The very first time I heard the confident and raspy voice of Jason Phillips, I got goosebumps. It was unique and dynamic; I wanted to hear more! I still remember when I met him for the first time at a Puff Daddy party on South Beach. It was 1997 and little did he or I know, he would become apart of the most incredible hip-hop story ever told. He was a Bad Boy.
Growing up in Yonkers, NY and sharing a childhood with his Lox group members, he talks about their toddler days and says they are still very much a group. While attending college at Westchester Community, he already knew what he wanted from life. I recently sat down with Kiss and was able to to get into his heart and soul. Even though he’s the sweetest and kindest in my eyes, he will remind you not to let the baby face fool you.
MASHONDA: Is kissing a thing for you?
JADAKISS: Kisses? Nah, not at all.
So it doesn’t connect at all?
Nah. I mean, that ain’t what the name is for. That ain’t my trademark. I don’t mind kissing somebody that I’m with, [but] I don’t do a lot of kissing. You won’t be able to find a lot of people that say they kissed Kiss [laughs]
When was the first time you fell in love?
I’d probably say I fell in love a long time ago, but I really didn’t know it. By being in the industry, making money and thinking you’re that dude, men do a lot of moving around. Men move around more than ladies, if you know what I mean. But I’ll say the first time I knew I was in love was when somebody that I really felt feelings for was dealing with somebody else. Nobody really knew it, but that really hit me. In the hood, stuff gets exaggerated and dude came to me like, ‘Yo, such and such is messing with…” He made it look like it was extra crazy, and I was like, ‘Word?’
Did that change your view on women?
It made me want to tighten up. It made me want to sharpen my skills [laughs], but you can’t really take nothing for granted, especially females. A good female comes a dime a dozen, so when you really get your hands on one, you should really do the right thing. Females are very devious. I‘ve had talks with my mom about females. She keeps it the realest you can keep it. Females can go to the grave with something, and you gotta know that. Females can hold stuff in, pay you back and still hold it in, so you gotta watch what you doing. Watch how you handle the situation.
Sexy video vixen or pretty college graduate?
Somewhere in the middle of that. Like a sexy, pretty, college vixen graduate [smiles]. I mean it depends on personality really. You can be a video vixen and be snobby, or you can be a college girl and be snobby, or you can be vice versa and down-to-earth. It depends really on the personality of the individual. I don’t judge. You can be a stripper; you can be a construction worker. If you’re cool, you’re cool. We might have some chemistry.
So what’s your favorite feature on a woman?
Definitely her face. Her face and her teeth. You have to have a good smile followed by some nice hair, then everything else falls into place.
Do you think that you’ll ever get married?
I always say that I’ll never get married, but somewhere down in me it’s like I’m secretly planning my wedding. When I’m in my crib, or I’m by myself, I just try not to think too hard before I go and do it before I’m ready to do it. I love going to weddings. I watched my close friend Styles get married. I’m just weighing my options.
Do you have a significant other right now?
Not really. Me and my son’s mother is real cool and on good terms, and she would probably be the one that I would marry if I was to get married. I’m just like a old school dude that feels that he has to take care of his family and his kids and see how it plays out. I see a lot of dudes that don’t take care of their families. I always said I wouldn’t never be like that.
Do you pray?
I pray everyday. When I wake up and before I go to bed, sometimes during the day. I think praying is very important. I’m not going to say that I’m very religious and I don’t go to church as much as I should probably, but I definitely pray more than the average person. I’m a man of the Lord.
Give me two words to describe yourself that people would never expect about you?
I’m very giving. I go out my way for a lot of people and do a lot of things that don’t get noticed, but it’s out of the kindness of my heart. I like charity; I just donated some money to a charter school in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. I was down there for a walk-through last week, and the coach came and he told a story that really touched me. When I got home I spoke with my accountant, and I sent them a couple thousand. That’s something that won’t get publicized. Now it will because you’re doing this interview, but besides that no one would know. I do a lot of things like that that people people that don’t know me and see me and think I’m mean wouldn’t know. I’m a Gemini also, I have a good heart, but this heart can get ugly. [Laughs]
What are you the most passionate about?
I’d say my kids. My family and my career, but my family more than anything. I just lost my grand pops, [and] my mom is a little sick. Actually, I lost my grandmother and my grandfather in the same year. My grandmother first, then my grandfather a few weeks ago. It was my father’s mother, and my father is the youngest child out of his brothers and sisters, so seeing him go through that gave me a whole new outlook on family. Just to start doing more things. I do a lot of things with my kids, but I’m trying to push more family reunions and dinners. That really hurt my whole father’s side of the family, seeing my grandmother go. They handled it well, but you can tell that they’re going through a real hardship. Before I experience that, I just want to live life to the fullest and enjoy it.
So your son is 14 years old. Is he coming to you about girls yet?
I think right now he’s getting in the season with the girl thing. He’s on the phone and BBMing, Skypeing. He’s doing a lot of that now. He talked to me about girls, but he’s more interested in other things more than girls right now. He’s a good kid and gets good grades. Especially how the world is today, you don’t know how it can go with the youth. You try to grip them up and keep them on the right track.
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