By the age of twelve, Jadakiss was a freestyle rapper, engaging in competitions. He and some of his friends were given the opportunity to compete in the "Jack the Rapper Competition" in Florida, where Jadakiss was noticed for his battle rap ability. He met Dee and Wah of the Ruff Ryders (then a management company), and began hanging out and battling outside of the Ruff Ryders' studio where artists like DMX made their first hits.
Jadakiss founded the rap group the Warlox in 1994 with friends Jamaal, Sheek Louch, and Styles P. They later signed to Bad Boy Entertainment, where it was suggested that they change their name simply to "The LOX", which came to stand for Living Off eXperience. They made their first appearance on The Main Source's 1994 LP "Fuck What You Think" on the track "Set it Off".
The group, especially Jadakiss, developed a close relationship with The Notorious B.I.G., during which time Jadakiss was taken under Biggie's wing. The LOX's first multi-platinum hit was the tribute to Biggie called "We'll Always Love Big Poppa" (the B-side to Puff Daddy's "I'll Be Missing You") in 1997. In 1998, the LOX released Money, Power, Respect. Following this album, they left Bad Boy Records.
Jada's debut solo album, Kiss the Game Goodbye, was released in August 2001 under the Ruff Ryders/Interscope label. The album featured popular guests and producers such as Snoop Dogg and Swizz Beatz, but was written off as repetitive and uninspired. Jadakiss has acknowledged the criticism as, generally speaking, valid, saying the record was done less out of inspiration and more out of contract obligations to Bad Boy. The album produced the single "Put Ya Hands Up" with the chorus "Put ya hands up/nah, f**k that/ Put ya hands down" reflecting Jada's distance from the album.
Jadakiss' second album, Kiss of Death, was released in June 2004. Prior to the release, his fans were polled, and most claimed the rapper wasn't personal enough in his lyrical stylings.[citation needed] As a result, Jadakiss released the song, "Why?", which bared his innermost thoughts,[citation needed] and it became one of the biggest hits of that year, spawning a remix featuring Styles P, Common, Nas, and Anthony Hamilton. It remains as his biggest hit, peaking at #11 on the Hot 100. Another single from the record, "You Make Me Wanna" featured Mariah Carey and was a much more commercially driven love song. Kiss of Death did not reflect the popularity of its lead single, but it was better-received than his first effort, eventually achieving platinum-selling status.
Recently, in late 2007, Jadakiss signed to Jay-Z's Roc-a-Fella Records, a move Jay had been trying to arrange for a long period of time. He reportedly will have an as-yet-untitled album on Roc-a-Fella in 2008, executive produced by both Jay-Z and the Ruff Ryders CEOs/management team of Dee and Wah. The move comes on the heels of increased D-Block/Roc-a-Fella collaborations; in 2006, Kiss and former rival Beanie Sigel collaborated on DJ Khaled's album Listen..., and in 2007, on Freeway's album Free At Last, while Styles P has appeared on a radio freestyle with Freeway and Sigel. He has also appeared briefly in Jay-Z's latest video for his American Gangster second single, Roc Boys, in which he appears throwing up the famous Roc-a-Fella sign, "the Diamond."
