"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 cult leader, preacher and mass murderer who founded and led the Peoples Temple between 1955 and 1978. Jones and the members of his inner circle planned and orchestrat ...

, released as his solo debut single as well as the

lead single A lead single (or first 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. A similar term, "debut ...

from his debut solo studio album ''

On My Way to Church ''On My Way to Church'' is the debut studio album by American rapper and record executive Jim Jones. The album was released on August 24, 2004, through Diplomat Records and Koch Records. The production on the album was handled by various producer ...

''. The song features vocals from Jay Bezel and Jones’ fellow

Dipset The Diplomats (also known as Dipset) were an American hip hop collective formed in the summer of 1997 by childhood friends Cam'ron and Jimmy Jones in Harlem, New York City. The group was originally composed of Cam'ron, Jim Jones and Freekey Ze ...

cohort

Cam'ron Cameron Ezike Giles (born February 4, 1976), known Mononym, mononymously as Cam'ron, is an American rapper. Beginning his career in the early 1990s as Killa Cam, Giles signed with Lance Rivera, Lance "Un" Rivera's Lance Rivera, Untertainment, a ...

. 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 (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Jones has said the song is an ode to

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

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. Eazy-E is often re ...

's 1987 single, "

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

", which the song samples.

Music video

The

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

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

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

by Eazy-E’s son

Lil Eazy-E Eric Darnell Wright (born April 23, 1984), known professionally as Lil Eazy-E, 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 business firm for musicians ...

. 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 crime drama film directed by the Hughes Brothers in their directorial debut. Set in the Watts and Crenshaw neighborhoods of Los Angeles, the film follows the l ...

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

Remix

The song was

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, 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, poem, or photograph ca ...

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

Lil Flip Wesley Eric Weston Jr. (born 3 March 1981), better known by his stage name Lil' Flip, is an American rapper. Raised in Houston, Texas, he began his musical career as a freestyle and battle rapper before signing with the local record label Sucka ...

. The remix was used for the music video, though Lil Flip's verse is not included.

Sequel

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

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

, Mel Matrix (of

Diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

) 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