Method Man & Redman, The Lox, Lloyd Banks, Method Man, Redman, Jadakiss, Styles P, et Sheek Louch

Method Man grew up in both the Long Island and Staten Island neighbourhoods of New York, splitting his time between his separated parents. He first rose to stardom in the early 90’s, as the youngest and arguably most successful member of the now legendary New York Hip-Hop collective, Wu-Tang Clan. Method Man has recorded five studio albums with the Wu, as well as four of his own solo releases with Def Jam. Method has also proven himself as a strong actor, starring in comedies “Scary Movie 3” and “Soul Plane” and gangster flick “Belly”.

Redman, who grew up in Newark, announced himself onto the hip-hop scene with a notable guest appearance on an EPMD album in 1990. Following that brief cameo the infamous Def Jam snapped him up, and distributed his debut album “Whut? Thee Album” in 1992, the same year he was named “Rap Artist of the Year” by The Source Magazine. Since his debut Redman has released a total of seven studio albums, and also featured on Christina Aguilera’s smash hit, “Dirrty”.

The pair were friends before collaborating, having met on previous Def Jam tours. They were first featured on the same song together when they both contributed verses for rapper Tupac’s “Got My Mind Up” in 1996. They released their debut album “Blackout!” as “Method Man & Redman” in 199, when they were at the height of their popularity. The album was met with critical acclaim and named in many album of the year lists.

The first album served as a prelude to the pair’s debut as an acting duo, in the 2001 motion picture “How High”, a stoner comedy that achieved cult status in the early 2000’s. They also filmed a sitcom in 2004 called "Method & Red".

In 2009 the pair reunited to record their follow up album “Blackout! 2”. The pair stated that they delayed the release of their second album to focus on their various solo ventures. The album was a commercial and critical success despite the 10 year gap, cementing their status as one of raps go-to partnerships.

The group came together as high school students and started to perform local shows, developing a following. They had celebrity followers in Mary J. Blige who was the person who passed on their demo tape to Sean Combs, who later signed them to his labels. This was when the band confirmed their name The L.O.X, which stands for Living Off Experience.

They broke through to the mainstream, featuring on the song “It’s All About the Benjamins” after “We’ll Always Love Big Poppa”. They would go on to feature on many pop successes such as “Honey” by Mariah Carey and “Jenny From The Block” by Jennifer Lopez. The group released their debut album “Money, Power & Respect” on January 13th 1998 which would go on to peak at number 3 on the Billboard 200 and number 1 on the Top R&B albums. The group’s following album “We Are the Streets”, released on January 25th 2000, managed to reach number 5 in the Billboard 200 and number 2 in the R&B chart. It was produced by Timbaland and produced the singles “Wild Out” and “Recognize”.

The band would go on a hiatus that would end with a collaborative album with Wu-Tang Clan, which was released on November 27th 2012. The album was entitled “Wu Block”. They embarked on a worldwide concert tour called The Trinity. On March 1st 2014, the group released a song called “New York” which was endorsed by Funkmaster Flex.

Banks was born on 30 April 1982 in New Carrolton, Maryland and was raised in Queens, New York. Along with his childhood friends, 50 Cent and Tony Yayo, Lloyd Banks formed the group G-Unit in 1999; and when 50 Cent was signed to Interscope Records, he hit a huge success allowing him to start his own label. This became the gateway for G-Unit’s success; however, while 50 Cent was establishing his career with Interscope, Banks remained in his neighborhood and performed locally to build up his buzz and fan base. By 2003 G-Unit recorded and released their first album, “Beg For Mercy” which went on to become certified platinum.

The following year, Lloyd Banks released his first solo album entitled “The Hunger For More” in June. The album debuted at Number One on the Billboard charts and sold over 500,000 copies in the first week; eventually, the album became certified platinum. Banks was slated to release his second album, “The Big Withdraw,” but due to a leak of the 23-track album, Banks went to work on “Rotten Apple.” The latter album went on to debut at Number Three and sell over 100,000 copies in its first week.

Unfortunately in 2009 Banks was dropped from Interscope Records, but remained with G-Unit Records. He released a mix tape in 2009 and in late 2010 he released a single, “Beamer, Benz Or Bentley,” that was to be the lead off for his new album. He then released “The Hunger For More” with the help of EMI Label Services.

As a kid, Smith was exposed to music through his father who taught him how to play drums and write poetry. His favorite super hero was Ghost Rider. Smith got off to a rough start and was involved with drug dealing to get by. His only saving grace was his ability to rap and rhyme and eventually he and 8 other friends came together to form the Wu-Tang Clan. They released their first album “Enter the Wu-Tang Clan: 36 Chambers” in 1992.

Smith became famous as Method Man with his first independent album “Tical” released in 1994 by record company Def Jam. The album charted at #4 in the U.S. and eventually sold upward of one million copies. The single “All I Need” was remixed with a Mary J. Blige song to create “I’ll Be There for You/You’re All I Need” which earned them a Grammy.

The sequel Wu-Tang album “Wu-Tang Forever” was released in June 1997 followed by Method Man’s second album “Tical 2000: Judgment Day” in 1998. Both albums did extremely well with his solo album becoming certified double platinum. "Judgement Day" lyrics theorized about the end of the millennium and featured guest appearances by Chris Rock, Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, Janet Jackson, and even Donald Trump.

In 1999 Method Man toured with Jay-Z on the Hard Knock Life tour and simultaneously recorded the album “Blackout!” with partner Redman. The two subsequently tried their hand at acting for films like “How High” and had a brief stint on FOX on their own sitcom “Method & Red.”

