* En anglais uniquement
Known for his distinctively gravelly voice and unflinching hardcore rhymes,
Jadakiss established himself with Bad Boy and
Ruff Ryders affiliates
the LOX before he made further strides as a solo artist with
Ruff Ryders and
Def Jam. He started a streak of Top Ten solo albums with
Kiss tha Game Goodbye (2001) and continued it with the chart-topping
Kiss of Death (2004) (featuring the controversial, Grammy-nominated "Why?"), both of which were certified gold by the RIAA. His releases since then include
Top 5 Dead or Alive (2015), the
Fabolous collaboration
Friday on Elm Street (2017), and
Ignatius (2020).
Born
Jason Phillips in Yonkers, New York,
Jadakiss got his start as a teenage freestyle rapper before joining
Sheek Louch and
Styles P to form the
Warlocks crew, eventually known as
the LOX. The trio hit the Top Ten with their first two albums,
Money, Power & Respect (1998) and
We Are the Streets (2000), released respectively on Bad Boy and
Ruff Ryders.
Jadakiss then went solo with
Kiss tha Game Goodbye. Issued through
Ruff Ryders in 2001, it entered the Billboard 200 at number five, highlighted by "We Gonna Make It" (featuring
Styles P),
Jadakiss' first headlining Top Ten hit on the Billboard rap chart. Three years later, the MC topped the Billboard 200 with
Kiss of Death, an album that featured two more Top Ten rap hits with "Why?" (with
Anthony Hamilton) and "U Make Me Wanna" (featuring
Mariah Carey). Banned by some radio stations and scrutinized by at least one high-profile political commentator for the line "Why did Bush knock down the towers?," "Why?" was nonetheless nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. In 2007,
Jadakiss made another move, this time to
Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records -- through
Def Jam -- where he closed out his "kiss" trilogy with
Last Kiss. The album, his third straight Top Ten hit, featured guests such as
Ne-Yo,
Faith Evans, and
Swizz Beatz (all on the charting singles), along with the likes of
Mary J. Blige,
Nas, and
Pharrell Williams.
After releasing the 2011 commercial mixtape
I Love You (A Dedication to My Fans),
Jadakiss dropped "Big Boy Dialogue," which was slated as the lead single from his first true album of the 2010s. However, that effort --
Top 5 Dead or Alive -- wasn't released until 2015, but did just that, debuting at number four on the Billboard 200. A third proper
LOX LP,
Filthy America...It's Beautiful, arrived in 2016. The following year,
Jadakiss teamed up with
Fabolous for the collaborative album
Friday on Elm Street. Inspired by horror icons Freddy and Jason, the set peaked in the Top Ten and featured guests like
Future,
Swizz Beatz, and
French Montana. Still with
Def Jam,
Jadakiss released his fifth proper solo full-length,
Ignatius, in 2020. The album was titled in tribute to his longtime friend and manager, Ignatius Jackson (aka Icepick Jackson), who died from cancer. ~ Neil Z. Yeung & Andy Kellman