Surprised to not see this yet. DMX was a pivotal artist in my journey falling in love with Hip-hop. Looking back on it I'm not sure why I connected with 'It's Dark And Hell Is Hot' so much, but I definitely did. The whole Ruff Ryders movement was so refreshing at the time.
In a way I think DMX led the way in violence being an aesthetic for me. It wasn't trying to tell you how it is anymore it was more about how it felt. I'm sure others will see it differently, but the violence and the desperation were something that I related to more because it was so over the top and overt. He literally has a song with him making a deal with the devil an murdering people for the success that the devil can grant. I never wanted to make a deal with the devil, but I have often felt that every move I made was a bad one and wondered where was my guardian angel because I need one and wish I had one.
1. "Slippin’ is one of the greatest songs ever made" In response to Reply # 0 Sun Apr-11-21 11:05 AM by DJR
I won’t pretend like I was a huge DMX fan, though I enjoyed his ‘97-99 rise and takeover quite a bit. He always had at least 3-4 songs on his albums that I really got into. That rise of late ‘97 appearances on Mase, The Lox, LL’s albums and then Get At Me Dog coming out...that was unforgettable.
But Slippin’ is “the one”. Timeless.
His Versuz with Snoop was so enjoyable. He seemed so happy and in a good place and having fun. It’s good that his last real public memory that he’ll leave for many is that one, but it’s damn sad that he’s already gone when we just saw him seeming GOOD. Blessings to his family.
I was in the car with my dad reading one of X's first write-ups in VIBE, and the photo was X with his skully over his eye, and my dad was like "Who the fuck is that?!"
Later that summer, I was trying to tell my dad that I can't be out in the yard doing yard work because of my allergies. He was like stfu, just wear the mask. My nosebleed filled the fuckin mask and he was like "Good lord, just fuckin go inside." Later that day, he took me to Best Buy, and was like "Just get something". I got the deluxe version of "It's Dark..." with the Survival of the Illest bonus disc and Brandy's "Full Moon". I might not have listened to Brandy until the end of the summer. X took over my life that summer.
4. "I was midway through college when his first album dropped" In response to Reply # 0
Despite Snoop being out several years before, I don't remember "dog" becoming as ubiquitous before X.
He was on all the bangers and anthems, but I hadn't even articulated trauma for myself, much less anyone else, so while some songs like "Where I'm Coming From," which is SOOOOO slept on, were burned into my head forever, a lot of other stuff I didn't spend as much time with. The raw voice and mic presence and attack were getting more of my attention. The legal troubles, I just chalked up to "rap nigga shit," nothing deeper and with no judgment.
It's goddamned amazing what he did. I mean Jay-Z came up "hard," but his mother adored him. And most of what Wu members said, they had at least one parent that did too. X was not unique in that respect, but it was still remarkable what he was able to achieve. The sad part is, if he had been able to take the necessary time to unpack all of the trauma and process it in a more healthy fashion, it's likely he'd have hung up his mic because that fire forged in his pain would probably not have burned as strongly.
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