The Lox found their niche at the turn of the millennium with a brash style of street rap all their own: You felt every “Fuck you” in your chest and knew they meant it. The Yonkers trio (Styles P, the live wire; Sheek Louch, a hulking ball of charisma; Jadakiss, a gravel-voiced assassin with a signature laugh and running list of stellar verses on his resume) started out on Bad Boy Records, where they released their debut album, Money, Power & Respect, in 1998. Although it flashed their potential and featured Lil’ Kim and fellow Yonkers native DMX on the title track, it tried too hard to straddle the line between Bad Boy’s flamboyance and the Lox’s rugged aesthetic. After growing unhappy with a contract they deemed unfair, the Lox launched an infamous campaign to free themselves from Bad Boy, triggering a feud with Diddy, which they’ve since smoothed over. They flourished instantly with the Yonkers-rooted Ruff Ryders: “Wild Out” was the perfect breakout single from 2000’s We Are the Streets—an aggressive reset supercharged by their hunger and newfound liberation. They’ve held their own next to the Notorious B.I.G. and left their marks in the presence of DMX’s outsized personality. And if you’re a hip-hop fan, there’s a strong chance you’ve heard and seen them often since the beginning of August.
After thoroughly upstaging the Diplomats during a lauded Verzuz event at Madison Square Garden, the Lox made the final cut of Kanye West’s maximalist Donda, performed at the return of Hot 97’s annual Summer Jam concert, and received the keys to their hometown. Now, on a warm mid-September afternoon, Styles and Sheek are reflecting on their careers from the roof of Roc Nation’s posh Chelsea headquarters. Jadakiss is running late, but the opinionated Styles and energetic Sheek are animated enough to make up for his absence.
The breakneck speed of pop culture creates prisoners of the moment, conditioning people to believe things are irrelevant if they aren’t directly in front of their faces at every turn. But the LOX are always working. In addition to touring, they still make music: Their fourth album, Living Off Xperience, was released last August. “A lot of people say we’re getting our flowers now, and it’s a beautiful thing to be recognized,” says Jadakiss, who arrives amid a flurry of daps. “I’m just thankful to be healthy and still active, at this caliber, at this point in our careers.”
The Lox’s matchup with the Diplomats, from which they emerged as clear victors, was marked by hyper-competitive antagonism. “Some people told me they’ve watched it like five times, but I haven’t watched it yet,” Sheek says with an ear-to-ear grin. Everything that made their flawless three-man weave onslaught so perfect that night—better preparation, a better understanding of their catalog, better chemistry—was business-as-usual to them. Perhaps the Lox were underestimated by some hip-hop fans ahead of the faceoff because their credentials have been forgotten, or people were never aware in the first place.
With Verzuz expanding from pandemic comfort vehicle to big budget production with sponsorships galore, a large audience was given the opportunity to see what anyone familiar with 2 Jews & 2 Black Dudes Review the Movies, the Lox’s podcast with sketch comedians ItstheReal, knows well: they’re abundant in personality. The same energy that makes our conversation punchy makes their idiosyncrasies so randomly entertaining.
“Do y’all have Alkaline water?” Styles asks. “I know I sound bougie.” At one point, Sheek tries to show everyone a spotted lanternfly’s red hind wings (albeit using his custom Bapestas) without killing it, despite the New York State Department of Agriculture’s order to do so. “That’s ill, it’s like a peacock fly!” exclaims Jadakiss, who made a third Verzuz appearance last week, joining Ja Rule and Fat Joe to perform “New York” at the Garden once again. At another point, he and Sheek take over the interview while Styles dines on the plant-based UberEats meal he’s been waiting a good portion of the afternoon for.
The Lox are grateful for the love they’re receiving, but they’re more excited to keep pushing forward—together. Their bond has been consistently strong, from Money, Power & Respect’s “Let’s Start Love Over” to Living Off Xperience’s “Loyalty and Love.” And it’s evident when they’re together. In a lengthy and lively conversation, the Lox spoke to GQ about their tactical approach to Verzuz, longevity, how they ended up on Donda, and much more.
What’s the past month been like for you?
Styles P: It’s been a blur, but I don’t think I took it like everybody else did. We always work around the clock, but I definitely didn’t expect the Verzuz to have the magnitude it’s had; I can’t front. I did think people would enjoy the show, but I didn’t think it would be that impactful to them. But that’s hip-hop: it’s the fast life.
Sheek Louch: The same youngins who walk past me in the gym were looking at me and pointing the next day because they saw it. We have a certain demographic, but everybody was just on it after that.
