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In 1991, whilst still 16, Jadakiss had made a name for himself as a freestyle rapper, and competed in the Floridian freestyle battle the “Jack the Rapper Competition”. It wasn’t long before the rapper was making connections and soon became affiliated with the Ruff Ryders management company. Alongside friends Sheek Louch and Styles P. Jadakiss formed the rap group The Warlocks and signed with Sean Combs' Bad Boy Entertainment. At the suggestion of the label the group changed their name to The LOX, and made their debut recording on The Main Source’s LP “Fuck What You Think” on the track “Set it Off”. During this time Jadakiss developed a close relationship with The Notorious B.I.G., and The LOX’s first hit came as the B-side to Puff Daddy’s “I’ll Be Missing You” entitled “We’ll Always Love Big Poppa” in 1997.
A year later The LOX released their debut full-length “Money, Power & Respect”, which earned the group positive reviews and platinum certification. Despite the album’s success The LOX parted ways with Bad Boy Entertainment, deciding to sign with Ruff Ryders Entertainment instead. Jadakiss’ solo debut album “Kiss Tha Game Goodbye” was released in August 2001 featuring guest contributions from The Alchemist, DMX, Eve, Snoop Dogg and Swizz Beatz. Despite these high-profile artists however the album was a commercial flop, and Jadakiss has since admitted the album was completed out of a contract obligation to Bad Boy Entertainment.
The rapper’s 2004 sophomore album “Kiss of Death” however received much more favourable reviews, aided by the lead single “Why?” featuring Anthony Hamilton. In 2007 Jadakiss signed with Roc-A-Fella Records in a move that Jay-Z had been orchestrating for a few years. The rapper’s debut release on the label was 2009's “The Last Kiss” led by the single “By My Side” featuring Ne-Yo. Subsequent singles included “Can’t Stop Me”, “Death Wish” featuring Lil Wayne, and “Who’s Real”. In 2012 Jadakiss released the mixtape “Consignment” and in 2013 the single “Big Boy Dialogue” featuring vocals from The-Dream.
Back in 2002, himself in the midst of a career comeback that many hadn’t considered possible, Eminem paid tribute to the up-and-coming Jadakiss - real name Jason Phillips - on the basis that he was one of the finest talents in the game. This was something, at the time, that wouldn’t have been agreed upon by the critics; Jada’s first record in his own right, Kiss tha Game Goodbye, had been largely dismissed as undercooked and repetitive by the press, despite an impressive array of guest stars and producers. However, in 2004, Jada made good on both his own promise and Eminem’s endorsement by releasing his sophomore LP, Kiss of Death, which piqued the public conscience with the politically-aware ‘Why’ - one of the year’s biggest hits. The album would eventually go platinum. After 2009’s The Last Kiss confirmed Jadakiss as a hip hop heavyweight, he toured extensively, delivering high-octane sets across the U.S. to packed clubs, that both saw him run through his hits and freestyle extensively, with members of the audience frequently encouraged to engage with him on the latter front. He hasn’t made it over the UK for a while, but with album number four set for later this year, there’s every chance we’ll see Jadakiss sooner than later.