On May 26th 2008, The New York Post reported in its Page Six section that Jadakiss has signed on to play a gang leader in Russell Costanzo's provocative movie-directing debut, "The Tested"
Closure
Jadakiss Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Everybody shinin'
But you know they gotta go out (uh)
And that ain't never a good thing (never)
I thank you for puttin' up with me
Physically gone, but your spirit still stuck with me
All the game that you gave me, it's time to apply it
We gon' work and keep workin', we never get tired (never)
When you own the company, you can never get fired
I let it out, 'cause it be hard for me to keep it in
Icepick Jay forever (Pick), love 'til we meet again
When the lights go out (yeah, yeah)
And when the curtain closes (yeah, yeah)
It's just me and you, and you, and you (that's it)
It's still me and you, and you, and you (uh)
When the show is over (we gon' hold this thing down)
And when the music fades away (LOX, D Block)
It's just me and you, and you, and you (So Raspy)
It's still me and you, and you
This round of applause is for you
On another note, uh
All the loved ones that we lost (BI, Tommy G)
We doin' this for y'all (facts, Kirk Goodwine)
You know, all for my grandmothers (Sweats, Per Diem)
Ty (Moe), all for my grandfathers
(Fatts, Scoob, Ms. Sheryl, Deuce Nickel, Cuzzy Monique)
Misdirect (Tiger, Earl), Gary (Cash, Ace, Fatts, Malik, P, Prime), Styles' pops
(Uh, dad, Fredo, and White), Poob's pops
When the lights go out (Dark, Prodigy, yeah, yeah)
And when the curtain closes (Triple X, yeah, yeah)
It's just me and you, and you, and you (Mac Miller, Juice WRLD)
It's still me and you, and you, and you (Nipsey, Pop Smoke)
When the show is over (all the passengers on that helicopter)
And when the music fades away (Kobe, Gigi)
It's just me and you, and you, and you (Pick)
It's still me and you, and you (I know you wanted me to do a couple things different)
This round of applause is for you (but for the most part, you happy)
When the lights go out (you smilin', baby)
And when the music fades away (uh)
It's just me and you, you, you (yup)
You, you, you, it's just me and you
When the lights go out (uh, yeah)
And when the curtain closes (yeah, yeah)
It's just me and you, and you, and you
It's still me and you, and you, and you (that's it)
When the show is over (what you gon' do when the show is over?)
And when the music fades away (when they cut the music off)
It's just me and you, and you, and you (is you gon' keep that same energy?)
It's still me and you, and you
This round of applause is for you (I hope so)
(You, you, you)
'Cause that's when it gets dead serious
Icepick Jay forever (yeah)
Ignatius (oh)
So Raspy, D Block
The song Closure by Jadakiss is a heartfelt tribute to the people who have passed away, both in his personal life and in the music industry. It starts off with the rapper acknowledging that everything seems perfect while the lights are on, but once they go out, everyone has to leave, and that can't ever be good. He then thanks a person for being with him, even though they are no longer physically beside him. He states that it's time to put the knowledge that the person imparted into him to good use and work hard on it. The rapper acknowledges that it's difficult for him to keep his emotions bottled up, hence he is expressing them through the lyrics of the song. The song ends with Jadakiss acknowledging all the people who have passed away, including his loved ones, friends, and people in the music industry. He reassures them that even though they have left, the memories will always be treasured, and this applause is for them.
The lyrics of Closure capture Jadakiss's emotions beautifully, and his delivery of each verse is poignant. The theme of the song is very relatable as most people go through the pain of losing someone they love at some point in their life. Jadakiss's tribute to his loved ones and people in the music industry is a heartfelt reminder of the fragility of life and how one should cherish the moments spent in the company of loved ones.
Line by Line Meaning
You know it's all good when the lights is on (mhm)
Things seem good when everything's visible
Everybody shinin'
Everybody's doing well
But you know they gotta go out (uh)
But things don't stay that way
And that ain't never a good thing (never)
And that's always tough
I thank you for puttin' up with me
I'm grateful for your patience
Physically gone, but your spirit still stuck with me
You may not be here physically, but your legacy lives on
All the game that you gave me, it's time to apply it
It's time to put your teachings into practice
By any means necessary, whatever's required
We'll do whatever it takes to succeed
We gon' work and keep workin', we never get tired (never)
We'll keep pushing until we succeed
When you own the company, you can never get fired
When you're in charge, you can't lose your job
