Now on sale: The Lox Tickets

Image: The Lox

Legendary hip hop group The Lox are heading to Manchester. The trio, who infamously managed to convince Sean 'Puffy' Combs to free them from their recording contract with his label Bad Boy Records, consists of rappers Sheek Louch, Styles P and famed lyricist Jadakiss, renowned for their grimy and underground referencing records which defined the Streets led hip hop of New York in the late nineties and early Twenty First century.

Their first album together Money, Power & Respect released on Bad Boy in 1998 (stream above on Spotify) introduced the rappers to the wider world, but the mixed lyrical themes proved to be the beginning of the end for the group's time on the label. The incendiary fire on the title track that featured DMX and Lil Kim was at odds with the Rod Stewart sampling 'If you Think I'm Jiggy'.

It ended up in the group leaving the label for Ruff Ryders, the collective built around DMX and Swizz Beatz, but not before a prolonged legal battle which was eventually ended by a campaign delivered via the streets, with Free the LOX t-shirts and concerts ramming the point home.

The outcome had added irony due to the group's status as Bad Boy's deliberately hardcore group, and alongside 50 Cent's mixtape revolution, one of the most important examples of artist power in the hip hop music. At Ruff Ryders The LOX, as solo rappers and as a group, found the home that suited their rugged appeal, and led them to the path which confirmed them as hip hop icons.

They've since formed their own label, D-Block, spawning a collaborative album with the Wu Tang Clan entitled Wu-Block, and remained pillars of hardcore hip hop at its finest. With Sheek's animated delivery, Styles P' poetic constructions and the rugged one liner genius of Jadakiss, the group's chemistry delivers a brilliantly cohesive live show.You catch the bigging up the show below via video as well above. Head here for ticket details.

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