The Lox have managed to survive so many iterations of Hip-Hop, at this point blessed is the only want to describe their careers. However, just getting by is not the Hip-Hop way. The great poet Maya Angelou famously said, “My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor and some style.” At the Rock The Bells festival, the group showed off their massive championship rings to an audience of over 13,000 pure fans of the culture.
Sheek Louch, Styles P and Jadakiss are now their own entity, a force to be reckoned with on many fronts. On this particular day, the whole crew is supporting Style’s Juices For Life, a business and health effort that has the rapper helping underserved communities in New York city urban areas. Jada is serving up drinks, nearly losing his icy “LOX” ring. He even joked about it until it turned up.
That’s the Yonkers-bred group though. Part blue-collar everymen, part platinum kings but all aspirational: living testaments to the possibilities that lie within perseverance, prayer and passion. The trio love the culture and it shows. AHH’s Chuck “Jigsaw” Creekmur and DJ Boy Wonda of WonWorld Studios caught up and talked about everything from LL Cool J’s impact to Hip-Hop turning 50 to their iconic Verzuz a year later to Hip-Hop staying in shape. Even DJ Technician is present to tell – in his own humble way – his contributions to the group.
AllHipHop: AllHipHop in the building, we got The Lox. Yo, first of all, I got to talk to y’all about the Verzuz. One year later and it was an international celebration.
Sheek: It was?
AllHipHop: It was, it was. And I stress no disrespect to Dipset or none of that, but it was a celebration of y’all, and y’all’s comradery and all y’all did. Do y’all have any thoughts on it a year later?
Sheek Touch: I think it went fast. I didn’t even know it was a year later. That’s wild. So that’s why you catch me off guard about my thoughts on it, because damn, already?
AllHipHop: What about you Kiss?
Jadakiss: Man, I’m a little bit done with Verzuz.
AllHipHop: You, you did two.
Sheek: He did five of them.
Jadakiss: Yeah. But that’s why, I love the love of it, but lets get onto the next thing. Yeah, it was, it was iconic. We definitely appreciate the iconic Hip-Hop moment.
AllHipHop: It’s a holiday now though, for real, for real.
Jadakiss: And we appreciate that acknowledgement, let’s keep Hip-Hop alive in all types of ways and keep it vibrant and keep the culture moving forward.
AllHipHop: Now we’re here at Rock the Bells, this whole food court has Hip-Hop-owned food businesses. It’s crazy.
Styles P: Shout out to Bun B, like I was saying earlier, I was telling Bun, this one is different. I, for me personally, I don’t remember if I was at the first Rock the Bells or not. But I’m pretty sure for me, this is the most important Rock the Bells since the beginning of it because as you said, usually we throw these events. There are these festivals, but we ain’t making the money on the food and drink side. Bun decided to make sure he reached out to us. Nas, Goes, E-40, Mia and it’s just been a beautiful event. I’m pretty sure Sweet Chick sold out, we are about to sell out. People are selling out. I think it’s really dope. I feel this one is all the way around hip-hop. Because even the people handling your food and your drink it’s hip-hop. I think it was super dope. I want to shout out Bun for making sure he put it together. Shout that definitely for throwing Rock the Bells, man, it’s just pretty awesome.
AllHipHop: Now real quick. Tech, let’s make something happen, man. I’m not trying to stay stuck on Verzuz, but we got to talk about it. When I put my post up, my celebration post, it was the joint where you said what’s on this shirt: “let’s make something happen.” I have to ask you how you feel being that fourth man on the sneak attack. And again, I’m not trying to cause no drama, but I’m just saying.
DJ Technician: Yeah, it was a great feeling, but I couldn’t have done it without them.
AllHipHop: Don’t be humble now.
DJ Technician: I’m not! If I ain’t have them to play s### for.
AllHipHop: Your timing was impeccable bro, like a sniper.
DJ Technician: That’s all Mr. Malaro taught me in the sixth grade about timing.
AllHipHop: Right.
DJ Technician: But I had my finger on the trigger. I was ready for anything.
AllHipHop: Yeah.
Sheek Touch: Yo, Tech don’t give us no clothes. He doesn’t give us no shirts or nothing.
