"Certified Gangstas" is a song by American hip hop recording artist

Jim Jones James Warren Jones (May 13, 1931 – November 18, 1978) was an American preacher, political activist and mass murderer. He led the Peoples Temple, a new religious movement, between 1955 and 1978. In what he called "revolutionary suicide", ...

, released as his solo debut single as well as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

from his debut solo studio album ''

On My Way to Church ''On My Way to Church'' is the debut studio album by American hip hop music, hip hop recording artist Jim Jones (rapper), Jim Jones. The album was released on August 24, 2004, by Diplomat Records and Koch Records. The album debuted at number 18 o ...

''. The song features vocals from

Jay Bezel Jay Bezel (born April 13, 1983), also known as Bezel, is a Philadelphia-born rapper. He also has lived in New York as well as Atlanta. Bezel started his career in Philly hitting the streets with mixtapes and doing local DVDs. He quickly made a n ...

and Jones’ fellow

Dipset The Diplomats (also known as Dipset) is an American hip hop collective formed in 1997 by childhood friends Cam'ron and Jim Jones in Harlem, New York. The group was originally composed of Cam'ron, Jim Jones and Freekey Zekey, all of whom grew ...

cohort

Cam'ron Cameron Ezike Giles (born February 4, 1976), better known by his stage name Cam'ron, is an American rapper, record executive, and actor from Harlem, New York City. Beginning his career in the mid-1990s as Killa Cam, Giles signed to Lance "Un" ...

. The song reached number 80 on the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Jones has said the song is an ode to

West Coast hip hop West Coast hip hop is a regional genre of hip hop music that encompasses any artists or music that originated in the West Coast region of the United States. West Coast hip hop began to dominate from a radio play and sales standpoint during the ea ...

legend

Eazy-E Eric Lynn Wright (September 7, 1964 – March 26, 1995), known professionally as Eazy-E, was an American rapper who propelled West Coast rap and gangsta rap by leading the group N.W.A and its label, Ruthless Records. He is often referred t ...

's 1987 single, "

Boyz-n-the-Hood "Boyz-n-the-Hood" is the debut single by Eazy-E, then leader of a new rap group, N.W.A. Released in March 1987, the single was a local hit, reissued, by year's end, on N.W.A's EP titled ''N.W.A.'' and on the unauthorized compilation album ''N.W.A ...

", which the song samples.

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for the song was released in 2004. It was directed by Jones and includes a

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly eit ...

by Eazy-E’s son

Lil Eazy-E Eric Darnell Wright (born April 23, 1984), better known by his stage names Lil Eazy-E and Lil Eazy, is an American rapper. He is best known for being the son of Eazy-E. He is the president of Rich & Ruthless Records, an entertainment and busines ...

. The video parodies the opening scene of the 1993 film, ''

Menace II Society ''Menace II Society'' (pronounced ''Menace to Society'') is a 1993 American teen drama film directed by the Hughes Brothers in their directorial debut. The film is set in Watts and Crenshaw neighborhoods of Los Angeles, and follows the life of K ...

'', where O-Dog is confronted by the Asian owners of a convenience store.

Remix

The song was

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

ed removing Jay Bezel and replacing him with a verse from The Game and

Lil Flip Wesley Eric Weston Jr. (born March 3, 1981), better known by his stage name Lil' Flip, is an American rapper. He embarked on his musical career as a freestyle and battle rapper before earning a record deal with Suckafree Records in 1999. Lil' F ...

. The remix was used for the music video.

Sequel

A sequel to "Certified Gangstas" was released in January 2010 entitled "Certified Gangstas Pt. 2". It features

Game A game is a structured form of play (activity), play, usually undertaken for enjoyment, entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator s ...

, Mel Matrix (of

Diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

) and Sen City.

Chart positions

Release history

References

{{authority control Jim Jones (rapper) songs 2004 debut singles Cam'ron songs Songs written by Jim Jones (rapper) 2004 songs MNRK Music Group singles Songs written by Cam'ron