This symbolic war of clan against clan, loyalty is exalted as the supreme Mythology has so influenced gangsta rap, these labels compete to dominate the lucrative hip hop market, and in Hip hop, such shows of collective strength are growing more common, as rap labels increasingly style themselves asįamilies.
Rock doing this-Trent Reznor, say, menacingly surrounded by the roster of his label Nothing. Of fellow artists from the Ruff Ryders label. Rise of the Rap Clans and the Hip Hop Dynastyĭirector's cut, New York Times, March 12 2000Īt the Billboard Music Awards last year, he took the stage flanked by a squad [from a review of And Then There Was X alongside records by Jay-Z, The Lox, Juvenile) This vision of thug life as agony, repetition, and endurance is communicated as much through DMX's hoarse rasping timbre (pure Ozzy/Rollins) and his flow (alternating between pay-close-attention-this-is-hard-earned-knowledge-I'm-sharing slow to rapid-fire blurts like he's got too much pain to cram into the rhyme-scheme's stanzas.)" "The Professional" is a bleak glimpse into the mind of a hired assassin ("Shit ain't go too well/THAT'S MY LIFE/Know I'm going to hell/THAT'S MY LIFE") while the betrayal-and-retribution themed "Here We Go Again" starts with the insuperably fatigued murmur "Same old shit, dog/Just a different day". Produced by Ruff Ryders chief soundboy Swizz Beatz, "One More Road To Cross" has the accursed, burdened heft of Blacks Sabbath and Flag-a perfect fit for DMX's stoic description of a carefully planned liquor store heist that goes bloodily wrong.
As it stands, 13 years later, "The Great Depression" is a very good album, certainly not depressing to these ears.".As superthugs go, DMX is the most interesting, because he doesn't glamorize the gangsta lifestyle. Again." And after this album, that was essentially it for Bloodline Records and to this day, I'm still not sure why it never got off the ground. Not surprisingly, aside from a few more guest appearances here and there, he took another break from hip hop and focused more on his acting career, not releasing another album until 2003's "Grand Champ," which will be covered next along with "Year of the Dog. Looking back, I'll also say that after "Who We Be" and "We Right Here" left radio and TV, X began to cool off a bit, which had more to do with the changing nature of hip hop and somewhat less to do with X himself. X stuck with what he knew and did best, coming through with a 4 star album (up from my previous rating of 3.5), moving 439,000 units in its first week, going on to achieve a 3X Platinum certification. "The Great Depression" is nowhere near the level of X's first two albums, and it's about even with ".And Then There Was X", but this is not a bad album. I respect everyone's opinion, however, I disagreed then and I certainly disagree now. When talking about this album, I've often heard people say "yeah it did depress me listening to it," "yeah it was depressing," etc.
#DMX AND THEN THERE WAS X BLOGSPOT TV#
And with "Who We Be" and "We Right Here" blazing the radio and TV at the time, all during my senior year of high school, my anticipation level was high. That got me excited, but was that the case? We'll definitely see during this revisit. Also, the month before this album was set to drop, he was a guest on Rap City's "The Basement," and I still remember Big Tigger asking him, and I'm paraphrasing, "when it comes to the new album, which is it more comparable to?" X pointed to "It's Dark And Hell Is Hot" (his first three albums were on a nearby table).
#DMX AND THEN THERE WAS X BLOGSPOT MOVIE#
He also had a supporting role in "Romeo Must Die" and I feel it was the Steven Seagal "comeback" film "Exit Wounds" that started to get him noticed more in terms of movie roles. It all started with 1998's "Belly," which is a movie I NEVER liked to this day and you couldn't pay me to revisit it. While he didn't release an album in 2000, he still made guest appearances and notably beginning to get what some would call "that movie money." X's presence begin to grace the silver screen, becoming a respectable actor in the process. Going into his 4th album, DMX was still a hot commodity in hip hop, even with things changing around him.
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