Jones was born to a Puerto Rican father and an Arubian mother. He was raised in Harlem's Taft Projects, and is known in Harlem and The Bronx. This is where he would meet his life-long friend, Cameron Giles. He would serve as Cam'ron's hype man and right hand through the early part of Cam's career. Meanwhile, Jones made his own record debut on the Cam'ron song "Me, My Moms, & Jimmy" from Cam'ron's 1998 debut Confessions of Fire. He would also appear on the forthcoming Cam'ron album S.D.E. The two would eventually form The Diplomats in 1998, but the group signed their first distribution deal with Roc-A-Fella Records in 2002. In October 2007, Jim Jones signed a joint venture deal with Columbia Records and Jones Family Productions. In 2004, Jones released his debut album, On My Way to Church, which featured appearances from the Diplomats, as well as Lil Flip, T.I., The Game, and Bizzy Bone. His next album, Harlem: Diary of a Summer was released in 2005.