Money, Power & Respect

Background:

American rapper Styles P, born David Styles, began his music career in with the hip hop trio group The LOX, along with Jadakiss and Sheek Louch. Their debut album, “Money, Power & Respect,” which was released in 1998 through Bad Boy Records, found a massive success, reaching the No. 1 spot on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and No. 3 on the Billboard 200, and spawned a hit single of the same name, which charted at No. 1 on the Hot Rap Singles. The group left Bad Boy and signed with Ruff Ryders Entertainment in 1999. The second album “We Are the Streets” followed in 2000. Their upcoming third studio album, “New L.O.X. Order,” is set to be released in 2011. Styles P also has pursued a solo career. His solo debut, “A Gangster and a Gentleman” (2002), made the Top 10 on the Billboard 200 and the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and went gold. The album produced the hit single “Good Times” (#22 US). “Time Is Money” and “Super Gangster (Extraordinary Gentleman)” followed in 2006 and 2007, respectively. A new solo effort called “Master of Ceremonies” will be released in 2011.

David Styles

Childhood and Family:

David Styles, who would later be popular as Styles P, was born on November 28, 1974, in Corona, Queens, New York City, New York. His father was from Bed Styu, while his mother originally came from South Africa. Following the divorce of his parents, his mother moved to Yonkers, where David was raised. David has a young brother and sister.

Mr. Styles married in July 1995. He has two children, Noah and Tai.

Good Times

Career:

Styles P began his musical career in Yonkers, New York, along with childhood buddies Jason “Jadakiss” Phillips and Sean “Sheek Louch” Jacobs. In high school, the three formed a group called “The Bomb Squad” and started playing local shows and producing their own demos. It was not long before the trio started to get attention thanks to their lyrical style and ability to present tales of urban life. The group then changed their name to The Warlocks and continued growing a fan base through appearances on underground mix tape.

However, Styles P and his groupmates did not experience a big break until they met fellow Yonkers native Mary J. Blige, who helped pass their demo tape on to Sean “Diddy” Combs. Diddy soon signed the boys to his label, Bad Boys Records, and changed their name to The L.O.X, which stands for Living Off eXperience.

In 1996, the LOX was featured on The Notorious B.I.G.'s “Last Day,” from the album “Life After Death,” and enjoyed national exposure from the collaboration. The group went on to gain even more acclaim with their powerful multi platinum tribute to The Notorious B.I.G., “We'll Always love Big Poppa,” which picked as the B side track off of Diddy’s “No Way Out” album with the No. 1 hit, “I'll Be Missing You.” The trio later appeared on a number of hits, including Diddy's “Its All About The Benjamins,” which the LOX wrote, Mariah Carey's “Honey,” Jennifer Lopez's “Jenny From The Block” and Mase’s “24 Hrs. to Live.”

Lured by the success of “We'll Always love Big Poppa,” the LOX released their debut album, “Money, Power & Respect,” on January 13, 1998. The album was a big success. It rocketed to No. 1 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200. Produced by Dame Grease, the first single “If You Think I'm Jiggy” peaked at No. 30 on the Billboard 200, No. 21 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and No. 9 on the Hot Rap Singles. The second single “Money, Power & Respect,” featuring DMX and Lil' Kim, enjoyed even bigger success than its predecessor. Produced by The Hitmen, the title track reached No. 18 on the Billboard Hot 100, made the Top 10 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks and became a chart topper at the the Hot Rap Singles chart. In 1998, the song received gold certification from the RIAA, and remains the group's most successful single to date. Eventually, the album “Money, Power & Respect” achieved a platinum status and helped propel the trio as significant acts in Hip-Hop scene.

Soon afterwards, Styles P lead the LOX on the now notorious pursuit to leave Bad Boy Records. After they were released, the group signed to Ruff Ryders Entertainment in 1999. With the label, their style of hardcore rap fit better alongside other hardy rappers such as DMX. LOX's second studio album, “We Are the Streets,” was released on January 25, 2000. The album peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and No. 2 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums. It was certified gold by the RIAA. The album yielded the three hit singles with “Ryde or Die, Bitch” (featuring Eve and Timbaland), “Recognize” and “Wild Out,” which peaked at No. 27, No. 94 and No. 64 on the the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks, respectively, with the first also charted at No. 73 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Following in the footsteps of Jadakiss, who had released a first solo album, “Kiss tha Game Goodbye” (2001), Styles P launched his solo career with “A Gangster and a Gentleman” on July 9, 2002 . Released through Ruff Ryders, the album peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 and No. 2 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums, and went gold within three months of its release. Produced by Saint Denson and Swizz Beatz, the single “Good Times” peaked at No. 22 in the Billboard Hot 100, No. 6 in the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and No. 8 on the Billboard Hot Rap Tracks, and became one of the most played songs of the year. The follow up “My Life” (featuring Pharaohe Monch) reached No. 66 on the e Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.

Styles P returned with his second solo effort, “Time Is Money,” on December 19, 2006. It reached No. 19 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, No. 10 on the Top Rap Albums chart and No. 79 on the Billboard 200. The album featured the hit singles “Can You Believe It” (featuring Akon) and “I'm Black” (featuring Marsha of Floetry), which charted on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs at No. 32 and Mo. 94, respectively.

After signing with Koch Records, Styles P released a third studio album, “Super Gangster (Extraordinary Gentleman),” on December 4, 2007. The album reached No. 7 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, No. 4 on the Top Rap Albums chart and No. 52 on the Billboard 200. The single “Blow Ya Mind” (featuring Swizz Beatz) reached No. 19 on the Billboard Hot Rap Tracks chart and No. 51 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. It also charted in the UK Singles chart at No. 127. The second single “Gangster, Gangster” (2008) featured fellow the LOX members Jadakiss and Sheek Louch.

In 2010, Styles P released a collaboration album, “The Green Ghost Project,” with DJ Green Lantern, through Invasion Records, the label of DJ Green Lantern. It featured guest appearances by Jadakiss and Sheek Louch, M.O.P., N.O.R.E., Uncle Murda and Junior Reid, among other artists. The album peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard Top Rap Albums, No. 44 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and No. 34 on the Billboard Independent Albums chart. It produced a single called “Send a Kite” (featuring Dwayne Collins). Also in 2010, Styles P released a mixtape, “The Ghost Dub-Dime,” via E1 Entertainment. It charted at No. 46 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.

In 2011, Styles P released a single, “It's OK” (featuring Jadakiss), from his new studio album, “Master of Ceremonies,” which is set to be released later in this year. The LOX's third studio album, “New L.O.X. Order,” is also scheduled to be released in 2011.

Awards:
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