The single “What’s Happenin’” with Busta Rhymes came out on Method Man’s “Tical 0: The Prequel.” The album featured more mainstream artists like Missy Elliott and P. Diddy and was criticized as sounding too commercial. Method Man listened to his public’s feedback and released “4:21: The Day After” in 2006, which had more input from the Wu-Tang Clan, especially leader RZA and stayed true to his hip hop roots.

New Jersey’s Reginald "Reggie" Noble made his first mark on the scene on a track with legendary rap group EPMD and instantly made an impact with his dominant but surprisingly fluid vocal style. After inking a deal with Hip Hop powerhouse Def Jam Records, he released his debut album ‘Whut? Thee Album’ in 1992. An instant hit with both fans and critics, the album is now viewed as a classic after it turned gold and Redman won the coveted ‘Rap Artist of The Year’ award from The Source Magazine.

Redman continued to ride this high with a run of equally successful albums including the likes of ‘Dare Iz A Darkside’ and ‘Muddy Waters’ containing the song ‘Do What You Feel’ which would later become the soundtrack to a Grand Theft Auto game.

Following this, Redman struck up a number of fruitful partnerships with the likes of Def Squad, Tupac (appearing on his ‘All Eyez On Me’ album) and most notably, label-mate Method Man. Their first collaborative album ‘Blackout!’ went to number 3 in the charts, selling over 250000 copies in its first week and continuing a hot streak for Def Jam Records.

They didn’t just pair up musically though, they also began a rather bizarre but highly successful acting duo. Possibly their most notable appearance came in the cult stoner-film ‘How-High’ in which the pair manage to get to Harvard after cheating on their tests with the help of some highly potent Marijuana. No matter how bizarre it may seem, whatever Redman touches is usually a solid gold success.

In 1991, whilst still 16, Jadakiss had made a name for himself as a freestyle rapper, and competed in the Floridian freestyle battle the “Jack the Rapper Competition”. It wasn’t long before the rapper was making connections and soon became affiliated with the Ruff Ryders management company. Alongside friends Sheek Louch and Styles P. Jadakiss formed the rap group The Warlocks and signed with Sean Combs' Bad Boy Entertainment. At the suggestion of the label the group changed their name to The LOX, and made their debut recording on The Main Source’s LP “Fuck What You Think” on the track “Set it Off”. During this time Jadakiss developed a close relationship with The Notorious B.I.G., and The LOX’s first hit came as the B-side to Puff Daddy’s “I’ll Be Missing You” entitled “We’ll Always Love Big Poppa” in 1997.

A year later The LOX released their debut full-length “Money, Power & Respect”, which earned the group positive reviews and platinum certification. Despite the album’s success The LOX parted ways with Bad Boy Entertainment, deciding to sign with Ruff Ryders Entertainment instead. Jadakiss’ solo debut album “Kiss Tha Game Goodbye” was released in August 2001 featuring guest contributions from The Alchemist, DMX, Eve, Snoop Dogg and Swizz Beatz. Despite these high-profile artists however the album was a commercial flop, and Jadakiss has since admitted the album was completed out of a contract obligation to Bad Boy Entertainment.

The rapper’s 2004 sophomore album “Kiss of Death” however received much more favourable reviews, aided by the lead single “Why?” featuring Anthony Hamilton. In 2007 Jadakiss signed with Roc-A-Fella Records in a move that Jay-Z had been orchestrating for a few years. The rapper’s debut release on the label was 2009's “The Last Kiss” led by the single “By My Side” featuring Ne-Yo. Subsequent singles included “Can’t Stop Me”, “Death Wish” featuring Lil Wayne, and “Who’s Real”. In 2012 Jadakiss released the mixtape “Consignment” and in 2013 the single “Big Boy Dialogue” featuring vocals from The-Dream.

Born and bred in Yonkers, New York, alongside childhood friends and fellow rappers Jadakiss and Sheek, Styles P formed hip-hop group, The Lox, in 1994. With very little time passed the trio recorded a demo which subsequently landed into the hands of R&B singer Mary J. Blige. Impressed with the street influenced, East Coast rap style Blige gave the demo to Sean “Diddy” Combs who immediately offered the group a publishing deal. The deal allowed the group to collaborate with the likes of Diddy, the Notorious B.I.G., and Mariah Carey, and raised the group's profile and notoriety in the hip-hop mainstream. Styles P released two full-length albums with the group, “Money, Power & Respect” in 1998 and “We Are the Streets” in 2000, before focusing on his solo pursuits.

In 2002 Styles P issued his debut full-length album “A Gangster and a Gentlemen” through Ruff Ryders Entertainment and Interscope Records. Climbing to No. 6 on the Billboard 200, the record earned positive reviews from the press, led by the No. 22 single “Good Times”. Despite earning more favourable reviews and production from The Alchemist, Styles P’s follow-up, “Time Is Money”, peaked at No. 79 on the Billboard 200. In a split release between Ruff Ryders Entertainment and Koch Records, the rapper’s third album “Super Gangster (Extraordinary Gentlemen)” was released in December 2007. Rising to No. 5 on the Billboard 200, the record was led by the singles “Blow Ya Mind” and “Gangster, Gangster”.

In 2009 alongside D-Block, Styles P released the album “No Security”, followed a year later by the collaborative album “The Green Ghost Project” with DJ Green Lantern. The solo full-length “Master of Ceremonies” arrived in 2011, which was greeted with critical acclaim, and showcased a rapper determined to stick to his roots. The following year the talented performer issued the album “The World’s Most Hardest MC Project”, before releasing his sixth studio album to date “Float” in April 2013. Featuring Sheek Louch, Vado, Jadakiss, and Rocko amongst a host of other rappers, Style P released “Phantom and the Ghost” in April 2014, led by the single “Sour”.