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GODS OF RAP

The Republik

Brooklyn Bowl

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Rap artist and actor Earl Simmons, known by his recording alias Dark Man X (DMX), hails from Yonkers, New York, U.S. He has sold more than 30 million records worldwide.

Simmons got his start in music as a beatboxer in the late 80’s. He collaborated with hip hop artists Ja Rule, Jay-Z, and LL Cool J on a few of their songs in the 1990’s, and finally produced music independently through label Def Jam Recordings in May 1998. The album “It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot” exploded on the charts reaching No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in the U.S. The single "Get at Me Dog" was the most popular single on the album. Simmons sophomore album “Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood” which came out the same year, also charted at No.1. The single "Slippin" was the first song to chart in the UK. He is the only other hip hop artist to have two albums that have come out in the same year to reach No.1 besides Tupac. Simmons joined Jay-Z and Method Man on the Hard Knock Life tour shortly after.

DMX’s most notable single “Part Up In Here (Up In Here)” from his album “…And Then There was X” jumped to the Top Ten chart of R&B hits. The album dropped on 21 December 1999 and has been certified platinum nine times worldwide. It is his bestselling album and his fastest produced album (recorded in under a month).

Simmons’ fourth and fifth albums “The Great Depression” released in 2001 and “Grand Champ” in 2003 also achieved mainstream success, debuting at No. 1. DMX is the only hip hop artist to have five consecutive albums reach No.1. DMX is also known for his acting abilities with roles in films like “Romeo Must Die” and “Belly.” He admitted on his reality TV show "DMX: Soul of a Man" that he wants to be a preacher when he retires from rapping. His artist name refers to the Oberheim DMX drum machine used in the 1980s.

Live reviews

Wow, X gonna give it to you, well, turns out X not only gave it to us, but he also managed to leave everything, including his heart and soul onstage by the time he was done. I was blown away by the entire experience, between his incredibly strong stage presence, pleasantly surprising mind-bending, deeply inspirational spoken word/acapella as well as entertaining and incredibly bizarre at times, but always raw/genuine banter between the instrumentally backed songs, and then him rolling through his rich catalog of seminal hit songs that dominated hip hop airplay of my more 'formative years' blasting the crowd with nostalgic energy, I can't speak highly enough about DMX and his performance. Many unforgettable moments experienced to last a lifetime, including the liquor bottle pouring off the stage, his delivery of Ruff Ryder's Anthem from the edge of the Mezzanine, his vulnerable yet heartfelt response to the guy who threw ice down on stage at him from the balcony. Wow. He vastly exceeded my expectations and I have a newfound respect for whom was already an incredibly influential artist for me. I remain awestruck by the strength of his conviction perceptible in every word he speaks, preaches, raps and the rawness he exudes. If you have the opportunity to see 'X' don't even think twice, X gonna give it to you and much much more! Long live DMX! P.S. He reminded me a lot of Tupac as he performed and spoke last night, between his movements, mannerisms and messages, it was quite surreal, felt like an extension of the Tupac hologram I witnessed at Coachella 3 years ago.

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DMX is one of the last living legends of hip hop and rap in general. Having started in an age of rap that saw the likes of Tupac and Biggie it wasn't easily for DMX to gain a following, but he did so because of his unique sound and his ability to rap about just about anything. It wasn't just the way in which DMX rapped that drew me to him, but the things that he rapped about.

This continued even when he performed his newer songs and he immediately addressed the crowd and talked about things that were going on in the world and then asked how things were going. He wasn't concerned with the show in that moment, but rather what was on the mind of the crowd that came all that way to see him. In between each song he made sure to pump up the crowed and asked them to join in with him repeatedly and even waited for them to catch up to him before he continued.

At times he would instruct the audience on what he wanted them to do and then he would go through a practice session before beginning the song to make sure that the crowd was ready. This was an awesome experience because it allowed for the crowd to be an integral part of the show and really got the energy up in the building.

DMX came out wearing a shirt with a message from his current album, but he was also wearing a few crosses which represent his Christian faith which he spoke with the audience about.

