The Lox
We Are The
Streets
Ruff
Ryders/Interscope
While it is a
multi-million dollar,
worldwide
phenomena, one
place ultimately
dictates hip-hop, and
that's the places where hip-hop was born and bred:
the streets, the neighborhoods where baby mamas,
corner stores, weed spots and the underdog prevail.
In the rap world, street credibility is everything.
During hip-hop's meteoric rise in the mid-nineties, an
underground trio of rappers called The Warlocks
generated a strong buzz by popping up on every mix
tape this side of Clue, There was no doubt in any
one's mind that these mix tape kings were poised to
be the next street kings of rap; at least Sean "Puffy"
Combs," who lured the Warlocks to his red-hot Bad
Boy Records and changed their name to the Lox,
thought so. However, there was to be no fairytale
ending to this union. Their debut album Money,
Power, Respect presented a watered-down LOX, and,
upon receiving a poor reception from the streets, the
LOX left Puffy after a much-publicized Free the Lox
campaign.
Now Jadakiss, Styles and Sheek have inked a deal
with their family, Ruff Ryders; and they're hell-bent on
reclaiming the streets with their sophomore album
We Are The Streets. The first song ("F*** You")
makes it clear that the LOX are on a mission to
silence all naysayers. With Ruff Ryders beatmaker
Swizz Beats' dense bass lines and heavy sound, We
Are The Streets is definitely not for the
hardcore-impaired. Guest production includes
Timbaland's bouncy track "Ryde Or Die, B*tch," and
DJ Premier's stellar "Recognize."
While Styles and Sheek are no slouches lyrically, it
is Jadakiss' gravelly voice that steals the show with
lines like, "Y'all cant do nothing to me / You think
that you Scarface / but you didn't see the end of the
movie." One of the best cuts on the album, "Blood
Pressure," is sure to raise the eyebrow of a certain
ice-clad Brooklyn rapper, as Kiss asserts himself as
the best rapper since B.I.G. A Jadakiss solo album
seems inevitable.
Over a crazily hypnotic title cut by Swizz, the Lox
bring the wrath to their former Bad Boy employer.
They bring the wrath a lot on this album. In fact, one
draw back is that, after a while, that grimy, "keepin' it
real" rage they exude on every song gets a little
tiring. The LOX have yet to balance the jiggy persona
they hated so much with the thugged-out attitudes
that fit them so well, but We Are the Streets is a
solid step in the right direction. With tight beats and
amazing lyrical growth, for the LOX, the mission has
been accomplished.
courtosey of "blaze.com"
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