Walk before you run. While this wisdom is usually in regards to learning something new, it has a different meaning for The LOX. Members Jadakiss, Sheek Louch and Styles P haven’t released a retail album since 2000. But as they prepare We Are The Streets 2, it seems as if dropping an EP first would be an ideal way to brush off the dust.
Fans of The LOX likely won’t be disappointed. For one, it’s a four-song EP that is exceptionally polished and mastered, so there isn’t much to overanalyze. But each emcee also has their moment in the sun. On the opening track, “Faded” (featuring Tyler Woods), Sheek Louch goes all in: “Ayo, I was young, I was gettin’ my hair braided / Momma pullin’ on my scalp, like God damn I hate it / Now I’m sittin’ in the coupe like, god damn I made it / I ain’t seen you in my life, how we God damn related? / That’s why I get faded / No matter if I spit the hottest shit I’m underrated.” Rhymes like these are commonplace on The Trinity. The bars are poignant and eloquently structured. Throughout their respective careers, all three members of The LOX have stayed consistent with their music, and this EP features nothing out of the ordinary.
That very consistency, however, is a catch-22. While they don’t have to stray too far from their formula, the trio does very little to capture a “Wow” factor on The Trinity. Each song is easy to categorize: getting fucked up (“Faded”), street record (“Talk About It”), about the ladies (“Love Me or Leave Me Alone”) and finally, the posse cut (“Three Kings”). Only “Three Kings” stands out as a classic LOX cut, though their interpretation of the 1992 Brand Nubian cut “Love Me or Leave Me Alone” will surely be a welcoming idea for fans of Golden Era Hip Hop. If nothing else, the lyrical walk down memory lane shows Lord Jamar in a more flattering light than some of his recent comments.
The EP as a whole also lacks the inter-verse group dynamic. For instance, the classic Noreaga track “Banned From TV” features Jadakiss and Styles P finishing each other’s lines with intersecting verses. Displays of chemistry like that are nowhere to be found on The Trinity. Instead, it’s just basic verse-for-verse rhyming. The LOX have proven that they can make good music in any decade, but on this EP their attempts to mold their sound into a more contemporary one, while still staying true to themselves, are noticeable.
As stated before, LOX fans should be satisfied with The Trinity. It serves as a useful warm-up course for We Are The Streets 2, and is solid at best, considering it’s their first release in 13 years.
new york hiphop is dead or stuck in the 90’s
shut the hell up!
Only 4 songs deep but I thought the music was Dope, they displayed their versatility and the bars were on-point as usual. Got me ready for the official album!!
my neighbor’s mother makes $75 every hour on the laptop. She has been unemployed for ten months but last month her check was $19142 just working on the laptop for a few hours. take a look at the site here,,,,, x.co/3ZxGB
Its a 5 star ep each track knocks and the lyricism is A+ what else is there to say
just before I looked at the paycheck of $4811, I didn’t believe …that…my neighbours mother woz like actualie taking home money in their spare time from there labtop.. there dads buddy had bean doing this 4 only nine months and at present paid for the loans on their home and bought a brand new Citron DS. go to website… http://www.Fb39.Com
its bigger than white black gay or thug life or whatever you ass faces paint it to be.
The combination of these niggas makes what interested BIG Notorious! Sheek spitt insane, Jada is a beast on the mic and Styles got sick classic lyrics. Can’t wait for #We are the street 2
Jadakiss is a true king of New York!
FUCKING WACK ASS BIASED REVIEW. LOX ARE HARDER THAN YOUR FAVORITE RAPPER.
HipHopDX dropped the ball on this review. A 3? Those four tracks shitted on everything i’ve heard from anyone in the last 4 months. A disgraceful review smh…
Tell your girlfriend “to celebrate the acceptance of gay marriage in the country lets do u in the butt”
And that’s why we didn’t like the EP. You can’t just shit on shit, because at the end of the day, it’s still shit.
honestly, im getting tired of this shit. your scores don’t match your reviews. you base them on expectations of what you want rather than the music for what it is.
salute
if you hate this that’s da problem
Eric G killed the intro beat, but these bars aint to impressive, even tho its 4 tracks, the Lox should be better than this.
Talk About It), about the ladies ” What? HDDX = fuckheads!
Real hip hop rite here the lox spit the realest shit
LOX 4 LIFE , THESE NIGGAS WILL MURDER YOUR FAVORITE RAPPER LYRICALLY
Jada and Fab are the kings of NY
Really are they the kings. So where are all there classics?
They are wack how can you come up with the title: we are the Streets 2?????????? Sequel titles suck ands is a fucking trend talented mc’s dont follow but be leaders.
D-Block Double R 2 gunz up The LOX best lyricists around
best lyricist? how old are you 16?
Classic L.o.x.
If u aint buy this off iTunes get a job u niggas be broke as shit cant afford less than 4 dollars lol but real shit this is a dope ep cant wait on the album
The LOX spit the real shit and be so respected in the streets no fake shit
The album gon be crazy 5 outta 5
jada best mc of all time that never had a classic album styles will shoot n stab u up n sheek will beat the fuck out of any mc/rapper the LOX best ever
Yup…..that’s why as been missing! Just give us MORE!!!!!!!
