"We Fly High" is a song by American rapper

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 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 third studio album, '' Hustler's P.O.M.E. (Product of My Environment)'' (2006). The song is Jim Jones' highest-charting single to date, charting at number five on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It was written by Jones and produced by Zukhan Bey who produced his previous single, " Baby Girl".

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 ...

was directed by

Dale Resteghini Dale Anthony Resteghini (born August 28, 1968), known professionally as Rage, is an American music video director and film director. He has been credited on music videos for prominent music industry acts in the genres of hardcore, heavy metal, ...

(a.k.a. RAGE) and Jim Jones (a.k.a. CAPO). Several of Jones' cohorts, namely

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 ...

Juelz Santana LaRon Louis James Sr. (born February 18, 1982), better known by his stage name Juelz Santana, is an American rapper and member of now-defunct hip-hop group, the Diplomats (also known as Dipset). He is best known for his appearances on group coho ...

Max B Charley Wingate (born May 21, 1978), better known by his stage name Max B (short for Max Biggaveli), is an American rapper and singer. He is best known for his solo ''Public Domain'' and ''Million Dollar Baby'' series of mixtapes, and introduc ...

and Stack Bundles, all make

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 ...

s. Jones' girlfriend at the time, Chrissy Lampkin, and his manager, Yandy Smith, of VH1's Love & Hip Hop fame also make appearances in the music video. Parts of the music video were filmed in front of a green screen.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Remix

The official remix of the song features fellow American rappers

T.I. Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. (born September 25, 1980), known professionally as T.I. or Tip, is an American rapper and singer raised in Atlanta, Georgia. Harris is credited as a pioneer of the hip hop subgenre trap music, along with fellow Georgi ...

, Diddy,

, Birdman and

Young Dro D'Juan Montrel Hart (born January 15, 1979), better known by his stage name Young Dro, is an American rapper. Best known for his association with fellow Atlanta-based rapper T.I., Dro signed with his label, Grand Hustle Records, an imprint of ...

. It is featured on Jim Jones' compilation album '' A Dipset X-Mas'' and released as its lead single. The album and digital download versions of the remix features an additional verse by

Jermaine Dupri Jermaine Dupri Mauldin (born September 23, 1972) is an American rapper and record producer. Raised in Atlanta, Georgia as the son of Columbia Records executive Michael Mauldin, he began his career in music at the age of nine. He discovered th ...

after Diddy's verse. *Other Versions **"We Fly High" (NY Giants Remix) **"Brooklyn High" (Jim Jones Diss) (

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

) **"We Fly High" (Beef Mix) (featuring Juelz Santana & Jim Jones) **"We Fly High" (Reggaeton Remix) (featuring Tego Calderón &

Don Omar William Omar Landrón Rivera (born February 10, 1979), known professionally as Don Omar, is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is also known as the " King of Reggaeton" by music critics and fans alike. The ...

) **"We Fly High" (New Orleans) (Lil Wayne Remix) (

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. He is often regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, as well as one of the greatest rappers of all ...

& Mack Maine) **"We Fly High" (Cassidy Remix) Cassidy

Remix music video

The remix video was directed by Dale Restighini (a.k.a. RAGE) and Jim Jones (a.k.a. CAPO), who directed the original. It premiered on December 1 on Access Granted on

BET Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting Black American audiences. It is the flagship channel of the BET Media Group, a subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. Originally launched ...

. The video contains an extra verse from

that was recorded for the Beef Mix. The music video has cameos from

DJ Drama Tyree Cinque Simmons (born April 22, 1978), known professionally as DJ Drama, is an American disc jockey (DJ), record executive and music promoter. He initially gained recognition as the DJ for Atlanta-based rapper T.I., and continued to gai ...

, J.R. Writer, & Trae. In the video, at the end while Jones is talking, he waves his hand in front of his face, in the style of

Tony Yayo Marvin Bernard (born March 31, 1978), better known by his stage name Tony Yayo, is an American rapper. He is best known as a member of G-Unit, a hip hop group he formed with his childhood friends, 50 Cent and Lloyd Banks. Yayo released his debu ...

. Also, in some parts of the video, Jones, Birdman, Lil Wayne and Juelz Santana appear with a red bandanna hanging from their right pocket, probably referencing to the

Bloods The Bloods are a primarily African Americans, African American street gang which was founded in Los Angeles, California. The gang is widely known for Crips–Bloods gang war, its rivalry with the Crips. It is identified by the red color worn ...

gang.

Confrontation with Jay-Z

Soon after "We Fly High" was released,

recorded a diss aimed at Jim Jones, entitled "Brooklyn High", over the same beat. The chorus contains the vocals of Jones and others, but the phrase "BALLIN'!" was replaced by Jay-Z yelling "Brooklyn!". The song is thought to be disrespectful of both Jones and

, another Dipset hip hop artist. Jim Jones has released a rebuttal to Jay-Z's song "Brooklyn High" also on the "We Fly High" beat. Less than a day after Jay-Z's retaliative record came out, Jim Jones and Juelz Santana released a remix called "We Fly High (Beef Mix)" in response to Jay-Z.

