Jadakiss is an iconic New York hip-hop artist who made his name as part of the legendary collective The LOX. Comprised of Jadakiss, Sheek Louch, and Styles P, The Lox had great success in the late 1990s and early 2000s and achieved fantastic things individually.
Jadakiss (real name Jason Phillips) began his career in Yonkers, a small suburb of New York City. This is where he met his crewmates, who all went to the same school. Throughout the mid-1990s, the group initially performed under the name the Bomb Squad. However, after much deliberation, they decided to perform as the Warlox. This eventually got shortened down to The LOX.
Through performing locally in Yonkers and the upper limits of New York City, such as Inwood, Edenwald and Kingsbridge, the crew began to build a fan base and a fanbase beyond the Yonkers city limits. As a result, the group made appearances on mixtapes in the Bronx and Yonkers alongside other acts from their hometown, such as DMX and Mary J Blige.
Eventually, the trio connected with Jaz-O, the man responsible for introducing the world to Jay-Z. After her explosion in the ’90s, Mary J Blige chose to help the group by passing the group’s demo to Bad Boy CEO Diddy. Becoming one of the most successful hip hop groups of the noughties alongside the likes of G-Unit of the Diplomats, The Lox (especially Jadakiss) is considered one of the quintessential groups of the early 2000s.
Jadakiss, akin to Styles P, had carried on to have vast amounts of success as a solo artist, whereas Sheek Louch did not. Hit solo singles from Jadakiss include the likes of ‘Why’ featuring Anthony Hamilton and ‘You Make Me Wanna’ alongside Mariah Carey.
Phillips is often cited as one of New York’s best lyricists. However, even the best can have their own preferences. In an appearance on The Cutting Room show, Jadakiss had a top five dead or alive rappers debate where he revealed, “My top five in no specific order, Big [Biggie], Hov, Nas, Styles P and DMX.” You can watch The Cutting Room in the video below.
Jadakiss’ favourite rappers:
- Biggie Smalls
- Jay-Z
- Nas
- Styles P
- DMX
