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SHEEK LOUCH
AFTER TAXES
Sheek Louch is still out
to get his respect. After sneaking in his
critically lauded debut Walk Witt Me in
2003, the Yonkers-bred rhyme general is dropping
his triumphant sophomore smash After Taxes
on September 20th on D-Block/KOCH
Records. Armed with the requisite appearances from
his D-Block kin (Jadakiss, Styles P, J-Hood),
paramount guests (Redman, Ghostface) and
production from the finest beatsmiths (Alchemist,
Rockwilder, Buckwild, et. al.), all those who
didn’t bet on Sheek are going to have to pay up.
Sheek Louch is no one’s
squeaky third wheel. You’ve heard the story,
fellow Yonkers native Mary J. Blige slides a local
group’s demo to Puff Daddy who then signs them to
his Bad Boy Records empire in 1996. Originally,
the Warlox was a duo consisting of Sheek and
Jadakiss, then called Sean Ski and Little J,
respectively. The two were buddies since they were
nine years old, with Styles P entering the fold by
the time they were all running the halls of Gordon
High School.
“Me and Kiss, at that young
age, we was like ‘Me and you the group, let’s sign
Styles’,” reminisces Sheek, the memory a prelude
of what was to come. “We was always thinking way
down the road.” But with Styles attending all the
initial meetings with Diddy, as well as appearing
on numerous tracks, it was decided that the LOX
(Living Off Experience) would be a trio. “Three of
us with three different styles [but] we
complemented each other.”
The group’s debut, Money,
Power, Respect went Gold off the strength of
the hit title track featuring DMX & Lil’ Kim.
Their appearances on tracks from Hip-hop
heavyweights including Jay-Z (“Reservoir Dogs”),
Puffy (“It’s All About the Benjamins”) and Mariah
Carey (“Honey”) certified their star power.
However, all was not well.
“When we got there it was
hype. We was flying on private jets, getting on
albums immediately and B.I.G. walking around the
studio. He bringing his friends to meet us, we
spittin’ for him and he was glad we was on his
side,” says Sheek of their initial excitement,
before revealing the downside. “We wanted the
money, but we didn’t want to be as fly as [Puffy]
wanted us to be. He had us changing so many lyrics
― ‘Nah, that’s too hard’― and then we were writing
so much. Any hot shit that you heard from Diddy
back then, the big big hits, me and Jada
and Styles wrote. You name it, from “Victory” to “Benjamins,”
it goes on. But the checks weren’t there. It just
wasn’t financially right. He tried to give us more
money to stay but it wasn’t what the people wanted
from us. The average artist would have stayed.”
Sheek Louch thrives when
he’s the underdog. Confident in their talents,
the LOX chose to jump ship, starting the infamous
“Let the LOX Go” campaign when their release from
Bad Boy was slow going. Their managers, Dee & Wah,
had a fledgling label of their own, Ruff Ryders
Records, and its grittier aesthetic was more in
tune with the trio’s block-hugging rhetoric.
“We kind of kicked in the
door for the whole Ruff Ryder shit,” says Sheek.
The claim isn’t far fetched. Sheek’s voice blessed
the hook of DMX’s breakthrough hit “Get At Me
Dog.” DMX also appeared on the LOX’s “Money,
Power, Respect” as well as the mixtape banger,
“Niggas Done Started Something.” With DMX, Drag-On
and Eve already aboard, the LOX joined the fold in
2000 and released their sophomore set We Are
the Streets.
“Damn near every lyric was
aimed at homie,” says Sheek of their initial ire
at Puff during his first post-Bad Boy release. “We
was young boys at the time. Now that I look back
as a grown ass man, I can’t even say I would have
went about it differently, but at the same time,
‘Where was our management, where was our lawyers,
where was everybody that was supposed to look
after these young dudes in the game that was
hot?!’”
Now snuggly at Ruff Ryders,
the streets rung for a solo from Jadakiss, who
promptly dropped, Kiss the Game Goodbye,
and then from Styles P, who in turn released A
Gangster & A Gentleman. Sheek wasn’t worried
about being the odd man out.
