^[2] The lead artist of the song is once again Jim Jones and it features Game, Mel Matrix (of Diplomat Records) and Sen City. It is currently unknown if it will appear on Jones' next album.

Music video

The music video was released in 2004. The video was directed by Jim Jones. It includes cameo appearances by Lil Eazy E. The Game includes his own verse in this video, because the video is of the second remix (mentioned in the paragraph above). The video also features a parody of the opening scene from Menace II Society where O-Dog is confronted by the Asian owners of the convenience store.

Chart positions

Chart (2004)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs	80

References

1. ^ Bang Profile: US Hip Hop and R&B producer
2. ^ http://youraudiofix.com/2010/01/16/jim-jones-certified-gangstas-part-2-feat-game-mel-matrix-sen-city/