D-BLOCK hardest shit out LOX TO THE DEATH
word! Lox all day.. leave it to DX to low rate a new york group.. smh
Bahahahaha. Bitch, please. It was a decent effort on their part, therefore we gave them a decent score. What’s the crying and fussing about? I swear, you got some of the BITCHIEST fan boys on this site.
LOX and WU-TANG best groups around this shit dope n that WU-BLOCK album was so slept on
Seems like this website like that nerd shit. Everytime someone puts some street music out(Pusha T) this website seems to give niggas mediocore grades
Nearly every review is off just read the comments on the albums always getting abuse cause they don’t have a clue. They end up deleting peoples comments cause they cant take the fact the hip hop heads know far more than them
Another case of the pot calling the tea kettle black. This coming from the same people who are authorities on “snitching”, yet have probably never spent a day in jail.
Im the first anonymous and im from the hood. 135st and Madison Lincoln projects in Harlem look it up. I ain’t one of these nerd niggas who come on this site staying bullshit. You motherfuckers on this website give no love to anybody who spit street shit. Prodigy’s Albert Enstein is another album that got a mediocore review. When you read the review you wonder how the hell the grades are so mediocore when you guys praise every song on the album.
another thing is most of you reviewers be guys from the UK or some other country. I haven’t read an review thru the eyes of someone from the streets since the Source was relevant. Its to many of you nerds commenting on real shit.
You guys at Hip Hop DX need to hire some more people. Get some opinions from guys who is from the street. That would help out alot
DX DONT HAVE A CLUE bout the street nigga above speakin the truth. But they do have hoods in other countrys tho lol u like 6 times more likely to be robbed or have ur teeth knocked out in London than NY
Look, if you’re feeling some type of way, Mr. I Still Live In The Ghetto With My Mama, then I suggest you head on over to XXLMag, where they rate pretty much damn near EVERYTHING an XL or a XXL rating. You wanna talk a website with no clue with how the culture works? Go there, and while you’re there, check the comments section. Notice that barely 2 – 3 people even post a comment per article. It’s a fucking ghost town. As much as we would like to laud your favorite street artist and suck his dick, they just aren’t deserving of a higher rating? Why? It’s always the same typical, generic “I dealt so many drugs” and “I’ll hit you so hard, your mama will feel it” type delivery/formula on EVERY single song. Please. At least with some of the so called “nerds” you mentioned, they bring a bit of freshness to the game.
The Ghost Donnie G and AL-QUAEDA Jada make dope ass music BARS
I dont understand the point of dropping a 4 track mixtape. We know Jadakiss is one of the best lyricist ever, and The Lox are an underrated rap group. I see this as an attempt to build buzz. However, this is not the 89s or early 2000s. It takes more than this. The musical quality on The trinity is decent but its not good enough to attract new fans. Theyve got to link up with heavy hitting producers, and get some dope features if they plan on being relevant again.
I usually only come on this site to get a list of upcoming rap albums. I finally decided to check out the reviews on the same albums that I downloaded from the people who helped me figure out when those said albums were releasing. I have to say the reviews seem outlandish and don’t reflect the scores you give out. I’m not sure if you’re being ironic, or boggled, but at least have the decency to be organized with the reflection of overall rating to the scoring system you do for individual tracks.
huge ep, three kings is boss, killer production and rhymes. only 3? wtf
copped this off iTunes its dope support real hip hop this 2 chainz wayne ross fake shit gotta end
DX and their BS ratings again…
Just good that after all the bullshit with puffy n interscope or whatever they finally putting out music as THE LOX.
The album gon really just be for the streets anyway id be suprised if it even sold 50 thousand been damn near 15 years since We Are The Streets
My fav group of all time only 2 crews I can think of never broke up dissed each other or had fight/twitter bitch shit over money or whatever is The LOX and MOP
DOPE EP well worth 4 fuckin bucks real hip hop NY
Amazing timeless music!!
Classic LOX cant wait for the album
Sad garbage from should-be legends.
most underachievingist rap group in hip hop history. we are the streets was just a decent album at best. cmon yall…
This shit is dope listening to mc’s rap what they have lived is what u call real hip hop. Not sum idiot lying bout selling kilo’s or shooting people most of these new rappers are a fuckin joke they just get clowned on and have no respect in the streets at all unless they paying sumone to protect and vouch for them
its a nice cd..LOX!!!
DX trying to come hard. lol funny. But ya cant rate street music if you aint street yourself. Theres a difference between street music and hip hop. I fuxx with both, but they both have their own place.
The Lox always have and always will come hard…and that “Faded” track is official. I’m excited to see who they get on the production. I’d love to see 9th Wonder, Premier get into that. That would put that shit over the top for real. Regardless though the LOX r still street, and still come as hard as anyone else in the game right now, so if ur a hip hop fan u should B psyched. I know I am!!!
what so your saying its shit now? what you saying?