A couple of “Trinity” EPs was the group’s initial return in 2014 after over 13 years away (at least as The LOX). And yet, in 2020, The LOX continue to polarise audiences with their efforts. Recent LOX records have shown Sheek to be an emcee that’s aged better than his more famous colleagues. Sheek’s collaboration with Ghostface Killah on 2012’s “Wu-Block” made many re-evaluate his career as the underappreciated part of the LOX puzzle that was often overlooked. Styles has remained consistent, putting out countless solid albums and EPs that never hurt his brand of hardcore, but also never particularly elevated it further. They were cool records, but not great ones.Įarlier this year, Jadakiss delivered his best album by essentially refining his formula and finally making a record that sounded cohesive.
Jada and Styles didn’t have that, so when they dropped debuts that were of similar quality to their contemporaries, it inevitably disappointed MORE. But they all had exceptional debuts from the 1990s that bought fans favour. When you look at mainstream rap albums dropping in 2001-2002, there were a lot of solid, often enjoyable records from Redman, Xzibit, Busta Rhymes, Nas and Jay-Z. An era of 75 minute long, 20+ track albums with a reliance on skits to tie everything together.
Whether it was mismanagement or not, my personal opinion is they were victims of their era. The transition to solo material was tricky, but both Jadakiss and Styles had good debuts, unfairly judged against their contemporaries (Jay, Nas, DMX) who managed to fly out of the blocks with classic debut albums. By the time the second record had dropped, Jadakiss’ star shone brighter than Sheek and P’s, so a lot of focus moved away from The LOX and onto Jada. “ Money Power Respect” and “ We Are The Streets” had great singles but as albums, were largely disjointed and less than memorable. There are fans of the first two LOX albums, but they both suffer from an abundance of production that dates them, twenty years later. The star quality of the individuals overshadowed the group.I’ve tried to pinpoint why this is and it ultimately comes down to two key proponents: From their early days with Bad Boy, the move to Ruff Ryders and subsequent work as D-Block through to the recent resurgence of each individual emcee, they remain widely respected artists despite their records often feeling like unfulfilled potential.
ALBUM THE LOX CRACKED
In 2016, they returned with their third album, Filthy America…It’s Beautiful, which cracked the Top 10 of Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.The LOX (Jadakiss, Sheek Louch and Styles P) have perhaps the most frustrating run in Hip-Hop.The group then signed to Ruff Ryders Entertainment and released their gold-certified We Are the Streets in 2000 before taking an extended hiatus.The LOX kept the momentum going with their platinum-selling 1998 debut album, Money, Power & Respect, which features their Notorious B.I.G.2 smash “All About the Benjamins.” They also appeared alongside Mase on Mariah Carey’s “Honey (Bad Boy Remix).” In 1997, The LOX had their breakout moment on Puff Daddy’s No.She introduced them to Puff Daddy (now Diddy), who signed them to Bad Boy Records and changed their name to The LOX. They were discovered by fellow Yonkers native Mary J.In high school, rappers Sheek Louch, Styles P, and Jadakiss formed a group called The Bomb Squad and began performing at local shows and producing homemade demos.Yonkers-bred rap trio The LOX notched a string of memorable hits during the ’90s Bad Boy era of hip-hop.
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