Classic Album Review: The Lox, "We Are The Streets"

For close to two years in the late 1990s, the LOX angled for a release from Bad Boy Records to sign and record albums with their original management, Ruff Ryders Entertainment which formed its own label and instantly crafted a classic album in DMX's "It's Dark and Hell is Hot."

After an aggressive campaign waged in the streets, complete with "Let the Lox go" T-shirts, the trio of Sheek Louch, Styles P and Jadakiss were free to link up with their Double R family and in final week of January of 2000, they released their much-awaited second LP, "We are the streets."

"...Streets" was much different than the shiny-suit, pop-sample heavy sound of the Bad Boy Era. Swizz Beats, was still using his highly-popular synth formula, the underrated P. Killer Trackz contributed a banger in "Breath Easy," and D.J. Premier and Timbaland helped the Lox out with memorable cuts.

The tone is set with an opening intro of street-smart folks railing against the Lox for "selling out," followed up by the epic "Fuck You," in which each member shoots down anyone who said they wouldn't survive after Diddy gave them their walking papers.

Each member got at least one solo track to showcase their skills (predicting numerous solo albums from them all). Styles gets first crack with "Felony Niggas," a slick-talking mafioso cut on which The Ghost spits about "business as usual" - drugs and guns.

Jada's up next on "Blood Pressure." Kiss briefly addresses Diddy while flooring listeners with his signature raspy punch lines, including the bars that gave hip-hop's most notorious groupie her nickname ("Got a chick named Superhead, she give super head, just moved in the building, even gave the Super head...")

"Bring It On" was Sheek's solo cut, and it showed the potential he had back then. Of course, he was able to put it all together on his stellar debut album, "Walk Witt Me" three years later.

The rest of the album is Lox posse cuts, including the street-approved bangers "Wild Out" and the Preme-produced "Recognize," which was a match made in Hip-Hop Heaven. Stuttering Eve's usage of the word "Recognize" from "Ryde or Die" over his classic drums and bluesy piano riff, Preme gives the group a certified banger to give the game warning to recognize their gangsta as a group.

Timbo's infectious latin-tinged "Ryde or Die bitch" (or chick for radio) was their cut for the ladies, and who better than Double's R's first lady to lend her voice and swagger to the hook?

Other than most of the Ruff Ryders family, guest appearances are slim and none, with Kasino contributing a quick and hot verse on "Can I Live."

The lone spot of a comedy in a street-serious album was the legendary "Rape'N U Records" skit, in which Kiss plays a shady record label mogul who signs the unassuming Jae Hood (then a mixtape prodigy) to a crappy record deal, illustrating the group's mistrust of the music biz after dealing with Diddy.

Overall, "We Are The Streets" wasn't really designed for crossover success, but it remains the Lox's most popular, highest selling, and most recent album as the Lox to date. Their run as D-Block is highly revered, but it wouldn't have started without this album, where they got back to the streets they love so dearly.