Styles P being the best rapper in the Lox is something my friends and I argue about whenever we come across one of their posse cuts. Jadakiss is "Top 5, dead or alive" and never spit a wack verse, but the Ghost has a stronger solo discography, by a landslide.
While Jada tries to pander to commercial radio, SP sticks to his guns as the hardest rapper out by making street tracks about ghetto life and smoking weed. The Lox in general don't get the respect they deserve, and Styles is oft-overlooked by fans who put Jada on a pedestal (which is funny because both make each other better).
Last week, #TBT was dedicated to Jigga Man. This Thursday we'll be reflecting on the many gems Styles P the Ghost has given us over the years. So, I declare today, April 2, 2015, Styles P Appreciation Day because he deserves it. SP has washed legends on their own shit, out-shined his groupmates, and given us classic solo records. Check out these standout Styles P records.
Angel Diaz is a staff writer for Complex Media. Follow him @ADiaz456.
The Notorious B.I.G. f/ The Lox “Last Day” (1997)
Sheek always sets the table nicely, Jada always gives you bars, and Biggie never plays fair, but a case can be made for Styles' verse being the best. The Ghost gave us jewels on here. He raps about guns having black holes, doing bids, and living with pain.
“Get married to the game, but never have a kid with it.”
They should teach his "Last Day" verse at Oxford.
Jay Z f/ The Lox, Beanie Sigel, and Sauce Money “Reservoir Dogs” (1998)
Ghost washed everybody on this shit.
"Far as this rap shit, I'm 10 steps ahead of niggas
Shootin backwards, just for practice
Ride or die, nigga, hoppin' in your casket
Bout to go to hell with you, blow the L with you
Tell the whole world I'm spittin let 'em know the shells hit you
I tell niggas quick, suck dick and get a Glock
My name ring bells like Sunday at 12 o'clock
I'm half past seven, bust six then 11"
Case closed. Don't debate me. That's it.
DMX f/ The Lox and Ma$e “N***az Done Started Something” (1998)
“If you love the money then be prepared die for it. You can lay in the flames or hug the sky for it.”
That chorus is classic shit.
“Respect me like Pesci
And if rap was hockey, I be Gretzky
Puffin' Nestle”
That line is classic shit.
Result: Styles P made this song a classic.
DMX f/ The Lox and Jay Z “Blackout” (1998)
OK, Jigga, and Dark Man X have the standouts on this joint. That doesn't mean we can't appreciate Pinero's flow, though. He was coming for their throats.
“I pop shit 'cause I'm the second best, the first was B.I.G
Y'all niggas is sonned out, let me speak to your father
'Cause I like to play chess and I swing the revolver
If I don't like a nigga, I don't even be bothered
I spit, I'm just a crooked nigga goin' legit”
This is a guy that held his own with Big for years. The Lox always hopped on tracks like they belonged; they were never overwhelmed. They don't make posse cuts like this anymore.
Ruff Ryders “Dope Money” (1999)
The Lox are all about loyalty, that's how they've been able to navigate this game without beefing in public, and Styles and Jada speak on that on this standout track on Ryde or Die, Vol. 1. This is one of the hardest tracks ever recorded.
“What you know about coppin' a house to fight pits in or blowing weed smoke on the cops that write tickets.”
*lights L, blows weed in cop's face, gets booked, cries because I'm not built like that*
DJ Clue? f/ The Lox “Who Did You Expect” (2000)
“You christen your kids, I let my son listen to Big”
Everyone should follow that advice. The world would be a better place.
DJ Envy f/ Styles P “What, Why, Where, When” (2003)
I touched on this Envy tape in last week's installment of #TBT. This is a top five Styles solo track in my most humblest of opinions because the bars solidify his standing as "The World's Hardest MC."
"They ain't tell you that the Ghost was here?
You ain't see me comin'?
Told your man that the coast was clear
Now I'm tearin' off both your ears
Kick in the door, load the shotty watch the sofa tear
Y'all “Scarface” niggas, Sosa here
So the army and the coke are here, we loc' out here
They ain't tell you that I ride or die?
Thirty niggas on your block, only five alive
Shit, they ain't tell you that I'm harder than Brillo
I'ma give your mother the wire, your father the pillow
I don't play too much, I wait too much
And when it comes to the drugs, I weigh too much
And I don't say too much, I spray too much
Step over the dead body then I blaze the dutch"
This song makes me want to crack a Dutch and catch a case. "Takes five bags of haze just to get me weeded." Man, listen, whenever I played this song I said, "Fuck school!"