I'm not sure who DMX thinks he is. This was horrible. My husband and I have been fans for years and my husband surprised me with VIP tickets for our 6 year anniversary. We go there at 830pm. The "opening acts" (which didn't start till 10pm) were local rappers from the area. There was probably about 7 of them. It was like a horrible talent show. I guess everyone thinks they can be a rapper. It was just terrible. This went on till 1 am. They kept stalling and stalling saying he was coming. My husband and I were so disgusted we left at 1am. From what I saw he didn't go on stage till 2am. Who goes on at 2am????

Many people were leaving, I saw someone actually sleeping in the audience. This was the biggest waste of 4.5 hours that I will never get back. Not to mention the 175.00 that we paid for "VIP". We were in a pit off to the side. But it was all open in the front so anyone who had regular seats could come up and stand. What is the point of paying more for VIP??

HORRIBLE waste of time. Dated, dirty venue and basically no performer. DMX's music will never again be played ever again. He has no respect for his long time fans.

The line up was amazing. The music was great and the venue was perfect for the occasion.

I purchased lawn seats. It being our first time, we arrived early. We were able to get great seats. We had the choice between setting up spots on the grass or claiming a spot on the deck. We choose the deck . The deck had room and great lightning for pictures and was designed in a way that different groups were able to intermingle without violating anyone's personal space.

The show started right on time and the entertainment was steady with intermission schedule between artist which allowed time to get more drinks, walk around and take pictures before getting ready for the next artist. The downside was that the main attraction DMX, arrived to the stage late and because there is a set time (11 pm) when the show had to end he only performed for approximately 15 minutes. That was disappointing.

All in all I would rate the show a 3 out of 5 just because DMX arrived late.

That show was HORRIBLE! I'm calling Monday morning to demand a refund. The venue had no ,heat, it was 2 degrees and they started saying that DMX would start in a few minutes at 11pm. We left at 12:38 before the fights started, and he still hadn't shown. People were over served alcohol and falling down drunk, there were arguments, and gang signs being thrown up. It looked like it was about other to get dangerous when the people started screaming and chanting DMX, DMX, DMX. We drove over 2 hours for nothing and when we got home, my husband said the club website noted that there were multiple problems and fights, and DMX eventually showed up at 1:40am. I am 45 years old and absolutely ADORE DMX, but I will NEVER go to another concert after this horrible experience!

The show was beat. DMX did not show. JANNUS Live hyped up that DMX was there. He was going to be on a flight from ATL to TPA @ 8:30pm. By 10:40 pm they said he wasn't coming. News paper reports he never boarded flight due to disagreement with his management. 2nd time DMX was a no show for me and I'm a 16 year fan of his. They tricked us into staying all night. So I'm very disappointed in how all us where treated. Promise of a re-booking with 2 other Ruff Ryders was mentioned. We will see, I kept my ticket for the chance to get in free if it does happen.

First opening act was not great at all the audience was unanimous with that.Long waiting for DMX two other opening acts came out myself and the audience grew impatient to the point of chanting for DMX once he finally showed up he definitely had stage presence although his mic seemed really low and at times it was hard to tell if I was hearing his voice or the original songs vocals. Overall it was great to see him live but I didn't feel like his show was worth the long wait and mediocre opening acts.

Best performance I've seen in a long time full of positive energy and love from the artist. Hope to see him again .He really works hard for the crowd and his paycheck. He will make other artist look at how there wasting time on the mic by bringing energy showmanship in a classy way. He carefully arraigned he songs and kept the crowd hyped all night. Keep bringing the HEAT D.M.X.for all ya Ruff Ryders!! Peace!

I always love Dmx no matter what!! The show itself was a flop tho being that it was supposed to be a reunion and turned into just some performers coming thru to entertain. Which pissed me off being a true Ruff Ryder fan I know the hits and songs that could've been done would've been awesome. So back to Dmx he's great and I love him I take him as he is and love everybit!

Dmx is amazing he is such a great entertainer always great energy when he is in the building.. He shows his fans great respect and I will always forever be a fan and go to any concert or show I can.. I love the fact that he shows love the way he does.. I got a huge hug and kiss from him and we even rapped together he is amazing!!! Always ready for more x man.

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How DMX’s First Tour Helped Usher in a New Era of Hip-hop

The Survival of the Illest Tour came just as X’s popularity exploded. Not only did it capture a young artist on the rise, it also paved the way for massive rap tours that followed.

