Jadakiss

Background

Jason Terrance Phillips, known as Jadakiss, is an American rapper known for his impressive discography. Born on May 27, 1975, in Yonkers, New York, Jadakiss was influenced early by hip-hop music. He is a Gemini of African-American descent who started freestyle rap at age 12. Jadakiss participated in numerous freestyle rap battles and developed a sizable following base. The Ruff Ryders record label owners became interested in Jadakiss when he won one of these contests in Florida. The trio quickly began rapping after he and his friends established The Warlox, a rap ensemble. Finally, they won Mary J. Blige over, who then showed Sean Combs, a.k.a. Puff Daddy, their demo. The rap group’s moniker, The Lox, was chosen by Combs as it seemed to fit them better.

In 1994, The Lox debuted on the track ‘Set It Off’ by Main Source. The band soon began writing and performing hit songs. They have credits to songs like ‘Last Day’ by Notorious B.I.G, ‘Honey’ by Mariah Carey, and others. The Lox developed a close relationship with Notorious B.I.G, who took Jadakiss under his wing. In 1997, after the murder of Notorious B.I.G., The Lox released their first hit song, a tribute to Notorious B.I.G. titled ‘We’ll Always Love Big Poppa.’ This song became R.I.A.A. multi-platinum certified. By 1998, the band released their debut studio album, “Money, Power & Respect.” The album topped the charts and became platinum-certified. Following creative differences, The Lox left Combs’ Bad Boy Records and signed with Ruff Ryders. Their second album, “We Are The Streets,” came out in 2000. The album was another success and featured acts like Timbaland, Eve, and Swizz Beatz.

In 2001, Jadakiss went solo. . In August, he released his debut album, “Kiss Tha Game Goodbye.” This album featured outstanding artists such as The Alchemist, DMX, Snoop Dogg, Eve, and others. The R.I.A.A. awarded this album Gold certification. In 2004, he released his second studio album, and his biggest hit, ‘Why?’ peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 rankings. In 2007, he signed with Jay-Roc-A-Fella Z’s Records. Jadakiss went on to create three additional studio albums, the most recent of which is “Ignatius” (2020). Jadakiss is one of America’s most well-known hip-hop rappers. He shares his achievement as one of the greats with his family and four children. He was never married.