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Erick Sermon Makes Room For Joell Ortiz & Sheek Louch on One Star-Studded Track (Audio)

Erick Sermon has been teasing the arrival of a new album for several months, but the moment is almost here. On a recent interview with Sway, E-Double said fans could expect ESP to arrive in June, and listed off a host of guest MCs featured on the album, including Method... Read more

Styles P Grabs Another Dr. Dre Beat, Digging Deep Into 2001 (Audio)

As Jadakiss kicks off the weekend with two Jay Z reworkings, Styles P keeps on keepin' on with Dr. Dre instrumental freestyles. The Ghost has touched The Chronic, Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle, so it's only fitting that he swoops to 2001. Commonly called "Chronic 2001," Dre famously freaked the funk with... Read more

Jadakiss Jacks Jay Z for Another Beat. What’s His Name? JADA…(Audio)

Kiss the week goodbye, as Jadakiss hits Friday April 17 with not one, but two lyrical scribblings over Jay Z instrumentals. This time, Jada' takes the Swizz Beatz-helmed "Jigga My Nigga (What's My Name)" from the first (platinum-plus) Ruff Ryders compilation, which Jadakiss and The L.O.X. were a key part... Read more

Jadakiss Takes Jay Z’s Beat and Gets Far From Jiggy With It (Audio)

In the 2010s, Heads may not realize it, but Jadakiss has released some of the coldest music that still carries the Roc-A-Fella Records logo on the back. That said, 'Kiss takes an In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 standout moment from Jay Z and makes it his own. "Where I'm From,"... Read more

Styles P Fires Up A Dr. Dre Chronic-Era Instrumental For A Freestyle (Audio)

Styles P's rapping rampage continues. A day earlier than usual, Holiday Styles attacks Dr. Dre's "Puffin' On Blunts & Drankin' Tanqueray" instrumental from The Chronic-era B-side, and puts in work like he was stranded on Death Row. This 1992 excursion known as "Ghost Blunts" is the farthest back Ghost has... Read more

Curren$y’s Pilot Talk 3 First Class Section Includes Jadakiss, Cool & Dre Production (Audio)

Curren$y's Pilot Talk 3 hit the skies this weekend, releasing yesterday (April 4). Spitta is selling the LP for $100 USB drives (with additional, more expensive packages available) for the moment—taking a page from Nipsey Hussle's Crenshaw idea. CDs and other formats are said to follow, but for now, it's... Read more

The Ghost Sightings Continue. Styles P Snatches ScHoolboy’s Beat & Comes Correct (Audio)

Springtime brings showers. Styles P has drenched Heads with lots of new content, between fully-produced songs with his D-Block affiliates, more cannon fodder with his protege Chris Rivers, and four straight weekends of freestyles on industry beats. The quickfire attacks continue, as this week, S.P. holds ScHoolboy Q's "It's True"... Read more

Styles P Gets Funkdafied & Fired Up Thanks To Cookin’ Soul On The Boards (Audio)

Whether it's with The Roots, with Rick Ross, or Raekwon, is there a beat—or type of beat that Styles P cannot destroy? The LOX O.G. brings his D-Block protege Blazin on board for "True & Living." Here, thanks to Spanish production duo Cookin' Soul (OJaYzis, Freddie Gibbs), S.P. The Ghost... Read more

Styles P Snatches Drake’s Beat For An Energetic Freestyle (Audio)

Drake's given everybody "Energy" on If You're Reading This It's Too Late. Styles P has energy to give, and he takes the Boi-1da-produced beat, and gives a 90 second verbal massage. With emphasized bars and that signature cadence, S.P. The Ghost has really dazzled late March with a series of... Read more

The LOX Tear Down a Classic Gap Band Beat (Audio)

