We briefly caught up with Jim Jones who spoke about the origins of the Drip Report, why he embraces Black designers, and what’s in his ever-moving pipeline.
The first time you saw rapper Jim Jones give you updates on the weather, you were probably minding your business scrolling down your Instagram feed. The rapper would sporadically update his Instagram feed with humorous anecdotes about East Coast weather — usually when the conditions were rainy or snowy. In October of 2020, Jones made the transition from Instagram weatherman to REVOLT “Weavahman” with the launch of Drip Report, a new weekly show that breaks down everything you need to know about pop culture, styles, and, yes, the weather. In the show, which comes out every Friday, Jones is charismatic and innately funny as he covers buzzy topics in hip-hop and streetwear.
Now in its second season, Jones has already name-dropped Telfar Clemens, Jerry Lorenzo, and Murder Bravado, three distinct Black designers who’ve impacted the streetwear community in different ways. In a recent installment of the series, he also congratulated Lorenzo who was announced as a long-term Adidas partner. Jim’s affinity for Black designers rounds out the crux of Drip Report: pinpointing culture moments worth mentioning whilst offering up a digestible explanation of the week’s weather.
Regardless of what naysayers might think Jones’ spirit is infectious and it’s compelling enough to lead a short-form broadcast. Beyond that, what’s admirable about the rap legend is the fact that he doesn’t just speak about Black designers on-camera, he also constantly wears them in his everyday life and supports them online.
We briefly caught up with Jim Jones who spoke about the origins of the Drip Report, why he embraces Black designers, and what’s in his ever-moving pipeline.
On how The Drip Report started.
There was a storm, a hurricane two years ago in Miami, I think Hurricane Irma. One of the people that I work with suggested that I do a [live broadcast] since I [was] going to be stuck out there, and I thought that was a pretty dope idea, just trying to be silly. Me and [my girlfriend] Chrissy [Lampkin] ended up filming the first few [unofficial] episodes of the Drip Report.
It’s definitely a great feeling to walk into a studio that’s pretty much your own for the duration of the eight seasons. I have a dope production crew. [The] staff is dope. Shout out to REVOLT. Shout out to my producers. Shouts to my cameraman. We have a hell of a time, every time we get to shoot, a lot of dancing going on. It feels good to have a cast that resembles myself.
On his streetwear news segment.
I think it did derive from the actual show of me more or less letting people know what to wear, what not to wear, so they don’t get caught in the rain or the snow. [It’s] pretty much about what you [should wear] for the weekend, and I’m giving you the weather, so you make sure you [have] on the right things. They took it a little further with some extra ideas. I think it was pretty dope to add [in] current events.
On the streetwear brands he’s checking for.
Shout out to Murder Bravado. He’s a dope kid. Kool Kiy, if you’re not familiar with Kool Kiy, he has a bunch of streetwear brands, one [is] Support Black Colleges. He also just made his own sneaker, it was very dope and ambitious. I tip my hat to him with his success. I like to [support] Black businesses. It feels good to be able to [buy from] people that resemble myself.
On his 2021 plans.
I just want people to know that the show, as funny as it may seem, I’m definitely giving you the real weather in the way that we will understand it the best. Hopefully, it turns into a full weather show. REVOLT [believed] in what I could bring to the table and [I] appreciate everybody that is showing me the support that’s needed. I’m going to continue to give y’all the weather.
Besides that, I have Quarantine Studios. It’s an artist-based platform. I figured out how to record in real-time without [having] to leave the basement of my house. I [also] got Vamp Fit [workouts]. I just did a deal with DynaPro. We’ll be selling a bunch of merch from fitness equipment to fitness merch. I suggest everybody follows the journey.
