jim jones comments on rumors of the dipset split and his beef wit the roc fam

There are so many rumors surrounding Jim Jones and the Diplomats right now, where do you start?

How about at Summer Jam, where in early June the Dips headlined the season's biggest hip-hop concert in the tri-state area. People were expecting the crew to roll out some footage of Jay-Z and put him on the infamous Summer Jam screen. But lo and behold, nothing happened. Not even a mention of the Jiggaman during their set. What gives, Jim?

"We ain't them type of individuals," Jim, flanked by his protege Max B, said last week in New York. "Cam'ron felt a certain way [about Jay], he vented [on a previous dis record] and that was that. [Putting Jay on the Summer Jam screen] would be a crass move. You know me, I'm on some straight gangsta sh--. We ain't gonna settle our differences by putting you on a screen. Smell me?

"F--- the Roc," he added. "F--- they lifestyle."

Next up, with Jim putting the heavy push on a new crew, the Byrd Gang - which includes Max, Mel Matrix, Stack Bundles (who used to be down with DJ Clue's posse) and possibly former Roc-A-Fella singer Rell - people have been inferring that the Diplomats' capo is moving away from his old team. Rumors of frictions between longtime friends Jim and Cam have been adding fuel to the fire.

"That's what people want to happen," Jim said of the rumored breakup. Jones insists everything in the Dip camp is tight and to look for another Diplomats album this November or December, right after Freaky Zeaky gets out of prison.

"Nothing's always sweet," Jim continued about his Dip Set family. "Everybody goes through their trials and tribulations and turbulence. But we brothers. Anybody that's got brothers and sisters, you have the worst fights ever in your life with your brothers and sisters. Not to say we feuding, but it comes with the territory. We're family for real. Nothing stops that. If it all went down and we all had to live in one house, it would probably be 30 n---as living in one house. When we started, it was 30 n---as living in one house."

So what's the difference between the Diplomats and the Byrd Gang, you ask? "It ain't no difference," Jones said bluntly. "It's just a clever way of getting money. You just gotta flip it."

With his team intact, Jim is preparing his next LP, which has a tentative title of Summer Was Fun. That'll be out this fall. He has a double video coming for "We Fly High" and "Reppin' Time."

"I been through a whole lot since my last album," Jones noted. "Hopefully I been through my last set of serious dealings with the courts. I beat a trail, outside of my last album. Just been growing, been doing big business. I'm going on 30. My integrity don't stop. Who I am don't stop. But it's still the fast life: mo' money, mo' problems."

Jim said he had to rep for himself a couple of weeks ago when he bumped into Tru Life on the streets. For those of you not familiar, Tru is signed to Jay-Z and Juan Perez's Roc la Familia label. Tru's been dissing Cam, Juelz Santana and Jim Jones hard every chance he gets. Jim said he wanted to settle their differences in the ring and challenged Tru to a boxing match in the squared circle.

"Who is he?" Jim started answering sarcastically about Tru Life. "F--- the Roc. F--- Juan too. I don't know Tru. I know Juan. You know what it is. You better cool out, Juan.

"I seen old boy in the streets," he added, finally coming clean about his run-in with Tru Life. "I did challenge to fight him for 50 thou. I'd do it for free but n---as is talking like gangstas. Gangstas have money. They do what they want to do. I felt like I wanted to fight for 50 thou. That was damn near a month ago and he ain't bite."