The LOX are an American hip hop group composed of Jadakiss, Sheek Louch and Styles P. They were originally signed to Sean Combs' Bad Boy Records before joining Ruff Ryders Entertainment, and are now a part of their own label, D-Block Records.

[edit] Early career

Jason "Jadakiss" Phillips, David Styles, and Sean "Sheek Louch" Jacobs, began their journey as artists back in their hometown of Yonkers, New York. As high school students they started a group called "The Bomb Squad" and began doing shows and putting out their own demos. While the local rap scene was being dominated by talented artist like Raw Rome, Lord Devon and a young DMX, the squad began to gain attention because of their fierce lyrical style and their ability to present stirring tales of urban life with pin point accuracy. The group eventually changed their name to "The Warlocks" and continued developing a devoted fan base by being omnipresent on underground mix tapes. One of their faithful admirers was the Queen of Hip hop soul and fellow Yonkers native Mary J. Blige. Mary saw something special in the group and passed their tape on to Bad Boy CEO Sean "Puffy" Combs who signed them to a deal. They would later change their name to "The L.O.X." which stands for "Living off Xperience".

[edit] Mainstream career

The L.O.X gained national exposure in 1996 with an onside collaboration on the Life After Death album with the song "Last Day". Shortly after gaining even more exposure with their powerful multi-platinum tribute to The Notorious B.I.G. , "We'll Always love Big Poppa". The song which celebrated the life of the slain superstar, captured Biggie's essence and thrust The LOX into the media spotlight as a group to watch out for. The trio later appeared on a multitude of hits, including Puffy's Its All About The Benjamins, which the LOX wrote, Mase's "24 Hours to Live", and Mariah Carey's "Honey". The group's debut album Money, Power & Respect went platinum and helped establish the LOX as an important voice in Hip-Hop music.

In the summer of 1999, the celebrated Yonkers Rap trio found themselves in a fight for freedom. Disappointed with the direction of their career on Bad Boy, the group wanted to be released from their contract in order to join the newly formed Ruff Ryders/ Interscope label. The Ruff Ryders had always served as the Lox's managers and the group felt like the new label could better represent the hard-core sensibilities which they expressed in their rhymes. Bad Boy was known for its radio friendly dance hits and high priced videos, while the LOX were quickly establishing themselves as Hardcore rap artists. The identities clashed, the LOX just didn't feel comfortable in the shiny suits. "We just needed to be with a rougher label" says Sheek Louch. "A harder label that fit our image."

The LOX tried all of the legal maneuvering available to be released from their contract with Bad Boy. However, when the lawyers and conference calls didn't work, the group did what they do best. They took their story to the streets. At a New York rap concert, the defiant group sported "Let the Lox Go" T-shirts and sparked a grass roots movement to "Free the Lox." Their goal was to return Hip-Hop back to its essence as an important form of urban expression. The streets spoke up loud and clear and the Lox were finally released to a heroes welcome. "We really changed the game by doing that," says Styles concerning the contractual drama. "It might take years from now, but other people are gonna do it. We made it so they don't have to be scared to speak up." The L.O.X. have a new album set for the forth guarter of 2009 or the beginning of 2010. The album is officially called New L.O.X. Order.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Studio albums

[edit] Singles