or years, David "Styles P" Styles played the role of odd man out, the third man in a two-man crew, the LOX. Founded by Jadakiss and Sheek Luch in their high school days, the much younger Styles joined a few years after their creation. This age disparity in the group even showed on their early work, as Jadakiss and Sheek both had spots on Puff Daddy's smash "It's All About the Benjamins", while Styles was relegated to backup work and filler duty on their first two albums, Money, Power, Respect and We Are The Streets. But then something changed. Sheek never reached the potential he displayed on his early material and Jadakiss flopped badly with his solo album, hiring big name producers but not producing the appropriate sales figures. All the while, Styles was practicing and waiting for his time. Styles sounded surprisingly different and more talented on his first solo track, "Holiday" off of Ruff Ryders Vol 2. Soon after, he received the coveted “Verse of the Month” from The Source for his work on Violator: The Album 2's "Come Thru" with Noreaga. As more Styles P material became available, it became apparent that he was both progressing fast and that his past work was vastly underrated. Along the way, fans started clamoring for his solo album, and on the strength of his first single, "Good Times", it appeared that with A Gangsta and a Gentleman, Styles was, indeed, finally “gonna make it”.


The LOX can classified as "lyrical heavyweights" in the sense that they consistently deliver small punchline "jabs", occasionally hitting with the knockout punch, occasionally losing their "bouts". The difference between them and someone like Pharoahe Monch is simple: they are not very concerned with their content, concepts, and flow, but instead their punchlines and threats. This is the toughest approach to hip-hop, as very few artists can actually do that and succeed on a long term basis. The LOX are very good at what they do, but Styles is the first of the group to display any versatility or depth. This is shown best on the bonus track, "My Life", featuring Pharoahe Monch, which Interscope thankfully decided to pay to have added to A Gangsta and a Gentleman, from its original placement on Soundboming 3. Easily the best track overall album, Ayatollah's soulful beat, laced with a mesmerizing vocal sample similar to that on his earlier work, Ms. Fat Booty, brings out the best in Styles, and has the hook of the year. The song is also backed with deep rhymes like "My life is a blunt to the head, a prayer for the dead / Run around hustlin', scared of the feds / They said death is eternal sleep, but the only thing is you ain't really sure if you prepared for the bed", which is infinitely more than could be expected out of Styles even a year ago. In fact, many of the tracks on the CD feature him reaching deeper into his psyche than anything on the two LOX group albums or any guest appearances. On the tracks "Black Magic", featuring Angie Stone, and "A Gangsta and a Gentleman" this becomes apparent. Both songs detail the struggle a young black man has to go through growing up and becoming a man. However, they succumb to a problem common to quite a few songs on the album: Both feature excellent lyrics, but the nondescript, cookie-cutter 'conscious' beats detract from the total package, and while the lyrics are introspective, the down-tempo beats slow the momentum built from the mostly up-tempo remainder of the album.


Very occasionally, the beat matches the level of skill displayed on the song perfectly. The country-western and blues guitar filled influence of "Listen" fits nicely with Styles' “Verse of the Month” from the Source, asking the listener to answer his questions about his hardships and barriers faced, and why he's reached above them. "Nobody Believes Me", featuring fellow LOXer Sheek and D-Block protégés Jae Hood and Cross, is another good example, an unnerving track where the haunting strings and drums provide a vivid backdrop for the story of Styles committing a murder, while the guests rap as his weapons. An interesting concept backed by one of Swizz Beatz' stronger tracks, "Nobody Believes Me" is the highlight of the album, its vivid and imaginative vocals staying strong in the listener's mind.


Lyrically, the best tracks on the album are the ones where Styles gets introspective, but they often aren't matched with good beats. Individually, the production is very good, but when looked at as a whole, it seems disjointed and non-cohesive. A few of the tracks have heavy drums and strong basslines, like "Lick a Shot" and "Y'all Don't Wanna", and the aforementioned Roots imitations are the exact opposite. Focusing more on the lyrics, songs like "Good Times" and "My Life" have harder, thumping and pounding beats with vocal samples, but keep the beat in the background. What's frustrating is these songs are randomly placed all over the record, not allowing Styles to gain momentum. It would have been interesting to see him place the less introspective and more violent tracks towards the back end of the CD, to make those buying it for the expected 'Styles' to have to sit through the deep tracks. Cohesion is an underrated factor on hip-hop albums, and artists are encouraged to approach songs in a different way and have different sounds, to break the monotony, but this album takes it much too far. In fact, it almost seems to be broken up into four separate six track sections, each made up of two thug songs, one club song, two introspective tracks, and a terrible skit. Seeing as how it is so easy to divide the album neatly, it makes sense that it doesn't flow, peak, or crescendo. This is a big problem, and makes A Gangsta and a Gentleman seem more like an extended mix-tape, almost a "Best of Styles P collection".


The LOX are maddening, there's no other way to describe them. Jadakiss released a complete brick with the exception of four classic songs, and Styles releases a deep, strong album, with the exception of a few weak songs. They are very close to the upper echelon of hip-hop, but they just need to give more effort. The members are, along with Jay-Z and Havoc, primarily punchline rappers, but you can feel an underlying realness behind their words. These people have been through tough times, and they bring that to their records, and while it is often interesting (songs like "Black Magic"), it can often get to be too much (like "Styles"). In the end, if you already like the LOX Styles' album is worth a purchase, but don’t expect it to make you a believer if you aren’t.