We Fly High
"We Fly High" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Jim Jones, released as the lead single from his third studio album, Hustler's P.O.M.E. (Product of My Environment) (2006). The song is Jim Jones' highest-charting single to date, charting at number five on the Billboard Hot 100. It was written by Stack Bundles and produced by Zukhan-Bey who produced his previous single, "Baby Girl". The intro of the song uses a sample of "Mr. Cool" by Rasputin's Stash.
| "We Fly High" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Jim Jones | ||||
| from the album Hustler's P.O.M.E. (Product of My Environment) | ||||
| A-side | "Reppin' Time" | |||
| Released | October 21, 2006 | |||
| Recorded | 2006 | |||
| Genre | Hip hop | |||
| Length | 3:56 | |||
| Label | Koch/Diplomat | |||
| Producer(s) | Zukhan-Bey | |||
| Jim Jones singles chronology | ||||
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| Audio sample | ||||
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Music video
The music video was directed by Dale Resteghini (a.k.a. RAGE) and Jim Jones (a.k.a. CAPO). Several of Jones' cohorts, namely Cam'ron, Juelz Santana, Max B and Stack Bundles, all make cameo appearances. Jones' girlfriend, Chrissy Lampkin, and his manager, Yandy Smith, of VH1's Love & Hip Hop fame also make appearances in the music video. Parts of the music video were filmed in front of a green screen.
Charts
Weekly charts
| Chart (2006–2007) | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|
| scope="row" | US Billboard Hot 100[1] | 5 |
| scope="row" | US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[2] | 32 |
| scope="row" | US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[3] | 4 |
| scope="row" | US Hot Rap Songs (Billboard)[4] | 1 |
| scope="row" | US Rhythmic (Billboard)[5] | 2 |
Remix
| "We Fly High (Remix)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Jim Jones featuring T.I., Diddy, Birdman and Young Dro | ||||
| from the album A Dipset X-Mas | ||||
| Released | November 1, 2006 | |||
| Genre | Hip hop | |||
| Length | 4:26 ("A Dipset X-Mas" Version) 4:35 (Main Version) 4:49 (Video Version) | |||
| Label | Koch, Diplomat | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Jim Jones, Charly Wingate, Clifford Harris, Jr., Sean Combs, Bryan Williams, D'Juan Hart | |||
| Producer(s) | Zukhan-Bey | |||
| Jim Jones singles chronology | ||||
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| Diddy singles chronology | ||||
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| Young Dro singles chronology | ||||
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The official remix of the song features fellow American rappers T.I., Diddy, Juelz Santana, Birdman and Young Dro. It is featured on Jim Jones' compilation album A Dipset X-Mas and released as its lead single. The album and digital download versions of the remix features an additional verse by Jermaine Dupri after Diddy's verse.
- Other Versions
- "We Fly High" (NY Giants Remix)
- "Brooklyn High" (Jim Jones Diss) (Jay-Z)
- "We Fly High" (Beef Mix) (featuring Juelz Santana & Jim Jones)
- "We Fly High" (Reggaeton Remix) (featuring Tego Calderón & Don Omar)
- "We Fly High" (New Orleans) (Lil Wayne Remix) (Lil Wayne & Mack Maine)
- "We Fly High" (Cassidy Remix) Cassidy
Remix music video
The remix video was directed by Dale Restighini (a.k.a. RAGE) and Jim Jones (a.k.a. CAPO), who directed the original. It premiered on December 1 on Access Granted on BET. The video contains an extra verse from Juelz Santana that was recorded for the Beef Mix. The music video has cameos from Lil Wayne, DJ Drama, J.R. Writer, & Trae. In the video, at the end while Jones is talking, he waves his hand in front of his face, in the style of Tony Yayo. Also, in some parts of the video, Jones, Birdman, Lil Wayne and Juelz Santana appear with a red bandanna hanging from their right pocket, probably referencing to the Bloods gang.
