Okay, is it me or is it every time you hear a soundtrack, mix tape or Friday late night radio show D-Block has the streets salivating!

Now I always thought the Lox were a special group of emcees since their Bad Boy days. Then when they signed to Ruff Ryders I said: “ok here we go it is on!” Then finally the trilogy of solos was completed and I was like alright! But during all of that they have murdered anything that wasn't an official public release.

The first time I heard the Lox freestyle was the Bad Boy mix tape series from the nineties. Jada was extremely witty and lyrical; Sheek funny and catchy and Styles just defined the word grimey.

The wonderful three had a little more braggadocio rhyme style back then but when you run with Puff that tends to happen in most cases (ask Chopper). The Lox, as youths who were standing in front of a stoop in their first video appearance began to lay the foundation for their New York Yankeesque domination. They had the remixes and the appearances on their label’s roster of talent. But I think D. J Clue has always kept the raw aspect of them being emcees in the light despite being in the era of shiny suits.

Now after I saw the first batch of Free L.O.X t-shirts running around and heard them say they wanted off of Bad Boy I said awe sh**!

Is it going to be over?

In my eyes no groups since the legendary EPMD made the fans as anxious as the Lox did. The album did alright but despite the mediocre success the fire was rekindled. Now during the whole time between the album dropping and the release from their contract from Bad Boy. I heard them on every mix tape DJ from here to Saturn.

Styles and Jada have the best back-to-back flow next to Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith. Jada’s raspy flow and lyrical content started to get him noticed as one of the nicest emcees in the game. Styles solidified the whole arena of being a hard emcee not seen since a young pre-movie Ice Cube (you know the one after he left N.W.A). Sheek's mix tape efforts weren't always heard as often as the other two but damn when he did get on he let the microphone have it. I made sure I heard every Green Lantern and every Clue mix tape every time one dropped just to get my fix.

After Jadakiss dropped his solo album and went to war with Beanie Sigel a.k.a. “Beans” (Now that was battle worth listening too.), I felt like it was a good solo drop but it was not what I wanted or expected. Then Styles album came out and I said to myself self this dude is a problem (in a good way). Then he went and served his time for the knife incident.

Then surprisingly there was just the mix tape buzz coming out and you would hear rhymes here and there but not as often as usual.

Thankfully, you start hearing Sheek becoming a monster on the solo and freestyle side of things. At this time I also started to notice that a young guy from Yonkers named J. Hood the Lox had in their skits was with them and he is another problem. Sheek after the positive buzz from the streets decided to come out as a solo artist along with forming his own record label, D-Block. The album dropped and it was full of vintage Sheek punch lines and the screaming of D-Block.

In my opinion, they all their things and they did ok maybe not number-wise but as emcees they definitely did it.

When Styles came back home from jail, the empire decided to strike back and did it with a flood on every mix tape, radio show, soundtracks and all the collabos you could think of. J. Hood continues to prove he is one of the nicest MCs under age 25. Their solidarity as a unit has kept them going as a group and has kept us listening. D-Block is one label/clique that I foresee very big things from.

I just can’t wait for the next Lox album. But I really think D-Block Compilation album with a track with Cassidy and J. Hood would hit the spot.

Any comments, questions email B.O.B. at music@geoclan.com