Despite the Diplomats reuniting, each member of the crew still has their own respective movements going on. Appropriately, Jim Jones is getting ready to release his fifth LP, Capo. Earlier today (February 26th), the website HiphopDX posted the cover art for the project, which is due in stores April 5th.

The artwork features a simple shot of a cornrowed Jim Jones, clad in a grey sweater, sitting at a table in a burgundy-walled room. An ashtray is to his left, while a glass of dark liquor sits to his right, which is the direction he’s peering off to. He seems pensive, and perhaps he is. In the early morning hours of January 17th, Jim was involved in a car accident that left the passenger van he was traveling in totaled. He escaped with merely bumps and bruises, but he was clearly shook up by the near-death experience. A few days later, he detailed the entire incident in a song titled, “Crash.”

“I was halfway asleep, faded off the sour, not knowing that that could have been my last hour/I see it clear, we was on 85, road looking clear doing bout 85,” he raps on the song. “I seen my mom, I seen my son, I seen Christ flash/ I almost died on Martin Luther day, and for the cause he was a martyr just a few would say/ Now I’m thinking hard what my crew would say, make me wanna wonder what my boo would say.”

This is heavy introspection from an artist not typically associated with such. Jones reportedly recorded over sixty songs for Capo. The project’s rumored first single, “Blow Your Smoke,” featuring Rell, was released last October. The video, perhaps prophetically, finds Jim high off marijuana, cruising the streets of Harlem in his vehicle, halfway paying attention as he counts money and fiddles with the stereo. There is no word yet on how Jim’s accident may have affected the album’s content. Capo was originally supposed to hit stores on February 22nd. Trey Songz, Raekwon and Snoop Dogg are all confirmed guests on the LP.

UPDATE: Jim Jones keeps it simple for the cover art to his upcoming E1 Entertainment album. Diplomats member Jim Jones has been hard at work on his latest album, Capo for over a year. Originally planned to be his second major label album with Sony Records, the longtime E1 Entertainment (f/k/a Koch Records) artist returned to his former home to deliver his fifth official full-length, which will feature Snoop Dogg, Raekwon, as well as Dipset affiliates Cam’ron, Juelz Santana, Hell Rell and The U.N.’s Vado.

According to the label, Jones, who recently survived a serious car accident, recorded 60 new songs for Capo in the last several months. The Diplomats are also at work on an album planned for 2011 release.
Capo’s first single is “Perfect Day,” which features Juelz Santana. (Via MTV)