Shannon Sharpe Blasts Jim Jones For Nas Comparisons In Viral Clip

During a fiery episode of Nightcap, the popular podcast hosted by former NFL stars Shannon Sharpe and Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson, Harlem rapper Jim Jones found himself in a heated back-and-forth with Sharpe over recent claims he made about his status in hip-hop.

The conversation took a sharp turn when Sharpe directly confronted Jones about his controversial assertion that he’s currently a bigger and better artist than legendary Queensbridge MC Nas.

“Were you smoking when you said you were better than Nas?” Sharpe asked, prompting a spirited exchange that quickly escalated into a full-blown debate.

Jones, while initially acknowledging Nas’ influence on his early years, didn’t shy away from doubling down on his stance.

“Nas was nice when I was in high school. Nas was dope. We appreciate him. He had a little bit of a run. But Nas always came up second to [Jay-Z] and DMX and all these other people. He never had that type of influence on us, except for his first album.

“I used to want to dress like Nas… He had one of the illest albums of all time. I’m a real fan of Nas. But he kind of lost me after the movie Belly and s**t like that.”

Jones also alluded to the brief but notable tension between Nas and The Diplomats in the early 2000s, saying, “We the ones that went wild on them boys,” referring to Dipset’s 2003 track “I Really Mean It.”

Despite Sharpe pushing back and maintaining that Jones can’t match Nas lyrically, the Harlem MC didn’t back down. “Let Nas stick up for himself and meet me in the booth or something if he wants to do something historical,” Jones challenged.

“I would run circles around Nas rapping right now, bro. Right now, 2025, I’m in the game still rapping at a high capacity. If Nas wants the smoke, come in the booth.”

Tensions escalated further when Jones insinuated that Sharpe and Ochocinco had only invited him on Nightcap to boost their ratings. Sharpe clapped back immediately: “This the biggest podcast you’ve ever been on.”

Trying to ease the temperature toward the end of the exchange, Jones said, “I’m not mad, it’s about the sportsmanship of the game. I’m a very aggressive person. I seem to get misconstrued when I’m talking my sh*t. I’m just talking my sh*t, you heard?”

He continued, adding, “Let me talk my sh*t, ’cause I am on the field. If anybody got a problem with that, they can meet me on the field. That is the booth. Anybody from that era.”

Prior to Jones’ Nightcap appearance, he went viral during a stop on Fat Joe and Jadakiss‘ podcast for his response to a young music fan’s claim that Jones is more influential than Nas. Seemingly in agreement, Jones himself went as far as boasting that he has more hits than many of his contemporaries.

However, it was later noted that Nas actually trumps Jones in many of the aforementioned categories, particularly the Billboard charts, as Jones’ resume pales in comparison to that of Esco.

Watch Shannon Sharpe and Jim Jones’ back-and-forth on Nightcap below.