Styles: The influx of young fans is the best part of it all—and not even just fans of ours, but people who actually want to start learning their lyrics and getting real shows together. Little dudes coming up like, “Yo, I want to make sure my shit is tight.” So seeing that shift has been way more impactful than how wild the month has been for us, personally.
It takes work to become a good performer. You’ve accomplished that, so tell me about the art of performance.
Sheek: It’s everything, but we grew up in a different era. I watched Method Man and Redman literally climb all over the place to perform.
Styles: Let us say this before we continue: Busta Rhymes is hip-hop’s best performer. Hands down, him and Spliff Star. So being on tour with Busta, Diddy, and God bless our brother DMX—just being around people who love their craft. If you bust your ass in that studio and people love what you do, then you can’t wait to get in front of that crowd and do it. It’s the exchange of energy.
You also had the benefit of learning from legends by being on the road with the likes of Notorious B.I.G. and DMX.
Sheek: At the same time, back then we had How Can I Be Down?, Jack the Rapper, and these other conventions where you had to go showcase your talent. I remember watching Mobb Deep when they weren’t even famous yet. Those events were important.
Styles: It’s a 50-50 split. These kids have the opportunity to be like, “There’s an event coming up, so let me go book a day of rehearsal time. Let me go book two days of rehearsal time, or three if I need it.” But a lot of them don’t know they should do that because their competition is doing the exact same thing they are. I was watching Rolling Loud and I liked Megan Thee Stallion’s performance the most because I heard her the most. She was [rapping] over the track too, but I still heard her. There were times when she was dancing and singing at the same time because she was trying to perform and you could see that. She put on a fuckin’ show.
Why do you think your Verzuz received the response that it has?
Sheek: There were so many components to it, from the lead up, to Styles and Jim going at it all crazy—which was mad entertaining because you didn’t know if one of them was going to snap. Even me and Kiss standing there not saying anything—”What’s on their minds? Where are they at with it?”—and both groups are New York, 100 percent.
Styles: I believe it was the energy, where both groups come from, what we represent, and when we came into the game. We’re from the same era, but we represent two different things. It was a battle for the city and nobody’s been outside for an event. Then it’s at Madison Square Garden, for all the chips. To say something is for the title of New York, and then have athletes and other artists chime in on it. Young people started doing their homework and looking things up.
Sheek: ESPN was even on it.
Styles: So with New York being the Mecca of hip-hop and people not having a Mecca-like event here in a while, I think it was needed. And that’s what I hear all day, too. I spoke to J Stone, who was with Nipsey Hussle and them, and he was like: “Man, that was great for the culture.” So if they felt like that on the West Coast, and people like Bun B are calling from the South, then that means, culturally, it was great. Rap is verbal, but it’s still a sport.
Sheek: Ours was competitive. It wasn’t a big party, or “Let’s do these songs together”—and no disrespect to anyone else—but we were battling. A lot of Verzuz have been sexy or super unified, but with ours, you didn’t know where it was going. It was like those 24/7 joints Floyd Mayweather and them did before the fights.
Styles: You knew there was no unity until after it was over [laughs].
And that’s part of hip-hop. It’s not just believing you’re the best, but saying it, then drawing a line in the sand and proving it. What’s funny is that some people don’t understand that, or know that you and the Diplomats have a certain relationship, so they might have thought the Verzuz was getting legitimately adversarial at certain points. Seeing as how there’s a degree of showmanship to this, how do you determine where the line is and walk right up to it without crossing it?
Styles: You gotta play with the edge a little bit. You know you can go there with someone you have a mutual respect for, who you don’t want to harm, and you have a friendship or degree of brotherhood with. Now, if it’s somebody you don’t have that with, I think you have to be very comfortable with knowing that you can put your toe on the line, and they can do the same, but if they cross it, then it’s on and poppin’. But we’ve known each other for 20-something years.
Sheek: You know where the edge is crazy to me, P? That battle rap shit. We battled that day during the Verzuz, but these niggas get this close to each other [gets face-to-face with Styles] and go: “And your mother can do this and that” and I’m like, “Oh God, where does this shit end at?!”
People can get swept up when artists randomly go viral or suddenly get popular again for whatever reason. For example, I saw that you and the Diplomats’ streams increased by over 200 percent, meaning you all got an extra $3 each. But I think after the Verzuz, people who either haven’t heard some of your skits or maybe forgot about them got to see that the LOX have personalities, too.