I let it out, 'cause it be hard for me to keep it in
I'm saying this because it's difficult for me to keep it to myself
Icepick Jay forever (Pick), love 'til we meet again
'Pick' will be remembered forever, and I'll always love you until we're reunited
When the lights go out (yeah, yeah)
When things get tough
And when the curtain closes (yeah, yeah)
When everything is over
It's just me and you, and you, and you (that's it)
It's just us left
It's still me and you, and you, and you (uh)
We're still together
When the show is over (we gon' hold this thing down)
When everything ends, we'll still stand strong
And when the music fades away (LOX, D Block)
When the energy dies down
It's just me and you, and you, and you (So Raspy)
We're all that's left
It's still me and you, and you
We're still together
This round of applause is for you
I'm thanking you for all that you've done
On another note, uh
Moving on to another subject
All the loved ones that we lost (BI, Tommy G)
Remembering everyone we've lost
We doin' this for y'all (facts, Kirk Goodwine)
We're doing this to honor them
You know, all for my grandmothers (Sweats, Per Diem)
Honoring my grandmothers' memories
Ty (Moe), all for my grandfathers
Honoring my grandfathers' memories
Misdirect (Tiger, Earl), Gary (Cash, Ace, Fatts, Malik, P, Prime), Styles' pops
Remembering those we've lost
When the lights go out (Dark, Prodigy, yeah, yeah)
When we're faced with difficult times and memories of those we've lost
And when the curtain closes (Triple X, yeah, yeah)
When it's all over and done with
It's just me and you, and you, and you (Mac Miller, Juice WRLD)
We're all that's left after we've lost so many
It's still me and you, and you, and you (Nipsey, Pop Smoke)
We're still together
When the show is over (all the passengers on that helicopter)
When everything is over, including the tragic helicopter accident
And when the music fades away (Kobe, Gigi)
When the music and energy dies down, and remembering those lost in the tragic crash
It's just me and you, and you, and you (Pick)
We're all that's left
It's still me and you, and you (I know you wanted me to do a couple things different)
We may have lost people, but we're still standing together despite our differences
This round of applause is for you (but for the most part, you happy)
This is all thanks to you, and for the most part I hope you're happy
When the lights go out (you smilin', baby)
You may be gone, but I hope to see you happy in the afterlife
And when the music fades away (uh)
And as everything comes to an end
It's just me and you, you, you (yup)
We're all that's left
You, you, you, it's just me and you
We'll always have each other
When the lights go out (uh, yeah)
When times are tough and uncertain
And when the curtain closes (yeah, yeah)
When everything comes to an end
It's just me and you, and you, and you
We'll always have each other
It's still me and you, and you, and you (that's it)
We're all that's left
When the show is over (what you gon' do when the show is over?)
When everything comes to an end, what will be left?
And when the music fades away (when they cut the music off)
When everything dies down
It's just me and you, and you, and you (is you gon' keep that same energy?)
We'll still have each other, but will you keep the same spirit and energy?
It's still me and you, and you
We're all that's left
This round of applause is for you (I hope so)
This is all thanks to you, and I hope you're happy
Lyrics © THE ROYALTY NETWORK INC., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Jason Phillips, Lauren Seymour, Daniel Garcia, Francis Ubiera, Jesus Fernandez, Mads Moeller, Thor Noergaard
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@mbf6160
Just watched his no jumper interview jada expressed he was crying while recording this joint it definitely put you in that mood 💪🏾😔
@snizzysnakejr9714
So bittersweet to hear you speak of this. I would always slap this in the car when I'm solo and just tears fallin thinking bout my grandp and my godfather. You never really know what you got till it's gone 💙
@mbf6160
@@snizzysnakejr9714 🙏🏾💪🏾
@KantSleep
Haven't heard an album this good in years. Hip hop is still alive
@MrGreedMD
one of the most underrated and ignored rap albums of last 5 years - feels like 1990s-2000s rap modernized, great beats, signature Jada voice and rap - GIVE US ANOTHER ALBUM NIGGA!!!!!!!
@yandhi4202
made me tear up listening to this on the way back home when he shout out Nipsey and Pop Smoke... such a real album/song.
@abduljalilmahama5682
When u own a company, u can't never get fired... Bars🔥💯
@bossaliniofficial6537
Soul Touching ❤❤❤❤❤ and this is the type of song i jss wanted to listening to today....Thanks to you JADA and am Glad knowing you Fam Much Love from ZAMBIA (AFRICA)
@dgrimzg601
The whole album fire but this song rite here just hit me different...thanks Kiss we needed this Kobe!!! GiGi!!!
Ignatius 🙏
@dupreedarden4903
Yeah dis is fire rite here