In seemingly any situation, The LOX show up. Jadakiss, Styles P, and Sheek Louch give emerging MC/producer Duane DaRock all the right moves on Da Resume, Vol. 2 mixtape cut "That Money." The song, which basically lifts a timeless bassline from Charlie Wilson and The Gap Band has that blend-tape... Read more

Styles P Calls In A Ghost Attack With 2 New Freestyles (Audio)

For the second consecutive weekend, Styles P refuses to go quietly. Following last week's "Still Bangin' Freestyle," the Yonkers, New York blesses some industry beats with his street-tested wisdom. Dropping two Friday efforts, "Ghost Pills" adds the D-Block touch to Nicki Minaj's "Pills N Potions." "Bad Ass Ghost" is a... Read more

Styles P Freestyles Over a Classic Dr. Dre Beat and PUMP PUMPS (Audio)

Styles P has a battery in his back! Fresh off of "Bring That Beat Back" with his LOX family earlier in the week, Holiday Styles lights up with a "Still Bangin'" freestyle. Often agreeable and humble in the 2010s, this is a flashback to the Interscope Records days, shortly after... Read more

Now Back In The Studio With Puff, The LOX Bring It Back (Audio)

The LOX continue to win with retro-minded approaches. "Bring It Back" is a simple concept built around a classic live recording of Hip-Hop in its purest essence. The trio hits the mic with confidence, keen wordplay, and that gritty attitude that makes this feel like a D-Block tape highlight from... Read more

Finding The GOAT (Round 3): Busta Rhymes vs. Jadakiss…Who You Got?

We have reached the third round in the ultimate battle for the title of the GOAT (Greatest of All-Time). With 42 MCs remaining, we are asking you to help us rank who is the greatest MC to pick up a mic. We will take over 35 years of Hip-Hop into... Read more

Dame Dash & Kanye West Share A Glimpse Of Their Film In Segments Starring The LOX, Smoke DZA & More (Video)

In Hip-Hop, film and music videos are often of blurred lines. From Krush Groove to Murder Was The Case, plots often pause to show artists expressing themselves in cinematic vignettes. Loisaidas, the new film executive produced by Damon Dash and Kanye West is no exception. In a 17-minute reel-style "episode,"... Read more

Raekwon, Styles P, Sheek Louch & Vado Line Up The Lyrics For DJ Kay Slay (Audio)

DJ Kay Slay's Rolodex weighs a ton, and the Hip-Hop mainstay is never afraid to use it. The Drama King "declares war" calling in 2/3 of The LOX, along with Raekwon, Vado, and Rell. "I Declare War" is four MCs, one singer, and an iconic mixmaster/radio personality. Coming from The... Read more

Chris Rivers Joins Styles P & Vinnie Paz In A Visual That Would Make Full-A-Clips Proud (Video)

Long before the Loud Records deal, Big Pun was about the hard-nosed deliveries, the Horror imagery, and the grimy accounts of a life on the edge. Fifteen years to the day after Pun's tragic death, his son, Chris Rivers, carries on tradition. "War Room," with The LOX's Styles P and... Read more

Finding The GOAT (Round 2): Cam’ron vs. Jadakiss…Who You Got?

We have reached the second round in the ultimate battle for the title of the GOAT (Greatest of All-Time). We are asking you to help us rank who is the greatest MC to pick up a mic. We will take over 35 years of Hip-Hop into consideration, pairing special match-ups... Read more

Freeway & Sheek Louch Join Forces with Rap P on Another One (Audio)

Freeway and Sheek Louch form a State Property and D-Block union on Rap P's "Another One." The song, a Shroom production fueled by a 70's soul sample, is high energy and each MC matches the tempo with a spirited flow. Freezer and Sheek are no strangers to one another, having... Read more

The LOX’s We Are The Streets Turns 15 Years Old, Is It Their True Best Work?