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On Thursday, Ringer Films will debut the latest installment of its HBO Music Box series, DMX: Don’t Try to Understand . Over the next few days, we’re chronicling the rapper’s rise and place in hip-hop history . Today, we’re looking at X’s first headlining tour, which came just as his popularity was exploding and helped change the way rap tours were perceived.

I come to you hungry and tired You give me food and let me sleep ...

On July 18, 1998, DMX took the stage at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. The performance was technically the last date on the Survival of the Illest Tour, though the travelling portion had ended its run of shows a couple of weeks earlier. On the road, DMX performed with a pair of then-unknown teenagers—his hypeman, Drag-On, and his DJ, Swizz Beatz—but for his return to New York, the Apollo stage was filled with people, including record executive/producer Irv Gotti, the Lox, and other members of the Ruff Ryder crew.

Lord, why is it that I go through so much pain? All I saw was black, all I felt was rain ...

Survival of the Illest was a showcase for artists on Def Jam Recordings. Each night featured sets from Onyx and the Def Squad—the trio of Redman, Keith Murray, and Erick Sermon (though the EPMD member didn’t travel to all the concerts). Though those acts included veterans who had sold millions of records, the undisputed headliner of the tour was DMX, hip-hop’s breakout star of the moment. The previous May, he released his debut, It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot , which landed atop the Billboard 200 chart. By the end of 2000, it would be certified four times platinum. Also by the end of December, he would release his second album of the year, Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood . It too would debut at no. 1 and would eventually be certified three times platinum.

Plenty of times you sent help my way, but I hid And I remember once, you held me close, but I slid…

Though listeners had heard DMX’s growl on record, Survival of the Illest was the first time audiences outside of New York could really see him in person as he emptied out his soul. He rapped explosively and vulnerably about giving into his darkest impulses and the salvation that he hoped he’d find. “DMX was like a broken electric wire around water,” says Lyor Cohen, the president of Def Jam at the time. “It was explosive, and it was just in the infancy of his career.”

And I think I’ve seen it, ’cause I don’t feel the same Matter of fact, I know I’ve seen it, I can feel the change...

At the Apollo show, as Beatz scratched over the instrumental outro to DMX’s breakout single, “Get at Me Dog,” the rapper told the DJ to cut the music, hollering, “Let me fuck with my peoples for a minute! Let me fuck with my peoples for a minute!” Even back then, DMX closed his shows with a prayer, a tradition he would continue until his death on April 9, 2021 , at the age of 50 from a drug-induced heart attack. In the years to come, he would sometimes improvise the prayer in the moment, but on that night, he recited the same one he recorded for It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot , accompanied only by the voices in the crowd shouting it along with him.

And I fear that what I’m sayin’ won’t be heard until I’m gone But it’s all good, ’cause I really didn’t expect to live long So, if it takes for me to suffer for my brother to see the light Give me pain till I die, but, please, Lord, treat him right

Def Jam hired Rick Mordecon to direct a documentary of that night. He had only a couple weeks to prepare and a minuscule budget of about $10,000. Mordecon, a self-described “tattooed Jewish guy,” hadn’t really worked with hip-hop artists before and was skeptical going into the project because of rumors he’d heard about them carrying guns. But as the night came to a close, the audience at the Apollo held hands and wrapped their arms around each other, moved by the love that DMX showed them. “It was the most cohesive, beautiful, emotional experience,” says Mordecon, who befriended the rapper and kept working with him over the years. “I was crying by the end of that concert.”

By 1998, hip-hop was not only pushing itself further into the mainstream, it was doing so with fewer pop concessions, which had previously been necessary. More and more rap videos entered the daily rotation on MTV and BET, not just appearing on the specialty shows. Artists who made their reputation with street records were getting radio airplay. Still, the live-music industry was slow to embrace this shift. Promoters at the country’s biggest venues mostly stayed away from the genre, convinced that audience members up in the cheap seats would be bored watching a guy walk back and forth in front of a pair of turntables. Rappers had a reputation for flouting set times and showing up late, which meant overtime pay for union workers and large fines for breaking a city’s noise curfew. Or they were still spooked by tales of violence dating back to Run-DMC shows in the mid-1980s .

