Tag: Jadakiss

The LOX – “L.O.X. (Living Off Xperience)” review

The LOX are a renown hip hop trio from Yonkers, New York consisting of Jadakiss, Styles P & Sheek Louch. They made their full-length debut at the beginning of 1998 by dropping Money, Power & Respect under Bad Boy Entertainment & would outdo themselves in 2000 with the Ruff Ryders-backed We Are the Streets. Last we heard from the 3 was in 2016 when they dropped their comeback effort Filthy America… It’s Beautiful under their own label D-Block Records with distribution from Roc Nation Records but as summer draws to a close, The LOX are getting back together for their 4th full-length album.

Things start off with “Gave It to ‘Em”, where the trio talk about hooking cats up over an galactic-sounding instrumental fromaraabMUZIK. The next song “Move” brags back & forth with one another bragging over a dreary trap beat from Scott Storch while the track “‘Bout Shit” with DMX sees the 4 talking about going all out over a Scram Jones beat with an alluring sample. The song “Testify” prays for their friends over a climactic instrumental while the track “Miss You” is of course a heartbreak anthem with a lush beat.

The song “Story” might be my favorite on the entire album as The LOX of course get into their storytelling bag over a somewhat funky Nottz beat while the track “Do to Me” gets back on the romance tip over a moody Scott Storch beat. The song “Come Back” talk about their return to the rap game over a somber instrumental from Statik Selektah while the track “Think of The LOX” with Westside Gunn & Benny the Butcher sees the 5 talking about being the best over an unsettling boom bap beat from Large Professor.

The song “My America” talks about how the trio are tired of the racism in our country over a boom bap beat with some melancholic background vocals while the track “Net Worth” gets materialistic over a bland instrumental. The tracks “Dirty Dirty” & “Commitment” are the last ones on the album that’re on the lovey dovey side of things, but they’re easily the most excruciating ones in the tracklist. The album finishes off with “Loyalty & Love”, where The LOX talk about brotherhood over a luxurious boom bap beat.

If you ask me, this is WAY better than Jadakiss’ latest album Ignatius. Could’ve done without the redundant & corny radio cuts, but you can definitely hear how much The LOX have grown together as a group throughout the past 26 years of their career. Especially on the more grimier joints on here.

Score: 3.5/5

Fabolous & Jadakiss – “Friday on Elm Street” review

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Just when it seems it would never come out, Fabolous & Jadakiss finally deliver their long-awaited collab album just in time for Black Friday. The intro sees the 2 MCs comparing themselves to Freddy Krueger & Jason Voorhees respectively over a haunting beat that switches up during each verse. The song “Stand Up” is an ode to the “real niggas” over an abrasive trap beat & a decent Future hook. The song “Theme Music” sees Fab & Jada going back & forth about rising up from the bottom over a Swizz Beatz instrumental with a beautiful Marvin Gaye sample & then “Ground Up” tells all the frauds to be careful around their hoods over a gritty instrumental. The track “Soul Food” gets insightful over a fittingly soulful instrumental & while the song “Principles” does talk about the g-codes from their perspectives, the execution of the hook isn’t all that great. The track “Talk About It” intelligently gets conscious about the world today over a wavy instrumental & the Teyana Taylor hook is on point as well. The song “All About It” sounds like a failed attempt at a radio hit from the production & the French Montana hook to Jada & Fab starting off their verses by singing for a bit. The track “I Pray” sees the duo sincerely asking God to forgive them, but the Swizz Beatz hook kinda gets annoying after a while. The song “Ice Pick” is a gritty Jadakiss solo cut with Styles P on the hook & the penultimate track “Nightmares Ain’t as Bad” is a Fabolous telling the listener to make their dreams meet real life over a somber instrumental. The album closes out with an unnecessary remix of “Stand Up” which is pretty much the same thing as the original with the exception of a Yo Gotti verse where he copies Jeezy & then a verse from the actual Jeezy. This thing has been hyped up for a while now & I think it lived up to it. Despite some weak moments, Fabolous & Jadakiss show quite a bit of chemistry together during it’s nearly 45 minute run-time

Score: 3.5/5