well, well, well…..the plot thickens. I just got a phone call from Jim Jones, and to call him ecstatic would be a major understatement. The guy was overjoyed, pumped, on cloud nine….

And for good reason. Jimmy told me,

“I just left the lawyer’s office. I signed a multimillion dollar joint venture with Sony. My boss is Rick Rubin and Hip Hop (Kyambo Joshua) is doing my albums with me. What you think Jay-Z is gonna think about that?”

I said it probably wouldn’t go down like a sip of that ace of spade, just kidding, but that for Jim Jones, this was like a one-in-a-million chance at a new beginning. He told me that over the past two months, he had met with Hip Hop, then went out to LA to hang out with Rick, they had hit it off, and the very next day, Rick was calling the lawyers to make it happen. Jimmy also said that of course Koch did some kicking and screaming, that as a result, they were broken off nicely, but that it still worked out. He has already been working on his new album, due out in early ‘08, and has even recorded a song with Rick Rubin himself. And the next phase of his Sony deal will allow him to set up shop with his own artists over there (interesting….I’m gonna bug him for names).

“What’s crazy is that they gave me the same deal that Un and them fucked up back in the day when they got the Sony/Untertainment deal….I got that joint venture, that 50/50 split, they don’t give those out anymore. That’s a Dame Dash, Ruff Ryders deal. And I’m bout to go crazy with it. I’m gonna be a problem.”

And since Jimmy brought up Hov in his first sentence, I wondered if Jay-Z had been mentioned in the course of the negotiations and meetings and powwows…I mean, isnt Jay “consulting” for Rick over at Sony?

“That’s bugged, right? Just think, Minya [note: ok, I've known the Dipset guys longer than I've been Miss Info so they get a pass, ool] Hip Hop is the guy who did all of Jay’s albums, and Rick Rubin is the man who gave him that monster hit. So I dont know if he was aware of the deal, but its when everyone else finds out….that’s what I imagine will put him in a different kind of state.”

I’ll share more details tonite, like what Jimmy said about Rick Rubin, and more importantly, the future of Dipset….but I gotta run to catch the Hip Hop Honors show : )