Styles: All we did was stick to our gameplan, which we’ve done the whole time. And when you do that for long enough, sometimes the cameras pan back around at the right time. I had to explain this to somebody the other day: I don’t know if y’all understand, we were on Bad Boy. With Biggie and Puff. In the ‘90s. We were on the Chicago Bulls of rap. That’s shit people dream about and strive for, and it happened for us from being consistent and being who we are. But I think what really keeps us dope is fellow hip-hop people. Besides the fans, it’s people in each age demographic and from each region who fuck with us because we’re craftsmen. That keeps us alive, so you’re always hearing us.
Sheek: They love that brotherhood too, P. You could see that our shit wasn’t fake up there—at all. Like, if he’s taking a break, then I’m gonna talk to the crowd.
Last year, you told Complex that you’d do a Verzuz against anybody, but they’d have to actually like each other to be able to compete with you.
Sheek: Yeah, otherwise you’re just slapping people together. I keep trying to tell people that there’s a difference between a crew and a group. So if you’re expecting what you saw from us from other people who are just a crew, it ain’t gonna work.
I’m generally indifferent about who “wins” a Verzuz because everyone wins, in a sense. In addition to whatever fees are negotiated, the artists get a bump in streams, the fans get to enjoy the spectacle, and Timbaland and Swizz get the big checks. But with yours, it was very clear who put forth the better performance. What was your strategy?
Styles: Our strategy was craftsmanship and showmanship. We know how almost everyone in the industry performs and we know how we perform.
Sheek: Man, people thought certain parts were scripted and they weren’t. When I saw Styles grabbing on Cam and all that, I was like, “Hold on, let me get my brother off of him and then we’ll see what’s up.” Even when Kiss got loose with the freestyles, P and I were like, “Man, let him go. Let that motherfucker rock.” You don’t take somebody out of the game when they’re catching every pass, let him get in the endzone. That’s what I think some other groups struggle with, but we’re with it.
In addition to striking, you counterpunched.
Sheek: Can we talk about Technician, our DJ, and how he was right there with the counterpunching? He was ready in case they said something crazy, like they did with the chick records. They knew about us, but didn’t study us. Sun Tzu, The Art of War—they did not study their opponent. To just be yelling out stuff like that, it’s clear they didn’t.
Apparently you had Diddy as a consigliere, advising you on how to attack beforehand. Did you study the tape on the Diplomats?
Styles: Nah, we had a show with them a few weeks before, so we didn’t have to watch tape. We just watched their show. I also did a little internet research, which was me going out on a limb and doing something that wasn’t what the crowd would expect. I was really thinking about the newer generation. They didn’t really calculate the wars and battles we’ve been in. We’re more battle-tested than [the Diplomats] are because we’ve been through more shit.
And then I feel like the younger generation pays more attention to who they hear the most or what they think is the funniest, so I already knew, culture-wise, that they had more young people riding with them going into it. They also talk a certain amount on the internet, and I knew Sheek and Kiss weren’t gonna say anything—and usually I wouldn’t say anything, I’m probably the last one to be joking around—but I said fuck it. I watched Nicky Jam and saw how the internet saved his career. I watched Supervillain and saw how Tekashi 6ix9ine manipulated things to his favor. Then I watched a couple of other things that didn’t have anything to do with rap, but kind of explained how algorithms and the internet can change people’s views.
After a certain point, were you waiting for them to say you didn’t have songs women enjoy?
Styles: We knew they were gonna say that by implementing so much mixtape shit. They were bound to say that, because you don’t think of us that way. You don’t think about [the Lox songs with] J. Lo, Mariah Carey, and Mary J. Blige, but then you’re like, “Oh shit!” when they come on. The ladies in there are gonna know, as are the dudes who were around. So again, strategy—but you have to understand that this wasn’t our first dance.
How do you stay sharp as performers?
Sheek: Staying healthy and staying in shape. That means everything, believe it or not.
Styles: Juices for Life, Farmacy for Life, getting up and running three miles. I think it’s our job to kind of understand and balance out what real ghetto hip-hop is, what real Golden Era hip-hop is, what real life is, and what being real family men and businessmen looks like. And that’s trying to do your best and survive. I’m not a doctor and I don’t claim to be a health guru. I might tell you about meat and chicken, but I’m not gonna hound you. I am gonna be vociferous about this: I believe it’s in the balance. Because sometimes, as an adult, you get set in your ways. I smoke. I like to drink, occasionally. I don’t sleep enough, but I balance it out, and I think when you implement that in your life, you definitely feel it.
