Happy Birthday, Sheek Louch!

Today, Nov. 9, is the 41st birthday of Brooklyn rapper and The Lox member Sean Jacobs, better known to the rap world as Sheek Louch. The Brooklynite started rapping at 12 years old when he was inspired by his childhood friend Jadakiss.

Jada, Sheek and Styles P formed the trio The Lox in 1994 and were discovered by Mary J. Blige. The guys dropped their debut album Money, Power & Respect in 1998 under Bad Boy Records. Soon, the trio parted ways with Bad Boy to signed to Ruff Ryders Entertainment, the same label that housed DMX, Eve and Drag-On.

In 2003, Sheek dropped his solo debut Walk Wit Me under D-Block Records, The Lox's own label. To date, Sheek has six solo albums to his name, most recent of which was Silverback Gorilla 2 in 2015. When XXL caught up with Sheek around the time of the record's release, he told us he was back on his "beast mode shit" that fans initially knew him for.

Sheek has always been an entrenpuer as well as an MC. While the Lox were raising their profile in the early 2000's, Sheek was also building up their brand, D-Block. Sheek opened car washes, sold merch and built a special D-Block studio for The Lox and their new recruits. In a moment of nostaglic Lox glory in 2016, Sheek, along with Jada and Styles P, joined the Bad Boy Reunion Tour.

To celebrate his achievements with The Lox over the years, XXL gave them their first-ever cover as a group with the magazine to celebrate the 20th anniversary. During their interview, Sheek discussed embracing the new generation of hip-hop artists, going mainstream and more. Read The Lox's article in full here.

Happy Birthday, Sheek Louch!

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