Jadakiss & Styles P Revamp A Whodini Classic To Show That Loyalty Is Timeless (Audio)
Whodini’s biggest hit “Friends” has proven itself to be an ageless Hip-Hop song. The standout single from 1984’s Escape album has a message that has endured more than 33 years and a beat (thanks to late keyboardist/producer Larry Smith) that seemingly never went out of fashion either. Rap superstars Tupac Shakur (“Troublesome ’96”), Nas (“If I Ruled The World”), and Kanye West (“Real Friends”) have reworked the song, often maintaining its premise of loyalty and betrayal.
Jadakiss and Styles P close out 2017 by keeping this time-honored tradition alive. To mirror the concept of the original, two-thirds of The LOX support Nino Man in redefining the hard line between loyalty and envy. Together, they stress the importance of keeping your friends close and enemies closer when dealing with the streets.
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Nino Man sets off the track discussing the how friends can let you down and offering second chances but being aware of them taking them for granted. Jada’s is more self-aggrandizing with his bars, “Grown man, I don’t bust down my watches / I wear classic pieces, nothing obnoxious / As long as the streets need me, nothing can stop this / Goggles over the skulls with the Gucci galoshes.” Styles P plays clean up to drive home the point that he adheres to a blood-in, blood-out mentality. “But now I’m being positive / The cognitive skills just seems anonymous / And I’m anonymous but not behind a keyboard / Violate my homie and get a keloid / And that’s a friendship / And we ain’t blood but this is kinship / Violate one of my n*i**as and I’ma end sh*t,” spits the prolific MC.
Last month, ‘Kiss and Fabolous released their long-awaited joint album, Friday On Elm Street.