On this day, Jan. 25 in hip-hop history...

2000: Legedary rap trio, The Lox, dropped their sophomore album We Are the Streets on Jan. 25, 2000.

Coming off the success of their debut album Money, Power & Respect in 1998, the Bad Boy signees were eager to keep their career momentum going while also trying to re-brand themselves into the more street-type of mentality the group wanted to be associated with, as opposed to the shiny, glitzy rap stars that Bad Boy was toting at the time.

In 1999, the group broke their contract with Bad Boy in favor of signing with Ruff Ryders Entertainment — home of DMX, Eve and Drag-On. We Are the Streets was released under Ruff Ryders and Interscope Records a little over one year after their signing.

Production on the 18-track LP was mainly handled by Ruff Ryders' founder and go-to beat smith, Swizz Beatz, with sparse help from Timbaland, P.K. and DJ Premier. Only a few tracks, namely "Ryde or Die, Bitch," featuring Timbaland and Eve, and "Recognize," featuring Eve, didn't feature Swizz Beatz tunes. The rowdy banger, "Wild Out," emerged as the biggest hit off the project, but fans also loved "Ryde or Die, Bitch," thanks to Timbo's Latin-inspired production, and Jadakiss shone on his second album solo track "Blood Pressure."

Although it was an uphill battle to get out of Bad Boy, the LOX' reinvention worked out tenfold. We Are the Streets peaked at No. 2 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and No. 5 on the Billboard 200.

Now, nearly 20 years later, the Warlocks have continued to evolve through numerous solo projects, collabs outside of the group and a management deal at Roc Nation. Their latest project to date as trio was 2016's Filthy America… It’s Beautiful.

Ruff Ryders/Interscope
Ruff Ryders/Interscope
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