Ron Byrd , who started working in live music in late ’70s with Prince and in the early ’80s with Teena Marie and Rick James, became Def Jam’s de facto tour manager in the mid-’80s after working on Run-DMC and the Beastie Boys’ Together Forever run. He was the tour manager for the Survival of the Illest, Hard Knock Life, and Ruff Ryders/Cash Money tours, and has continued to work with artists from new generations, like Kendrick Lamar, Migos, and Lil Yachty. By the late ’90s he was used to the ways that rap music got shunned. “They used to do tricky stuff, like you couldn’t get insurance,” he says. “It’s not that it was banned, but nobody would insure the show. Some arenas, like the big basketball arenas, they wouldn’t take your booking or they would price you out—they can set whatever price they want for a building. It wasn’t economically viable for a promoter to do a hip-hop show, unless it was underground.”

Looking at Survival of the Illest’s itinerary now, the choice of venues can seem strange, as it jumped from Midwestern clubs with 2,000-person capacities, to buildings in the Northeast usually used by minor league hockey teams, to civic centers of Southern cities in secondary or tertiary markets. “It wasn’t by necessity, but I believe it was by design that [Def Jam] put the artists in those-level buildings,” says Byrd. “We knew we were building something.”

“They knew better than to try to put this in an arena setting or anything like that yet,” he continues. “I don’t care who I start out with—Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Young Thug, whatever—in touring, nobody ever goes straight to the arenas. The only person that probably went straight to the arenas in the last 20 years is Drake.”

When the Lollapalooza festival started travelling through outdoor amphitheaters at the start of 1990s, it always featured a couple of rap acts—ones like A Tribe Called Quest and the Pharcyde—and split them between the main and side stages. In 1996, longtime hip-hop booking agent Cara Lewis teamed with House of Blues executive Kevin Morrow to create the Smokin’ Grooves Tour, which was conceived as a variation on Lollapalooza that focused on alternative Black music. With headliners like Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers, it functioned as a way to make amphitheater bookers more comfortable with shows where the real audience draw were acts like Cypress Hill and the Fugees.

During the winter of 1997, Sean Combs put together the Puff Daddy & the Family tour. Though it mainly promoted his Bad Boy Records label, the 26-city arena tour also featured artists including Jay-Z, Foxy Brown, and Busta Rhymes. That experience helped motivate Jay and his Roc-a-Fella Records partner Dame Dash to create 1999’s Hard Knock Life Tour, a 50-plus-show journey that would be immortalized in the documentary Backstage . Jay-Z and DMX headlined, and they were opened by fellow Def Jam–signees Redman and Method Man. But Hard Knock Life wouldn’t have been possible without Survival of the Illest. “It was definitely a precursor,” says Andrea Duncan-Mao, a former MTV News producer and print journalist who covered both tours. “It was kind of the rehearsal, the dry run for them.”

Though Survival of the Illest was anchored by DMX, Onyx, and the Def Squad, some shows also featured appearances by other Def Jam artists, including Method Man, Foxy Brown, and Cormega. Lots of years (and lots of blunts) have passed since then, and the memories of the people who were there are no longer crystal clear. Some say each of the acts had their own tour bus. Others say they all rode together in one of those big charter buses with TV monitors in the back of the seats like old people take to the Grand Canyon. There are conflicting reports.

What the participants do agree upon is that there was a camaraderie between all the artists and their entourages on that tour, which wasn’t always the case. “Everybody was in the prime of they life—young, getting-money rap stars,” says Fredro Starr of Onyx. “There was friendly competition on every level: rapping, pushups, gambling. All types of shit was going on. Groupies. A couple of babies was made on that tour.”

And as expected for a trip featuring a bunch of 20-somethings running wild across the country, there were a few incidents that were terrifying in the moment but have since turned into favorite anecdotes. One night in (probably) New Jersey, Method Man joined Redman on stage. Redman says they were, as expected, “high as fuck.” When the two got together, they were known for pushing each other’s daredevil antics. After Meth leapt into the crowd, Red got on top of a huge speaker and the audience began goading him. “My dumbass goes and jumps to go hang on the lights above us, not knowing that the lights been on all night and them shits was hot,” Redman remembers. “I put my hands on them lights and nearly burned my fingerprints off my fingers.”

He let go instantly and fell, past the stage and all the way to the floor. “He lay there for a minute,” Byrd says. “We was all looking at him from the stage like, ‘Oh shit, do we need to call the paramedics?’”