Sheek: And you see it on stage. Niggas were like, “How do they know all of their lyrics? Look at their breath control. How do they know how to stop and do this and that?” It’s because of health.
[At long last, the champ is here: a focused Jadakiss arrives and jumps right into the interview.]
Generally speaking, what’s more important: Being “the best” at something or being able to convince the majority that you are? To me, the latter is an invaluable skill, as harmful as it can potentially be.
Jadakiss: We came from where people don’t look like they have money anyway. We came up in an era where the dudes who had all of the money looked regular, the same way you see billionaires in some run down shoes or old jeans. You see how Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and those dudes dress. Even in our era, the dudes with the money weren’t flashy. The same rules apply.
Sheek: That loud shit can backfire.
You held back at certain points, too. Styles and Jada, you could have performed your verses on “Wild Out.” You didn’t do “Recognize.” People would’ve ripped their TVs out of the wall if Styles did “Holiday.”
Styles: We had a couple of things in the tuck in case it got ugly—a couple of new things, too—but we didn’t have to go there.
Sheek: It goes back to what I was saying before: He didn’t drop one pass. Coach, if you take him out of the game in that situation, you need to be fired. Why do that when we’re up?
Do each of you have specific roles within the group?
Styles: We can all play one through five, any given day. And whoever’s shining, we let them keep on shining.
It feels like aging in rap is viewed differently now. A lot of legends are still active well into their 40s, and past 50 in some instances, and nobody is looking at you like, “Why are you still doing this at your age?”
Styles: I feel like we made it dope. Fuck that, we made it dope! I’m taking credit for that, especially after Verzuz. And like Louch always says: They don’t do that shit with rock. They don’t do it with R&B. They don’t do it with jazz.
You have fans who are your age and you have fans who are younger than you, all of whom are going to buy tickets. So you can keep making money, as long as you continue to be good at what you do and you’re smart about how you position yourself. When did you decide it was time for you to branch out into other endeavors like Juices for Life, Farmacy for Life, and your studio?
Sheek: One reason why we can go on forever is our catalog. We could do residencies if we wanted to. You only named a couple of songs we could’ve done during the Verzuz, but our shit is even crazier. But on the business tip, you gotta evolve.
Jadakiss: You have to. You can’t keep doing the same things and expecting the same results. So as you get older, you should get wiser. You learn to invest. You learn what to invest in. Then you start having kids and life changes. Your fans grow as you grow, it’s best you grow together.
Michael K. Williams, who you knew and worked with, passed away earlier this month. You did the DMX tribute with him at the BET Awards this year, and Sheek, he was in your “Good Love” video. How long had you known him?
Sheek: Aw man, it’s so wack. I knew him from back when my brothers L and Butch used to run around with him back in the day. Dude, he killed everything he was in—and I’ve seen him do it with barely any lines.
Styles: We got to meet him back when he was still on The Wire. And on top of that, just the human being that he was. I’ve done meetings with police, group home kids, and communities building with each other off things he set up. Just him being there and working. Through him, I also got to experience this historic part of Brooklyn where the slaves first came through and had their own homes, and the homes are still there. We were just looking at the stoves and chairs—and it’s all antiquated shit, but I was still like, “Damn, this is where our people were sleeping.” Then you could see where the houses started becoming more modern through time. It was just crazy how much he cared about helping people, especially the youth. He was a beautiful soul.
Kiss, you did a Verzuz last year, so you already got to experience what happens when people who maybe haven’t thought about you in a while get a glimpse of your personality.
Jadakiss: If an artist or producer gets to do a Verzuz, that’s usually what they get from it—besides the audience getting stories they’ve never heard and music they haven’t heard in a long time. They’re gonna see a side of you they’re never able to see, especially when they were doing it in people’s cribs because they were so in their zone that they just did what you do when you’re relaxed in your crib. But now, on any platform, you’re able to give some of you what, say, I wouldn’t normally give as Jadakiss the rapper. You get to show people the shit they don’t usually see.
Here’s something I wanted to get some clarity on, because I wasn’t aware of it. Last month, I read that Andre Harrell, rest in peace, negotiated your release from Bad Boy with Dee from Ruff Ryders. Basically, those two would watch the NBA playoffs every week while sorting that out. I also read that even though the situation between you and Diddy was very tense at times, he was alright with the “Let the Lox Go” campaign as long as you made it a street movement. That’s not at all how I understood the situation. Is that how it went down?
Sheek: I don’t remember that.