Styles P: But nah, Tech is, besides us, when we speak about Tech. Like I was telling my homie the other day, he don’t just The Lox. We’re a great group, but he DJs for a lot of the greats. A lot of the greats have called Tech, to handle the 1’s and 2’s for them when you’re on that stage. And I think that’s a testament for who he is to be able to rock with the locks. The god Rakim, Ghost-N-Rae, Camp Lo and many others. That’s the testament to how dope on [the turntables]. So, we love him to mother f##### death.
AllHipHop: All the Tech – tech-nology. Hip-Hop’s turning 50 next year. We’re celebrating, we working into the celebration of it all. How do y’all feel about the culture now that it’s becoming a little more older, a little more mature.
Styles P: It’s not older. I’m 47. If Hip-Hop is 50, how is it really old? You know what I mean? I think any other genre you would call 50 an infant. Any other music? We’re not going to start calling it old and Hip-Hop. We’re going to control a narrative on that, man. You know, Hip-Hop is still brand new, dog.
AllHipHop: You know, Kiss. I saw you on a post where you were asking for new talent, what kind of talent are you looking for?
Jadakiss: That’s just really a plug to help some people that can’t really reach me, promote their music and help them out like that. That’s as far as that goes, but we just want to make new music, keep the culture vibrant. You know what I mean? Keep creating and put us up there where we are supposed to be. Hip-Hop is one of only genres that they break into sections East Coast, West Coast, down South. Good music is good music. Let’s not categorize it. And let’s go for another 50 years of Hip-Hop.
AllHipHop: Now. Crazy enough, AllHipHop turns 25 next year. Yeah, thanks man. Appreciate that. It’s crazy. I was doing, did a cover story with y’all about almost 20 years ago for The Source Magazines. It’s been a minute, but I want to ask y’all if y’all have any thoughts on AllHipHop, what we kind of brought to the table a little bit?
Jadakiss: I appreciate what you do for the culture. What y’all have done the way, not to put none of the other sites under the bus or none of that, but y’all keep it a clean slate and just deliver Hip-Hop, current events, and what’s going on in the state of Hip-Hop and things of that nature. You don’t, you don’t shine when somebody’s down. You don’t use that as you know, still power points. Yeah. You do it for the culture. Y’all one of the originators that started out one of the first sites that started and salute the 25 years. Let’s go for 25 more.
Sheek: Absolutely. No. I’m with you, bro. Y’all ain’t bend over yet, man. Y’all kept a solid from day one. Right?
AllHipHop: Rock the Bells. This, this whole festival is kind of crazy. Y’all have any LL thinking about the god, the GOAT. How do y’all feel about the festival in general?
Styles: I think it’s amazing. It was crazy as ‘Kiss was just saying, as they was going on the stage, I was walking, seeing uncle and he was… see them juices move too right out there.
Sheek: It just kind of make you think where Hip-Hop is going and for us to all salute big up each other, make each other proud and push each other to be better in other arenas besides MCing. I think that’s super dope. Like he said, Uncle L, let Bun put this together and here we have a food court. Trill mills food court, all our stuff.
AllHipHop: Y’all in serious shape. Y’all, y’all doing your thing. Health and hip-hop is important. You’ve all stressed it. Talk about that a little bit and just in terms of staying in shape, staying fit.
Styles: Louch was the first one, we get the credit. We do the juice and I’m louder. And I got a big mouth and I do but Louch, he’ll hit you like 7:30 in the morning like “What up? It’s a nice day (to workout). Get your mouths in. There’s never a picture with him being out of shape.
I think the motivation comes from all, all of us, right? Giving the f### about each other, giving a f### about our families, our situations, and just trying to be better. And we real MCs. We put, we give a f### about the raps. So we stand on point doing what we do.
AllHipHop: Every time I see Sheek, I want to lift weights.
Sheek: I told you already you doing it, man. I say it. I get it. I get it. Trust me. I get it.
AllHipHop: All right, man. Last question, last question. New album? What are we doing right now? Like we need a new one, man. I’m still listening to y’all old stuff like it’s brand new. Y’all, what y’all doing?
Jadakiss: We are creating. We are in there cooking up right now as we speak and we just stick to what we do. We don’t put ourselves in a bubble, but we working.
AllHipHop: All right. I will send it to y’all. I’ll send to y’all now. Seriously, man. I appreciate y’all love man. Salute.
