Jason Terrance Phillips[2] (born May 27, 1975),[3] better known by his stage name Jadakiss (/ˈdʒeɪdəkɪs/, JAY-duh-kiss), is an American rapper who began his career in the 1990s and formed the hip hop trio the Lox alongside Styles P and Sheek Louch in 1994.

He then signed with Def Jam Recordings to release his third and fourth albums The Last Kiss (2009) and Top 5 Dead or Alive (2015), which peaked at numbers three and four on the chart, respectively.

They eventually met Mary J. Blige, who, impressed with their lyrics, handed their demo to Puff Daddy, who signed the group to his label Bad Boy.

[4] They immediately began writing and performing on hit songs with fellow Bad Boy artists, including Puff Daddy's "It's All About the Benjamins" and "I Got the Power", Mase's "24 Hrs.

tribute song "I'll Be Missing You", and received widespread commercial success, achieving multi-platinum status from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Though the record was successful, The Lox grew unhappy with Bad Boy and Puff Daddy's glossy, radio friendly production, feeling it conflicted with their grimier street aesthetic.

Jadakiss began embarking on a solo career in 2001 and his debut album, Kiss Tha Game Goodbye, was released in August 2001 on the Ruff Ryders/Interscope label.

The album featured popular guests and producers such as DJ Premier, The Alchemist, DMX, Eve, Snoop Dogg, Nas and Swizz Beatz and was commercially successful, going on to be certified gold by the RIAA and selling over 200,000 copies during its first week of release.

The song also garnered controversy for a line in which Jadakiss claims that he believes George W. Bush planned the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

This caused Jadakiss to release numerous 50 Cent diss tracks, including "Checkmate", "Problem Child", "Shots Fired" and "I'm Sorry Ms. Jackson".

50 Cent along with his G-Unit crew responded with songs such as "I Run New York", "Window Shopper", and "Death Wish" by Lloyd Banks.

", in which Jadakiss lyrically implied George W. Bush coordinated the September 11 attacks, with the line "Why do niggas push pounds of powder?

[13][12][14] In 2005, Jadakiss released the 50 Cent diss track "Checkmate" under Ruff Ryders and Interscope as a promotional single on March 9, 2005.

He contributed on records for Mariah Carey, Styles P, David Banner and also featured on Cuban Link's album Chain Reaction, appearing on the track "Talk About It".

[17] On June 4, 2013, Jadakiss released the first single from his by then upcoming fourth studio album, Top 5 Dead or Alive titled "Big Boy Dialogue", featuring vocals from The-Dream.

The album featured guest appearances from Fetty Wap, Mobb Deep and Gucci Mane, and peaked at number 42 on the Billboard 200.

[25] On April 2, 2016, Fabolous and Jadakiss released a freestyle of Future's "Wicked" from Purple Reign that was scheduled appear on Freddy vs. Jason, but did not make the final cut of the album.

The album was released on November 24, 2017, and features guest appearances from Future, Jeezy, Styles P, French Montana and Yo Gotti.

On June 29 of the same year, Jadakiss defeated Fabolous in a battle on Timbaland and Swizz Beatz' Verzuz held virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The following year, Jadakiss returned for another Verzuz battle, this time alongside the Lox against The Diplomats (DipSet) live with an audience at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden.

freestyle (both studio and live versions) being added to the iTunes Store and Apple Music 11 years after its initial release.

[29][30] Just over a year after the battle while they were performing at LL Cool J's Rock The Bells festival at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens, Jadakiss presented Styles P and Sheek Louch with Lox championship rings and unveiled his.

[40] Police arrested two men on multiple felony charges after they raided Jadakiss' Yonkers, New York apartment and found heroin (5 grams) and marijuana (6.5 pounds).

The incident took place on the morning of August 24, 2009, and started when an investigation revealed the presence of marijuana inside the vehicle driven by two men.