Styles: Yeah, that ain’t how it happened. However you thought it went down is exactly how it happened. Puff didn’t buy into it, he absolutely hated that shit.
Jadakiss: Puff had nothing to do with it. And Andre Harrell, rest in peace, he was our man, but he was like his older brother. But he did respect what we were doing. We rolled the dice and used the streets. That was all real life.
Kiss, I also saw the picture of you, Beanie Sigel, and Freeway a few weeks ago. Your beef with Beans, which was the other hip-hop feud of 2001, really could’ve gotten out of hand. Sheek, you told The Breakfast Club you used to go to Mitchell & Ness in Philly with your gun. Is that a situation where you realized things had already gone too far and maturity made you not want to take it beyond that?
Jadakiss: When you’re young, you’re gonna do dumb shit. That’s just how it goes. It’s the same with the young brothers now who get jammed up: it’s part of being young. Hopefully, you can walk away with the jewel or lesson that comes from those situations. If you’re able to touch the ground again, you have to find that balance. If it’s a situation you can get out of and get back to your loved ones, and your business or whatever you like to do, then you have to figure out how to do that. You’re supposed to grow as you get older.
Griselda, who you’ve worked with, is an obvious parallel, but do you see anyone in hip-hop currently bringing something similar to what you bring to the table?
Sheek: You mentioned Griselda, and sound-wise, we love those guys. But I think there are a few people out there.
Jadakiss: There are some spitters out there, and hopefully, after that Verzuz, things get back to people actually wanting to hear that as opposed to a bunch of other music. And I’m not saying get everything else out of here, but get some real lyrical shit intertwined with it. Rap starts from rhymes and beats. Lyrics and production. So let’s not stray too far away from that, because you saw at the Verzuz how people loved it. That’s where it started, so let’s evolve, get money, have big chains, and Rolls Royces, but let’s also be able to rap.
Is there anyone in particular you have your eyes on?
Styles: To be honest with you, I’m horrible with that. I don’t go home and search for anything, so it’s whatever bumps into me. When I go home, I’m grilling and binge-watching. But I think Tyler, the Creator’s new album is fuckin’ bananas.
Sheek: There are a lot of dope women in rap right now. Chika, Lady London—man, she can fuckin’ spit.
How did you end up recording for Donda the same week as the Verzuz?
Jadakiss: Justin LaBoy hit my son up that same night. I thought my son was trippin’, just getting extra DMs like all of us were immediately afterwards. But the next day, people from Ye’s camp called us and asked if we could come to Atlanta—like, right now—to get on Donda. We were like, “Yeah, if you send a jet today, we’ll come.” He sent it later that night, we went straight to the Falcons arena, they played us a few songs, set us up in some side room which he turned into a makeshift studio, and we knocked it out. Then we went to the hotel, showered, ate breakfast, relaxed a little, went back to the arena, watched the show, then went home.
In 1998, you explained to MTV that you’ve been friends since you were younger and you’re always going to be friends. You can still feel the strength of your friendship in everything you do. How would you explain your chemistry as a group?
Sheek: You shouldn’t have to work on it. We keep the respect for each other and the love, we stay in contact with each other outside of music. Like, “What’s up, you seen this show? You seen this movie?” That kind of shit. It shouldn’t just be: “Which club we at tonight?” Like earlier, P said he was going to the roof and I was like, “Well I’m coming with you to smoke, n-gga.” We’ll hear what we’re working on individually and that’s inspiring as well. I’ll come into the next room where Styles or Jada are, hear something, and be like, “Oh shit, that’s crazy.”
Styles: I think you have to be who you say you are as a human being. You have to go beyond money and work. If you can do that, everything else will fall into place.
Jadakiss: It’s natural. We hang around each other, we do the shows together. We fuck with each other and love each other. Of course, our music is influenced by our relationship, but it also has nothing to do with music.
Looking back on your careers, from Bad Boy to where you are today, what’s been the most valuable lesson you’ve learned?
Sheek: I won’t even say money or anything like that. I’d say the unity and the brotherhood, because that’s lasted longer than everything. It goes back to [Styles] being hot or [Jadakiss] being hot, it just keeps everything afloat. You see other people—no one in particular—where it just falls apart and then you do, too. I know you can stand up and say, “I’m straight, I have this amount of money,” but it works better when it’s a collective. One hundred percent. Our bond is crazy and some of these other guys don’t have that at all. And then people have different crews, you have to have some harmony among the crews, too. Not that you all have to playing in the sandbox, but that can fuck things up if people don’t get along.