Styles P hails from New York and is a founding member of the rap group The Lox, which included Jadakiss and Sheek Louch. Renowned for his hardcore lyrics that put across powerful and insightful messages, Styles has said that he is, “your rapper’s favorite rapper.” Styles P made his debut on Bad Boy Records, recoding songs with the likes of Notorious B.I.G. and Puff Daddy. The Lox eventually released Money, Power and respect on Bad Boy but The Lox later left the label to sign with Ruff Ryders. Another Lox record called We Are The Streets followed, as well as work on Jadakiss’ solo album.

Styles P recorded his first solo album, A Gangster & a Gentleman, in 2002. It featured a pair of memorable tracks that included “My Life,” featuring Pharaoh Monch, and “Good Times.” Styles P followed up this success in 2003 by teaming with partner Jadakiss to contribute to the soundtrack to the smash HBO series Oz. The song “Some Niggas” aptly summed up life behind bars. In 2005, Styles and Jadakiss offered a remix of Mariah Carey’s “We belong Together” before turning in his newest solo record, Time Is Money. Never one to shy from controversy, Styles has butted heads with his new label, Interscope, and locked himself in public battle s with the likes of 50 Cent and G-Unit, but he has also showed himself to be a businessman by co-founding D-Block Records with Jadakiss and Sheek Louch.

SixShot.com recently caught up with Styles, where he shed insight into the new record, his own time behind bars, and how these experiences shaped him as a rapper.

Sixshot.com: Tell us about your newest album.
Styles P: There are going to be 19 or 20 tracks on my upcoming album. Hi-Teck, Havoc, Coco Channel are some of the producers and as far as artists there will be the D-Block, Lil' Jon, Sheek Louch, Jagged Edge, Mario Winans, Talib Kweli, and Marshall from Poetry.

Sixshot.com: What can people expect from your album? What will be some of the messages behind the lyrics?
Styles P: I am trying to be very diverse on my new album I am tiring to make you understand when I am saying something positive, I want to make you dance I try to make you feel if you need to launch something launch something. I am tiring to make you understand why I am so angry and upset, I try to bring you in to my world and I try to give something back. I have tracks for girls, tracks for families, I got tracks for black people I got tracks for white people and I got tracks for the hood, I got tracks for main stream radio, basically I got tracks for everything.

Sixshot.com: When is the record going hit stores?
Styles P: It got pushed back and now we are looking at January. It's all politics man, politics.

Sixshot.com: How was your experience in prison? Is it different to be in jail as a rap artist?
Styles P: When you are going to jail, you just mold your hand and work it the same way you would while carry on the streets. It's just the same as the streets you get hatin’ and lovin’. They did move me around a lot, every time I got comfortable they moved me just to make my stay more miserable. I don't think it is much different for me then for anybody else to be in Jail. I am like on TV in jail and I am like aha, some people love some hate it's like both ways, just like in the streets.

Sixshot.com: What do you think about the Hip-Hop Game right now? Where do you see hip-hop in 5 years?
I hope that more vocal rappers come out

Sixshot.com: What do you think is the most important part of a track, the message, the beat…?
Styles P: I don't think that every track should have a message some tracks are for the message some are to feel good some music is where you feel bad and some music is for if you want to get hyped that's why it's music. If music was just about messaging everybody then everybody's message would be fucked up. Music is a message in it’s self.

Sixshot.com: What's up with Sheek Louch and Jadakiss, will there be another project?
Styles P: The LOX are my Brothers with the music or without. We are real Niggaz this ain’t no just music. We will get to another album but all the problems need to settle first.

Sixshot.com: What are you plans for the future, movies?
Styles P: Soon to come, not jet but soon to come. I will go on tour as soon as the album comes out.

Sixshot.com: What do you think about the internet community and the bootlegging and stuff?
Styes P: I keep a lot of work on the street you always find me on Mixtapes so my people can know my story and my struggle. People know I am ready, I am always ready, shit, I got two more albums waiting after that…just give it a shot.

*Disclaimer: Exclusive Styles P interview and text was conducted by SixShot.com.  No part of this interview may be duplicated without written permission from SixShot.com.  The interview content or text layout may not be altered in any shape or form.