Jayson Tyrone Phillips (born May 27 1975), also known by his stage name Jadakiss, is an American rapper. He is a member of the group called The Lox (Jadakiss is one of three owners of the imprint known as D-Block). He recently signed to Roc-A-Fella Records, an imprint under Def Jam Records
Jadakiss became a freestyle rapper, engaging in competitions by the time he was twelve. He and some of his early friends were given the opportunity to compete in the "Jack the Rapper Competition" in Florida, where Jadakiss was noticed for his battle rap ability. He met Dee and Wah of the Ruff Ryders, then a management company, and began hanging out and battling outside of the Ruff Ryders' studio where artists like DMX made their first hits.
Kiss formed the rap group the Warlox in 1994 with friends Jamaal, Sheek Louch, and Styles P. The group signed to Bad Boy Entertainment later on, where it was suggested they change their name simply to the LOX, which came to stand for Living Off eXperience. They made their first appearance on The Main Source's 1994 LP "Fuck What You Think" on the track "Set it Off".
The group, especially Jadakiss, developed a close relationship with The Notorious B.I.G., during which time Jadakiss was taken under B.I.G.'s wing. Thus, after Biggie's shooting death, the group released their first multi-platinum hit in the tribute "We'll Always Love Big Poppa" (the B-side to Puff Daddy's "I'll Be Missing You") in 1997. In 1998, the LOX released Money, Power, Respect. Following this album, they left Bad Boy Records
Jada's debut solo album, Kiss the Game Goodbye, was released in August of 2001 under the Ruff Ryders/Interscope label. The album featured popular guests and producers such as Snoop Dogg and Swizz Beatz, but was written off as repetitive and uninspired. Jadakiss has acknowledged the criticism as, generally speaking, valid, saying the record was done less out of inspiration and more out of contract obligations to Bad Boy. The album produced the single "Put Ya Hands Up" with the chorus "Put ya hands up/nah, f**k it/ Put ya hands down" reflecting Jada's distance from the album.
His second album, Kiss of Death, was released in June of 2004. Before the release, Kiss asked advice of his fans in the form a poll; most claimed the rapper wasn't personal enough in his lyrical stylings, and he released a single with the purpose of bearing his inner thoughts. The song, "Why?", became one of the biggest hits of that year, spawning a remix featuring Styles P, Common, Nas, and Anthony Hamilton. Another single from the record, "You Make Me Wanna" featured Mariah Carey and was a much more commercially driven love song. Kiss of Death did not reflect the popularity of its lead single, but it was better-received than his first effort, eventually achieving platinum-selling status.
Recently, in late 2007, Jadakiss signed to Jay-Z's Roc-a-Fella Records, a move Jay had been trying to arrange for a long period of time.blank">http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.5891/title.jay-z-news-bits-jadakiss-40-40-american-gangster He reportedly will have an as-yet-untitled album on Roc-a-Fella in 2008, executive produced by both Jay-Z and the Ruff Ryders CEOs/management team of Dee and Wah.http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.5969/title.jadakiss-signs-with-roc-a-fella-records The move comes on the heels of increased D-Block/Roc-a-Fella collaborations; in 2006, Kiss and former rival _Beanie Sigel collaborated on DJ Khaled's album Listen..., and in 2007, on Freeway's album Free At Last, while Styles P has appeared on a radio freestyle with Freeway and Sigel. He has also appeared briefly in Jay-Z's latest video for his American Gangster second single, Roc Boys, in which he appears throwing up the famous Roc-a-Fella sign, "the Diamond".