In a weird twist of fate, the same Tuesday January 25, 2000 that Ghostface Killah released Supreme Clientele, The LOX released their own sophomore effort, We Are The Streets. Fifteen years ago, few could have thought that Wu-Block would ever be a thing, let alone that Ghost and Sheek Louch... Read more

Ghostface Killah & Sheek Louch Fire The First Shot, It’s Wu Block Biznez (Audio)

More than two years removed from Wu-Block, the Wu-Tang Clan x The LOX connection was far from a one-off. Ghostface Killah and Sheek Louch have announced that they are waving the flag together again, in a hybrid album under the Wu-Block guise. Nature Sounds Records has announced that Hidden Gems,... Read more

Rick Ross & Styles P Bum-Rushed The Mainstream With BMF. Reflect On The Hit (Video)

One of the heaviest-hitting records of the 2010s was undoubtedly Rick Ross' "Blowin' Money Fast." Often simply called "B.M.F.," the Styles P-assisted single was believed to be a wink and a nod towards the legendary criminal street organization. However, to many people in 2010 and 2011, it was simply an... Read more

The LOX Speak on How Battle Rap Has Changed Over the Years (Video)

Jadakiss, Styles P and Sheek Louch, three of Hip-Hop's finest lyrical sharp shooters, sat with Watch Loud to discuss the differences between battle rap now and when they were participants in the verbal sport. Sheek and Styles speak about the differences of battling when accompanied with a beat vs. the... Read more

The LOX Get More NYC Imagery To Match Their Return To Form (Video)

The LOX aren't lettin' up on the visuals from their new Trinity EP. "Now Listen" talks about how the trio stayed the course of keeping it real, rhyming it raw, and maintaining no matter the circumstances. Shot in black & white, this is the latest visual that pulls no punches... Read more

Havoc & Sheek Louch Never Stopped Representing That Sound & Their City (Audio)

Mobb Deep's discography spans back before Juvenile Hell, to the duo's days as Poetic Prophets, stopping through the Stretch & Bobbito Show. After nearly 25 years, look no further than this year's The Infamous Mobb Deep to see that even with some bumps in the road, the Mobb vehicle is... Read more

The LOX Take A Decaying New York Cityscape & Make It Vibrant (Video)

Just over a week from the audio, The LOX let loose the visual to "All We Know." The video for the song about the everlasting grit, toughness, and fly ways of a native New Yorker uses the city to prove the point. From a basketball court that appears as though... Read more

DJ Kay Slay Points To His Pioneering Status, With D-Block, Loaded Lux & Memphis Bleek (Mixtape)

After nearly 40 years in Hip-Hop, DJ Kay Slay refuses to slow down. The Drama King lays down The Original Man, with its Egyptian-themed cover, perhaps reminding Heads that he's been making tapes longer than some of his latest peers have been alive. With that sense of personal, professional, and... Read more

On The New LOX Intro, Sheek Says Benjamins Still Sons Anything Out Right Now (Audio)

The LOX are keeping the furnace fed with The Trinity: 2nd Season. The self-released EP may not be the proper third album Heads salivate for, but one cannot say that it lacks any less quality than that which we'd expect from Jadakiss, Styles P, and Sheek Louch. To set the... Read more

The LOX Are In Their Bag This Week. They Are Taking New York Like Jason Vorhees (Audio)

After Jadakiss and Styles P got their John Gotti suits on alongside Lil Wayne, The full LOX legion unleash their next full-trio cut. "All We Know" is in that wheelhouse, with the low and eerie beat (care of Buda Da Future and Grandz) hard drums, and a take-by-force in audio.... Read more

Lil Wayne Puts The LOX In The Spotlight With His Carter 5 Latest Listen (Audio)

In the first 10 years of the current millennium, few artists kept the streets fed like Lil Wayne and The LOX (t/k/a D-Block). All '90s alums, Weezy, Jadakiss, Styles P, and Sheek Louch all got better, sharper, and more ferocious on the microphone. Along the way, while they ran in... Read more

Ma$e, Puff Daddy, Jadakiss, Cam’ron & D-Dot Recall Making Feels So Good (Video)

Seventeen years ago this week, Bad Boy Records released "Feels So Good," the Kool & The Gang-sampling lead single from Harlem World which was a critical break for Ma$e. In Complex's "Magnum Opus" series, Ma$e is joined by the song's producers, Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs and Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie, in... Read more

Finding The GOAT: Styles P vs. Method Man…Who You Got?

