Ya Heard: Jim Jones'll swagger career away

"None but a coward dares to boast that he has never known fear."

Seems Jim Jones has again found a way to put himself in the headlines. This time, he made news turning up at a New York police precinct Monday to answer questions about involvment in a Dec. 24 altercation with Vaughn Smith.

You may remember Smith as a brother of Jay-Z's close friend and cousin Tyran "Ty Ty" Smith. Ty Smith is the same guy from the Roc-a-fella/Def Jam concert documentary "Backstage" and was alongside Jay when he was charged with stabbing Lance "Un" Rivera in 2000 (Jay-Z was later cleared). If that doesn't ring a bell, this might: R. Kelly accused Ty of pepper spraying him during the Best of Best Worlds Tour.

Now that you're familiar with Ty Ty, it easy to see Jim Jones isn't exactly best friends with Jay or any of his close associates. So when Jones spotted the Smith brother shopping, words were exchanged and an altercation ensued, ending in a misdemeasnor assault charge.

After initially refusing to comment, Jones eventually opened up to MTV about the matter.

"Being a gangsta rapper or a 'hardcore' rapper, you find yourself stuck be-tween a rock and a hard place," Jimmy said. "It's a thin line, because there's things I've done in my career ... and I've benefited off it. For me to make a transition and take my career to the next level, there's some things I can't obviously do anymore. ... I really think I'm standing in the way of my own self. ... I'm done with beefs this year. I'm just gonna become a rapper. I'm just like Vanilla Ice and MC Hammer. I am a rapper. Leave me alone. I am defenseless. It's to a point now if you slap me and I slap you back, you'll be able to sue me."

Publicity stunt? Maybe, but whatever the case, Jim really needs to top riding coattails. He rode Cam'ron's fame to the spotlight, then jumped on Dame's success and now he's trying to boost his rep with an imaginary beef with Jay-Z. He's in the streets fighting Jay's people while Jay is in Sandro Pe drinking daquiris with Beyoncé.

Jim, your rental career is three years overdue, please return it to its rightful owner(s)!

JAY-Z TO PERFORM AT INAUGURATION FESTIVITIES

Jay-Z has been added to the to the historic presidential inauguration festivities. He joins the Hip Hop Inaugural Ball (Jan. 19 at the Harman Center for the Arts in Washington, D.C.).

The concert, titled "Jay Z in Concert on the Eve of Change" is at Warner Theatre. Tickets go on sale Jan. 9 at 10 a.m., and range between $375 to $1,000. The Hip Hop Ingaugural Ball features Russell Simmons, T.I. and Young Jeezy. Tickets are between $500 and $2,500.

I, for one, am quickly learning this inauguration stuff is big, big business. So if you got the loot, you can make it a very hip-hop-oriented experience.

JUST A THOUGHT…

But isn't Jamal "Gravy" Woolard, portraying Notroious B.I.G. in the upcoming film "Notorious,"committing career suicide? Prior to being cast for this monumental role, Gravy was a little known emcee in the mixtape circuit. Being cast in the Biggie biopic must be the opportunity of a liftetime, but from this point on won't people simply identify him as "the guy who played Biggie?"

A role such as this would be great for someone breaking into the film industry, but Gravy's emcee career may receive some unfair backlash. …til next week, Peace!!!

Dennis Winn can be reached at 703-200-4928 or YaHeard40@gmail.com.