Jason Terrance Phillips (born May 27, 1975), better known by his stage name Jadakiss (, ), is an American rapper who began his career in the 1990s and formed the hip hop trio the Lox alongside Styles P and Sheek Louch in 1994. The group signed with Sean Combs's Bad Boy Records, an imprint of Arista Records to release their debut studio album, Money, Power & Respect (1998); their second album, We Are the Streets (2000) was released by Ruff Ryders Entertainment, an imprint of Interscope Records. Both peaked within the top five of the Billboard 200 and yielded critical praise; their two subsequent albums, Filthy America... It's Beautiful (2016) and Living Off Xperience (2020) were both released by Jay-Z's Roc Nation and met with continued praise.
After the Lox's second album, the trio each began pursuing solo careers, and Jadakiss signed with Ruff Ryders as a solo act to release his first two solo albums, Kiss Tha Game Goodbye (2001) and Kiss of Death (2004). Both met with positive critical reception, the latter debuted atop the Billboard 200 and spawned his highest-charting single, "Why?" (featuring Anthony Hamilton). He then signed with Def Jam Recordings to release his third and fourth albums The Last Kiss (2009) and Top 5 Dead or Alive (2015), which peaked at numbers three and four on the chart, respectively. He has since released the collaborative album Friday on Elm Street (2017) with hometown rapper Fabolous, and his fifth solo album, Ignatius (2020) both to critical acclaim.
In 2004, Jadakiss and Fat Joe were featured on a song by Ja Rule titled "New York". In this song, Ja Rule accuses 50 Cent of being a snitch, and also takes shots at G-Unit. In turn, 50 Cent released a song titled "Piggy Bank" in which he disses Fat Joe and Jadakiss among others for performing on the song. This caused Jadakiss to release numerous 50 Cent diss tracks, including "Checkmate", "Problem Child", "Shots Fired" and "I'm Sorry Ms. Jackson". 50 Cent along with his G-Unit crew responded with songs such as "I Run New York", "Window Shopper", and "Death Wish" by Lloyd Banks. Jadakiss challenged 50 Cent to an onstage battle in Madison Square Garden for 1 million dollars, but 50 Cent declined. The feud was later resolved, with Jadakiss and G-Unit performing together at 50 Cent's ThisIs50 Festival on October 3, 2009.
In 2004, Bill O'Reilly called Jadakiss a "smear merchant" due to lyrics in his hit song "Why?", in which Jadakiss lyrically implied George W. Bush coordinated the September 11 attacks, with the line "Why do push pounds of cocaine? Why did Bush knock down the towers?" Jadakiss said the line was a metaphor for Bush administration not doing enough to stop the attacks. In the music video for "Why?", a man holds up a picket sign reading "Buck Fush" (a spoonerism of "Fuck Bush"). O'Reilly took the position that the President should be allowed to sue Jadakiss for slander. The track was eventually banned on some radio stations or played with the lyrics in question censored.
In 2005, Jadakiss released the 50 Cent diss track "Checkmate" under Ruff Ryders and Interscope as a promotional single on March 9, 2005. Despite releasing a single in 2005, Jadakiss focused on appearing on other artists' records. He contributed on records for Mariah Carey, Styles P, David Banner and also featured on Cuban Link's album Chain Reaction, appearing on the track "Talk About It".
On June 4, 2013, Jadakiss released the first single from his by then upcoming fourth studio album, Top 5 Dead or Alive titled "Big Boy Dialogue", featuring vocals from The-Dream. The album was scheduled to be released during September or October 2013, but after much delay, the album was finally released on November 20, 2015. It features guest appearances from Akon, Future, Jeezy, Lil Wayne, Ne-Yo, Nas, Nipsey Hussle, Styles P, Puff Daddy, Sheek Louch, Swizz Beatz, Wiz Khalifa and Young Buck, and was supported by 2 singles, "Jason" featuring Swizz Beatz, and Ain't Nothin' New featuring Ne-Yo and Nipsey Hussle. The album debuted at number 4 on the Billboard 200, and received positive reviews from critics.