Confrontation with Jay-Z
Soon after "We Fly High" was released, Jay-Z recorded a diss aimed at Jim Jones, entitled "Brooklyn High", over the same beat. The chorus contains the vocals of Jones and others, but the phrase "BALLIN'!" was replaced by Jay-Z yelling "Brooklyn!". The song is thought to be disrespectful of both Jones and Cam'ron, another Dipset hip hop artist.
Jim Jones has released a rebuttal to Jay-Z's song "Brooklyn High" also on the "We Fly High" beat. Less than a day after Jay-Z's retaliative record came out, Jim Jones and Juelz Santana released a remix called "We Fly High (Beef Mix)" in response to Jay-Z.
Popularity
The song's popularity began throughout the US in October 2006 when the New York Giants' Michael Strahan and teammates began taking "jump shots" to celebrate sacks against the Washington Redskins.[9]
Because of this incident, the NFL issued a "clarification" two weeks after the Giants/Redskins game[10] to remind the Giants that if their celebrations included two or more players, that they would be penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct.[11] The song is also popular across North America; when played in the clubs, it is typical for everyone to take "jump shots" when Jim Jones says "ballin'". The dance in the video along with the jump shot has been named the "Fadeaway" by Jones.
WWE's Montel Vontavious Porter, is known to do the "Fadeaway" jump shot before dropping an elbow on his opponent. The crowd often cheers "ballin'" before the elbow drop. Homicide celebrated with this song after defeating Bryan Danielson for the ROH World Championship in his hometown of New York City at the Manhattan Center. Combat Zone Wrestling group BLKOUT has also used the song as their entrance theme.
The song has become Jim Jones' most successful single to date, peaking at number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming his first top ten single. The single also remains his most successful single on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks and Hot Rap Tracks, peaking at number 4 and number 1, respectively, and also ranked at number 1 on the Hot RingMasters chart. It has been certified Platinum by the RIAA, as a digital single and as a "Master Tone" (a.k.a. Ringtone).
Jones has also made a "We Fly High" remix for the New York Giants and a "We Fly High" reggaeton version remixed by the famous reggaeton producer; Nely 'El Arma Secreta', or 'The Secret Weapon', which features Jones, Tego Calderón and Don Omar.
On the BET show Rap City, The Game used the second verse from his new album Doctor's Advocate from the song "Too Much" while rapping on the "We Fly High" beat. It was also featured in the Electronic Arts game Def Jam Icon.
Soulja Boy's song "Report Card" samples the Ballin ad-lib.
Infamous YouTube satirist Anthony Pinto has prominently featured "We Fly High" during the introduction and conclusion of his videos in support of the PlayStation 3 video game console, under the pseudonym "Chad Warden".[12][13][14] Because of the infamy of these videos and the popularity of his persona, the comments of the song's official YouTube upload consist mainly of people referencing and quoting him.[15]
References
- "Jim Jones Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 19, 2011.
- "Jim Jones Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 19, 2011.
- "Jim Jones Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 19, 2011.
- "Jim Jones Chart History (Hot Rap Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 19, 2011.
- "Jim Jones Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
- "Hot 100 Songs – Year-End 2007". Billboard. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
- "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – Year-End 2007". Billboard. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
- "Rhythmic Songs – Year-End 2007". Billboard. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
- "Newsday | Long Island's & NYC's News Source | Newsday". Archived from the original on March 11, 2007. Retrieved January 28, 2007.
- "Redskins vs. Giants - Game Recap - October 8, 2006 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
- "New York Giants Football - NY Daily News". nydailynews.com.
- imhiggins (22 November 2008). "Chad Warden Original : Why the PS3 is better than the Wii and 360 (part 1)" – via YouTube.
- imhiggins (25 April 2009). "Chad Warden Original : Why the PS3 is better than the Wii and 360 (part 2)" – via YouTube.
- chadwardensback (22 June 2008). "Chad warden be ballin" – via YouTube.
- Jim Jones (19 February 2015). "Jim Jones - We Fly High (Official Video)" – via YouTube.