“I was like ‘Yo, I’ll do the
LOX albums every time they drop, I’m good’,” he
deadpans. “I was hustling. I was never on the
radio. Come to the hood, you’ll see me.” But at
the urging of friends he decided to leak some
freestyles to mixtapes. The result of his sinister
sixteens was instantaneous. “The streets was like,
‘Damn!’ and it was on and poppin’,” says Sheek,
who notes support from DJ Kay Slay in particular,
for putting the recording battery in his back.
“After a minute I’m number one on every mixtape,
rockin’.”
Sheek Louch is about his
business. The mixtape requests led him to
build his own D-Block Studios in Yonkers. It also
inadvertently sparked another business venture.
“SP [Styles] was always yelling out “D-Block nigga!”
meaning ‘I’ll take yo shit, anything gully.’ I was
like ‘Yo, I like that name, that’s catchy.
D-Block, that’s the name of the company.’ I
started making some songs, and people started
sending beats, ‘Alright, I think they want an
album from me.’”
D-Block Records was formed
with all three LOX brethren sharing CEO duties and
long time industry promotion guru Supa Mario ― who
was distributing the freestyles ― serving as
President. After sitting down with countless
labels, they chose to roll with Universal/Motown
for distribution in 2003, releasing Walk Witt
Me. But despite the album’s critical acclaim
and a hit single in the Green Lantern produced
bomb, “Mighty D-Block (2 Guns Up),” the fit with
the label wasn’t ideal and D-Block moved on.
“I said you know what, before
I go into debt with y’all, this [is] my last
joint. I see what’s happening in this house.
Everyone was pointing fingers to the next person
when something wasn’t right. If you’re not already
in there selling millions, they really don’t know
what to do with you. They didn’t understand the
whole vision of D-Block.”
Sheek and D-Block, chose to
go independent, aligning with KOCH Records in
2005. “KOCH seen the vision and they’re really
excited,” says Sheek. “A new artist, it may be a
little hard, unless you the shit in that little
town down South. My last album, my video came out
the day it dropped [and] I did 75,000 my first
week. Indie, they happy off those numbers. Niggas
like us out the gate, that’s nothing. I got a set
fan base, that point blank, I’m good. It’s way
more money for your buck. It’s on you.”
Sheek Louch is a grown ass
man. Still a youthful 28 years old,
capitalizing on his success is essential as he
recently became father. “That was a whole
experience,” says Sheek of the birth of his
namesake, Sean Joshua Jacobs, on April 27th.
“Especially recording my album and going home at
night proud to see my dun.”
The new album, After Taxes,
reveals that Sheek’s continued maturity provides
fodder for exponential growth as an emcee. “It’s a
metaphor for what it really is,” he says of the
album’s title. “At the end of the day, after all
the smoke clears, I’m right here, banging out the
real deal.”
After recording 40 plus
songs, Sheek Louch has whittled the album down to
a #/TK track clip of street oriented heaters like
the rugged lead single “Kiss Your Ass Goodbye”
featuring Styles P that will simultaneously
satiate old fans and corral in new ones.
Sheek Louch can hold his
own, but knows when to break out the big guns.
“The first album I said ‘Nah man, I don’t really
want nobody on my album.’ This time I wasn’t
afraid to reach out to certain niggas.” That would
include Redman, who swings through the rocking
bells of the Vinny Idol/TK produced “Get Up Stand
Up” and Ghostface Killah, who runs through the
buttery but fierce piano tickles of the
Alchemist-produced “Oh No.” Even old nemesis Puff
Daddy jumps about, appearing on “TK”. Over
majestic strings on “All Fed Up” he shows topical
variety, waxing remorseful on infidelity. But
before you think he’s gone soft there’s the
scathing G-Unit dis, “Street Music” (featuring The
Game) or the incendiary, Red Spyda produced “Maybe
If I Sing. “
Sheek Louch should never
be underestimated. “It’s a broader album, I
took it to the club, I took it to the streets, you
name it,” concludes Sheek. “The heartfelt shit,
baby mama drama, whatever was on my mind. You can
tell it’s a whole ‘nother’ Louch.”
But don’t fret, the Louch
that has made him one of Hip-hop most lyrically
dangerous rappers, hasn’t gone anywhere. “It’s
definitely hard core, definitely energetic. I’m a
little more amped than my other two partners. I
ain’t afraid to switch that flow up. I ain’t
afraid to laugh on a song or nothing, that’s what
it is. Cause I think I’m enjoying what I’m doing
and on this album you can hear that.” Listen up.
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