Hip-Hop is over 50 and for 30 of those years Jason "Jadakiss" Phillips, David "Styles P" Styles, and Sean "Sheek Louch" Jacobs have been the voice of the streets knows as The LOX. Hailing from Yonkers, NY, the trio has solidified themselves as Rap music’s most thorough and loyal group.
On July 12th, 2024 the trio opened the tour to a sold out crowd at The Underground in Charlotte, NC. Now Charlotte has a special place in New York’s lore. If there were ever an unofficial 6th borough, Charlotte would have a strong contention to the title due to the amount of transplants who now call it home. After a delay due to travel, The LOX emerged from backstage to greet the dynamic energy of the crowd. Again, the crowd was all New York. These were fans who had been there since the Bad Boy days. Some before from their early [YO] days as “The Warlocks”.
Immediately, the trio went into the classic “F—k You”, the first song on what some will argue is their first true album “We Are The Streets”—IYKYK. Sheek and DJ Technician went to work hyping the crowd as Jadakiss appeared sporting a cane from an undisclosed injury with Styles delivering the hook. Jada didn’t let his injury deter as he quickly ditched the cane and went into the lead verse. You have to admire the loyalty to fans and showmanship of a group 30 years into the game.
The setlist was definitely crafted to please the ride or die fans in attendance. From posse cut classics like “Blackout” on the late-great DMX’s “Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood”, “All About the Benjamins” on then called Puff Daddy’s “No Way Out”, “Reservoir Dogs” from Jay-Z’s “Vol. 2...” and “Banned From TV” from N.O.R.E’s self titled debut to records from each members solo outings like “Get High” from Styles P’s “A Gangster and A Gentlemen”, “By Your Side” from Jadakiss’s “Kiss of Death”, and “Good Love” from Sheek’s “Silverback Gorilla”. There were tributes to Biggie Smalls, DMX, and the recently deceased Biz Markie, accompanied by freestyles, notably the “Who Shot Ya” cover performed by Jadakiss on their triumphant Verzuz win in 2021.
The show closed with some uplifting words and thanks from the group, notably Styles, followed by the iconic air horn filled intro to We Gonna Make It. It wouldn’t be a L-O-X show without this Alchemist-produced classic and the fans proved that by reciting the last verse all acapella along with Kiss.