Popularity

The song's popularity began throughout the US in October 2006 when the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

Michael Strahan Michael Anthony Strahan ( ; born November 21, 1971) is an American television host, journalist, and former professional American football, football player. He played his entire 15-year professional career as a defensive end for the New York Gian ...

and teammates began taking "jump shots" to celebrate sacks against the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

. Because of this incident, the NFL issued a "clarification" two weeks after the Giants/Redskins game to remind the Giants that if their celebrations included two or more players, that they would be penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct. The song is also popular across North America; when played in the clubs, it is typical for everyone to take "jump shots" when Jim Jones says "ballin'". The dance in the video along with the jump shot has been named the " Fadeaway" by Jones.

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

Montel Vontavious Porter Hassan Hamid Assad (born Alvin Antonio Burke Jr.; October 28, 1973), better known by his ring name Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP), is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, Manager (professional wrestling), manager, and sub ...

, is known to do the "Fadeaway" jump shot before dropping an elbow on his opponent. The crowd often cheers "ballin'" before the elbow drop.

Homicide Homicide is an act in which a person causes the death of another person. A homicide requires only a Volition (psychology), volitional act, or an omission, that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from Accident, accidenta ...

celebrated with this song after defeating

Bryan Danielson Bryan Lloyd Danielson (born May 22, 1981) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs on a part time basis. He is also known for his tenure in WWE, where he performed under t ...

for the

ROH World Championship The ROH World Championship is a professional wrestling Championship (professional wrestling)#World championships, world championship created and promoted by Ring of Honor (ROH). It is considered the most prestigious title in the promotion. The cu ...

in his hometown of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

at the

Manhattan Center The Manhattan Center is a building in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Built in 1906 and located at 311 West 34th Street, it houses Manhattan Center Studios, the location of two recording studios; its Grand Ballroom; and the Hammerstein Ballro ...

Combat Zone Wrestling Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) is an American independent professional wrestling promotion founded in 1999 by John Zandig. Commonly associated with the 2000s hardcore wrestling genre, early CZW shows showcased a brand of wrestling dubbed by the p ...

group BLKOUT has also used the song as their entrance theme. The song has become Jim Jones' most successful single to date, peaking at number 5 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming his first top ten single. The single also remains his most successful single on the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks 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 ...

and

Hot Rap Tracks Hot Rap Songs (formerly known as Hot Rap Tracks and Hot Rap Singles) is a chart released weekly by '' Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stat ...

, peaking at number 4 and number 1, respectively, and also ranked at number 1 on the Hot RingMasters chart. It has been certified Platinum by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

, as a digital single and as a "Master Tone" (a.k.a. Ringtone). Jones has also made a "We Fly High" remix for the

and a "We Fly High"

reggaeton Reggaeton (, ) is a modern style of popular music, popular and electronic music that originated in Panamanian reggaetón, Panama during the late 1980s, and which rose to prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s through a plethora of Puert ...

version remixed by the famous reggaeton producer; Nely 'El Arma Secreta', or 'The Secret Weapon', which features Jones, Tego Calderón and

. On the

show ''

Rap City ''Rap City'', also known as ''Rap City: Tha Basement'' from 1999 to 2005, is a music video television program block that originally aired on the Black Entertainment Television (BET) network from August 11, 1989, to November 8, 2008. The program ...

'', The Game used the second verse from his new album ''

Doctor's Advocate ''Doctor's Advocate'' is the second studio album by American hip hop recording artist the Game, released on November 14, 2006, through Geffen Records. The album is his second major-label release, following 2005's ''The Documentary'', which was ...

'' from the song "Too Much" while rapping on the "We Fly High" beat. It was also featured in the

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple Inc., Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry ...

game '' Def Jam Icon''.

Soulja Boy DeAndre Cortez Way (born July 28, 1990), known professionally as Soulja Boy (formerly Soulja Boy Tell 'Em), is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to prominence with his self-released 2007 debut single, "Crank That ...

's song "Report Card" samples the ''Ballin'' ad-lib. In the second verse of the song "

Billionaire A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least 1,000,000,000, one billion units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. It is a sub-category of the concept of the ultr ...

", by American rapper

Travie McCoy Travis Lazarus "Travie" McCoy (born August 5, 1981) is an American rapper and singer-songwriter. He is the co-founder and lead vocalist of the rap rock band Gym Class Heroes, which he formed in 1997 with then-fellow teenager Matt McGinley, afte ...

, MCcoy can be heard saying "ballin" (in the same style as Jim Jones) while describing the different types of dollar bills he'd be counting and separating

References

{{New York Giants 2006 singles Jim Jones (rapper) songs 2006 songs Songs written by Jim Jones (rapper) MNRK Music Group singles Music videos directed by Dale Resteghini Remix singles