As we continue the ultimate battle for the title of the GOAT (Greatest of All-Time), we are asking you to help us rank who is the greatest MC to pick up a mic. We will take over 35 years of Hip-Hop into consideration, pairing special match-ups in a sequence not... Read more

Finding The GOAT: Crooked I vs. Jadakiss…Who You Got?

As we continue the ultimate battle for the title of the GOAT (Greatest of All-Time), we are asking you to help us rank who is the greatest MC to pick up a mic. We will take over 35 years of Hip-Hop into consideration, pairing special match-ups in a sequence not... Read more

The Lox Have a Message for Wack MCs…NO SELFIES! (Video)

The Lox release the visuals for their Sugar Hill-tinged ode against wack MCs. The video for the track that's set to the break from "Rapper's Delight" is straight forward but drives home their emphatic message. Check out "No Selfies." Related: The Lox Take Dej Loaf’s Try Me and Make it... Read more

The Family Is In Tact, As Lil’ Kim & Jadakiss Are Sick With It (Audio)

Seventeen years after they were integral members of Puff Daddy & The Family, Lil' Kim and Jadakiss still have that bond on "Real Sick." Interestingly, The Notorious K.I.M is out to capture some of that Junior M.A.F.I.A-era mojo on tonight's latest mixtape, Hard Core. Kim is telling the Heads that... Read more

The Lox Go to Work on That Rapper’s Delight Track With a Message…No Selfies (Audio)

More than many artists from their era, The Lox have evolved to embrace and harness the power of the digital age. They are mainstays in the blogosphere and even pulled a 'Yonce by releasing a surprise EP, strictly digitally. One thing they do not co-sign is self-taken photos. Their latest,... Read more

It’s No Dream… Mobb Deep & The LOX Are Living Lush (Video)

Fifteen years after Mobb Deep and Nas brought out the Scarface-inspired cigarette racing boats and island grandeur in "It's Mine," Prodigy and Havoc invite Jadakiss, Styles P, and Sheek Louch to a Northeast mansion party in "All A Dream." The Notorious B.I.G.-sampling single from The Infamous Mobb Deep album features... Read more

The LOX Channel A Fellow Yonkers Legend Alongside Sevyn Streeter (Audio)

The LOX deliver a quintessential cut today (July 2). Jadakiss, Styles P, and Sheek Louch join buzzing songwriter/soloist Sevyn Streeter for "Remember." With Sevyn harping on Mary J. Blige's "You Remind Me" riffs, the trio recalls the wild late '90s, from late-night Tunnel runs, sidewalk hustling, and the unwavering fight... Read more

Styles P & Chris Rivers Have Trust Issues, But No Problem Busting Verses (Video)

One of the coldest cuts from Styles P's Phantom And The Ghost is "Never Trust." Assisted by Chris Rivers (who Styles has been cosigning for some time, long before his latest mixtape), this joint is all about not taking people at their word, and carefully navigating agendas. The bleek visuals... Read more

Those Summer Street Lights Come On In Jadakiss’ Addition To Apollo The Great’s Single Remix (Audio)

Late last year, Apollo The Great hit Heads off with his South American-inspired single, "Rio De Janeiro." However, the New Jersey MC dusts off his joint with a new addition right in time for Summer. Lyrical giant Jadakiss hops on the verse to make the illustration of treacherous moves happening... Read more

The LOX Reminisce on Working with The Notorious B.I.G. (Video)

