HAPPY 44th BIRTHDAY, to… STYLES P!

HAPPY 44th BIRTHDAY, to… STYLES P!


David Styles - born 11/28/1974 in Corona-Queens, NY – is an American rapper, songwriter, entrepreneur, health food shop owner, & book author.

Born in a Jamaican & South African mixed home, Styles had modest beginnings.  After his parents divorced, he & his younger brother Gary moved to Yonkers with their mother.  While in high school, he & 2 friends (Jadakiss & Sheek) formed a rap group first called ‘The Bomb Squad’ and then later named ‘The Warlox’.  They began working local talent shows in 1993, and made their 1st mainstream appearance on Main Source’s “Set It Off” in 1994.  They showed face at nearly every Yonkers hip-hop event, created demos, and started developing a fan base by appearing on many underground mixtapes. One of their admirers was fellow Yonkers-alum Mary J Blige, passed their demo on to Bad Boy CEO Sean ‘Puff Daddy’ Combs, who eventually signed them to a multi-album deal.  Through the advice of Combs – they shortened their group name to The Lox, started appearing on many DJ Clue tapes, Jadakiss & Styles started notably co-writing for other rappers, and the group gained a string of collaboration exposure featuring on hits from Puff, Notorious BIG, DMX, Mase, NORE, Mariah Carey, J-Lo, etc.  By January 1998, they released a debut album ‘Money, Power, & Respect’ that eventually sold Platinum.  Styles tried his hand at solo work, getting 2 hits with “My Life” (w/ Pharoahe Monch) & “Good Times” in 2002.  He released his own debut solo album ‘A Gangster and a Gentleman’ through Ruff Ryders/Interscope in July 2002, which sold Gold in about 3 months.

Styles’ career momentum had a couple hiccups.  While their debut was commercially successful, he & his group had a well-publicized conflict with Puff & Bad Boy over contract terms, finances, & creative differences; that took “Let the LOX Go”-street campaign & nearly 6 months of legally maneuvering to get out of their deal and sign with Ruff Ryders.  This was followed by - his brother Gary dying in a car accident in May 2001; Styles himself having to serve an 8-month prison stint for his involvement in a NY-club stabbing that same year; and then his stepdaughter Tai committing suicide at 21 in 2015.  Diversified his skills, he continued on though.  While still maintaining a steady tour schedule - Styles signed a multi-project book deal with Random House publishing in 2011, releasing his first novel that same year entitled ‘Invincible’.  Styles brokered a small sponsorship deal from High Times, and twice he helped establish indie labels with national distribution for his group (D-Block Records) & for himself (Phantom Records).  Already a vegan and avid veggie-juicer since 2003, he linked with 2 business partners, and he & Jadakiss became owners of a health juice bar chain called Juices for Life – which now has 2 locations in NYC & the Bronx.

Musically, Styles P has created: (10) solo albums, (4) group albums, (3) group mixtapes, & (8) collaborative/duo compilations, and (1) EP – which along with his features, have all collectively helped earn him: (1) 3x Platinum plaque, (3) 1x Platinum plaques, & (4) Gold plaques …


>’Money, Power, & Respect’ (1998) [as part of The LOX]
>’Ruff Ryders, Ryde or Die Vol. 1’ (1999) [as part of the Ruff Ryders]
>’We Are The Streets’ (2000) [as part of The LOX]
>’Ruff Ryders, Ryde or Die Vol. 2’ (2000) [as part of the Ruff Ryders]
>’RR, Ryde or Die Vol. 3: In The R We Trust’ (2001) [as part of the Ruff Ryders]
>’A Gangster And a Gentleman’ (2002)
>’Ruff Ryders Vol. 4: The Redemption’ (2005) [as part of the Ruff Ryders]
>’Time Is Money’ (2006)
>’Super Gangster [Extraordinary Gentleman]’ (2007)
>’No Security’ (2009) [as part of The LOX]
>’The Green Ghost Project’ (2010) [duo w/ DJ Green Lantern]
>’Master of Ceremonies’ (2011)
>’The World’s Most Hardest MC Project’ (2012)
>’Float’ (2013)
>’The Trinity Mixtape’ (2013) [as part of The LOX]
>’Phantom & The Ghost’ (2014)
>’The Trinity: 2nd Sermon Mixtape’ (2014) [as part of The LOX]
>’The Trinity: 3rd Sermon Mixtape’ (2014) [as part of The LOX]
>’A Wise Guy and a Wise Guy’ (2015)
>’Filthy America… It’s Beautiful’ (2016) [as part of The LOX]
>’The Seven’ (2017) [duo w/ Talib Kweli]
>’Vibes’ (2017) [duo w/ Berner]
>’Nickel Bag EP’ (2018)
>’G-Host’ (2018)
>’Beloved’ (2018) [duo w/ Dave East]
>’Dime Bag’ (2018)