Joining the up-and-coming hip-hop roster of Koch Records is hip hop lyricist Styles P.

Styles P, accomplished solo MC, member of pioneering Hip Hop trio The Lox and one of rap's most highly respected lyricists, is gearing up for the Summer 2007 release of "5 Star General." In addition to creating some of the hardest, lyrically driven hip-hop anthems, Styles shares Co-CEO duties for D-Block Records, the label created by Styles and lifelong friends, Sheek Louch and Jadakiss.

Sheek Louch, Styles P and Jadakiss are members of the hip hop groupThe Lox, the Yonkers-based hip hop / rap group who were at one time the backbone of Sean "Puffy" Combs'' Bad Boy label. Hired as writers, the trio of hip hop notables wrote and performed on Comb's "I Got The Power," and "It's All About the Benjamins," Mase's "24 Hrs. to Live," the Notorious B.I.G.'s "Last Day," Mary J. Blige's "Can''t Get You Off My Mind," and many others. The Lox released their debut album "Money, Power & Respect" in 1998; it reached #3 on the Billboard Top 200 Charts. To date, The Lox has sold 1.7 million albums.

Styles released his debut solo album in 2002 titled "A Gangster and a Gentleman," which featured the smash hit, "Good Times (I Get High)" and sold an impressive 700,000 units. In 2005, he released two stand-alone mixtapes, "Ghost in the Shell" and "Ghost in the Machine." In 2006 Interscope released P's sophomore solo effort "Time Is Money" after nearly a three and a half-year delay.

Styles recently announced the deal during a recent interview on Angie Martinez'' show on New York's Hot 97. Says Styles about this new venture, "I look forward to embarking on this exciting new phase of my career along side KOCH Records, a company best known for their unyielding interest in supporting the vision of the artist. It feels good to be a part of a team that appreciates hip hop in its truest form. I am ecstatic about being in control of my own destiny."

KOCH Records General Manager and Executive VP Alan Grunblatt adds, "Styles is THE perfect KOCH Urban artist. He has a huge fanbase and is ready to go to the next level. We are absolutely thrilled to have him."

For more on Styles P, click on www.MySpace.com/StylesP .