Today, The LOX are giants in Hip-Hop. However, back in 1996, Jadakiss, Sheek Louch, and Styles P were still on the come-up. Two years removed from an uncredited (pre-Styles) feature on Main Source's sophomore LP, F**k What You Think, the Yonkers, New Yorkers were the new acts on Puff Daddy's... Read more

The 50 Cent & Jadakiss Unification Comes To Living Color With An Irregular Heartbeat (Video)

Nobody can say they're surprised that 50 Cent followed the audio release of "Irregular Heartbeat" with a video in less than 24 hours. However, after Styles P missed out on the "Chase The Paper" visual, Heads will be happy to see that Jadakiss appeared in the video after a decade... Read more

Joell Ortiz, Sheek Louch & Sauce Money Rep New York Overtop James Brown For DJ Kay Slay (Audio)

DJ Kay Slay aligns a strong trio to rep their hometown. The Drama King gathers Sheek Louch, Joell Ortiz and Sauce Money, making a rare appearance, on NYC Shine. Why do you think Kay Slay is so passionate about these ongoing NYC Hip-Hop songs? Related: Joell Ortiz Has Got BARS…But... Read more

Creep To Styles P’s Phantom And The Ghost (Album Stream)

Today (April 29), Styles P releases his eighth solo album, Phantom And The Ghost. The Yonkers, New York veteran lyricist and former Interscope Records star (in addition to his LOX deal with Bad Boy) is also making history, partnering with NMC (New Music Cartel) for the digital LP. Twelve years... Read more

Jadakiss, Sheek Louch & Snyp Life Give Closed Casket A Visual (Video)

Released in early February, Heads really embraced "Funeral Music" by D-Block's Jadakiss, Sheek Louch and Snyp Life. From DJ OP's latest mixtape, I Refuse To Lose, this now-video appears to be the latest knocker in a series of hot street records from The Lox's extended infantry. Related: Jadakiss & Sheek... Read more

50 Cent, Styles P & Prodigy Bring Back Those Gritty New York Rap Videos, With A Sideshow (Video)

50 Cent's content swarm continues. "Chase The Paper" finds G-Unit and D-Block seemingly at peace, with Styles P's Animal Ambitions contributions. Although S.P. is not in the video, Fif shows his vision alongside Prodigy and Kidd Kidd. Three icons of late '90s, early 2000s New York Hip-Hop come together talking... Read more

If You Don’t Have Fancy Footwork, Freeway & Girl Talk Will Leave You With Broken Ankles (EP Mixtape)

After two singles, one being a video, Freeway & Girl Talk released Broken Ankles today. The free EP (or freEP) features Jadakiss, Waka Flocka Flame, and others. The Pittsburgh native DJ and the Philly-based MC came together with some '80s kick and snare-minded production to set their working relationship off... Read more

Freeway & Girl Talk Invite Jadakiss On Board For Hardcore, I Can Hear Sweat (Audio)

Tomorrow, Freeway & Girl Talk will release Broken Ankles, the free-EP. The Philly-Pittsburgh connect showed off their raucous video for the Waka Flocka Flame-assisted "Show You How" last week, before turning to "I Can Hear Sweat" this week. This track features the same strong energy, and attitude as the first,... Read more

The LOX Rep New York City With Nightlife Style (Video)

The LOX takeover may be upon us. Just hours after Styles P and Jadakiss unleashed their "Sour" ode to a burnable of choice, the crew (complete with Sheek Louch) drops the video for "New York City." Black & white, with some color splashed in, the party is real, and the... Read more

With A LOX Album Brewing, Mister Cee Honors Styles, Jadakiss & Sheek With A Best Of Mix (Audio)

From his ties to Bad Boy Records as well as HOT 97, Mister Cee had a bird's eye view of The LOX's rise to prominence throughout the late '90s. The trio of Jadakiss, Sheek Louch, and Styles P have only released two studio full-lengths, but like their Diplomats homies, rumors... Read more