On February 29, 2016, Fabolous posted a picture on Instagram with Jadakiss with the caption, "Freddy vs. Jason coming soon", hinting at the release of a joint project with Jadakiss, titled Freddy vs. Jason. On April 2, 2016, Fabolous and Jadakiss released a freestyle of Future's "Wicked" from Purple Reign that was scheduled appear on Freddy vs. Jason, but did not make the final cut of the album. They also revealed that it would not be a mixtape, but instead a full album. On October 31, 2017, the album's first and only single, "Stand Up" featuring Future was released. On November 21, 2017, it was announced that the album title was changed to Friday on Elm Street. The album was released on November 24, 2017, and features guest appearances from Future, Jeezy, Styles P, French Montana and Yo Gotti.
On March 6, 2020, Jadakiss's fifth studio album Ignatius was released. On June 29 of the same year, Jadakiss defeated Fabolous in a battle on Timbaland and Swizz Beatz' Verzuz held virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The following year, Jadakiss returned for another Verzuz battle, this time alongside the Lox against The Diplomats live with an audience at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden. The Lox were widely regarded as winning decisively, with decisive moments including Jadakiss calling out the Diplomats for using full songs including their own vocals instead of TV track and then performing his freestyle over The Notorious B.I.G.'s "Who Shot Ya?", originally released on his 2010 mixtape The Champ Is Here, Pt. 3, and answering Cam'ron's remark before performing "Welcome to New York City" that the Lox did not have a New York record that could not beat it with his verse on "New York" (Jadakiss also performed the verse when Fat Joe – who was in the audience for the Lox-Diplomats Verzuz – and Ja Rule faced each other in the subsequent Verzuz at the same venue).
Following their victory, streams of Lox music increased by 215%, including Jadakiss' "Who Shot Ya?" freestyle (both studio and live versions) being added to the iTunes Store and Apple Music 11 years after its initial release. Jadakiss was also dubbed "Mr. Verzuz" after becoming the first artist to win two battles and was able to restructure his Def Jam contract. Just over a year after the battle while they were performing at LL Cool J's Rock The Bells festival at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens, Jadakiss presented Styles P and Sheek Louch with Lox championship rings and unveiled his.
Reinvesting in their community, in the summer of 2014, Jadakiss and Styles P opened a juice bar in Yonkers, New York, called Juices For Life. Together, they have gone on to open two more branches in The Bronx and one in Brooklyn.
In October 2022, Jadakiss launched a family-owned coffee company called Kiss Café with his father and son.
On October 7, 2006, Jadakiss was once again arrested in his hometown of Yonkers, New York on gun and drug possession charges. A Yonkers Police Department spokesperson said Jadakiss was one of four men sitting in a 2006 Toyota Camry that was parked near the intersection of Nepperhan Avenue and Elm Street in Yonkers at around 5 a.m. Saturday. Officers said the vehicle's driver was behaving oddly and said they noticed a strong odor of marijuana while approaching the car. Inside the vehicle, police found a .38 caliber revolver that had been reported stolen. According to The Associated Press, the weapon was loaded. All occupants were charged with possession of a stolen firearm; Jadakiss was also charged with possession of marijuana (a small amount was found on his person). The driver, Darnell Frazier, was charged with driving under the influence. The other two men in the vehicle are listed as Benjamin Lockhart and Kristian Smith. All were remanded to Westchester County Jail and were held until at least Tuesday of the following week, when they were due in court.
Collaboration albums
2009–2015: The Last Kiss and Top 5 Dead or Alive
2016–present: The Lox reunion, Friday on Elm Street, Ignatius and "Mr. Verzuz"
Business ventures
Personal life
Legal issues
House raid
Discography
See also
External links
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