Redman was still unresponsive when Method Man and Kevin Liles, Def Jam’s general manager of promotions at the time, came around him. “Meth was like, ‘You ain’t dead, n—, get up! Get up! You won’t die, n—! Real n— don’t die, n—! Get up!’” Redman says. “And I opened my eyes and I started jumping around and shit. I think that was one of the highlights of the tour.”

Then there was the time in Chicago when the artists were getting ready to check into their hotel before the show. “[The MTV News crew] all went to go say hi and they all came out of the bus,” Duncan-Mao says. “We’re standing there talking and the bus just starts rolling down the street, and we’re like, ‘Who’s driving the bus?’ There was no one driving the bus.”

It proceeded to crash into a street lamp and a brownstone’s stoop (luckily no one got hurt). “I always thought it was Keith Murray who actually knocked the bus out of gear, but since X died, people have told me it was him and they didn’t want to say it was him,” Duncan-Mao says.

DMX loved to drive, although most people didn’t want him behind the wheel because of the dangerous speeds he would go. “DMX was always trying to drive the bus,” says Sticky Fingaz of Onyx. One day the rapper somehow took control of the vehicle and managed to get them to the show. “I can’t drive no bus, I don’t even know how to get that shit out of park,” says Starr. “So he’s pretty good.”

Though artists now see touring as their main avenue for making money, in the late ’90s, physical music sales were still strong, so live shows for hip-hop acts were more of a promotional consideration. When fans couldn’t pull up artists’ videos or full discography on demand, or get constant updates through social media, going on the road was the way for acts to create awareness, or just remind people they still existed. “Back in the day, that was the key to selling units, being out,” Redman says. “You really had to be outside to sell units, not like these young people talk about, ‘I’m outside! I’m outside!’ You actually had to be outside, shaking people’s hands and getting to know people and making connections and putting out the energy of who we are.”

Despite some fears, there were no riots or major violent incidents at the shows, a trajectory that continued through the Hard Knock Life Tour. “The whole vibe of that tour was crazy,” says Starr. “Nobody got arrested, nobody caught a body. It was good.”

Def Jam liked to send their artists on package tours, not just because they could help grow each other’s fan base. By having them all together, it would give the impression of a larger movement that needed to be paid attention to. “When you have a bunch of acts, it feels like a full takeover,” says Julie Greenwald, Def Jam’s former senior vice president of marketing and the current chairwoman of Atlantic Records. “You can take over the whole night on a radio station. The in-stores are crazy. The press, when we do the interviews that day, it felt like a press conference.”

When MTV News came to Chicago to film Survival of the Illest, before the actual show they followed the groups to a cookout where Redman DJed at George’s Music Room, an institution that had been in the city since 1969. “That kind of stuff they were doing on the tour ultimately created some goodwill so that when Hard Knock Life came around, they had done their due diligence in terms of reaching out to the community,” Duncan-Mao says. “Even if [on] that particular tour the venues were not great.”

The Chicago show was held at the International Amphitheatre, a venue that opened in 1934 and hosted national political conventions during the 1950s and ’60s, but was long past its prime by the time Survival of the Illest showed up. It was demolished a year later. Though it held several thousand people, the show was sparsely attended, because it was in a rough neighborhood that was possibly in the middle of disputed gang territory. As was the case with many hip-hop shows back then, the sound was horrible, and DMX ended up slamming the microphone to the ground. MTV had to send a cameraperson to a later tour stop in Baltimore because the performance footage from that night was too depressing. “It was really sad for X, because he had been getting all this love everywhere,” Duncan-Mao says.

DMX was a revitalizing force for Def Jam Recordings and a pivotal figure as it became a part of the Universal Music Group in ’98. Though the label had some hits in the recent years before him with Jay-Z’s In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 and Foxy Brown’s Ill Na Na , they were losing the culture war to New York rival Bad Boy Records. Then DMX’s grim and grimy vision presented an alternative to the celebratory flash that was associated with Puff Daddy’s world. “People were tired of the Technicolor, happy-dappy bullshit that rap music started becoming,” says Lyor Cohen. “DMX represented the reality of what was happening. He checked the whole industry.”

Though DMX was considered a phenomenon, he was already deep into his 20s by the time he found national success. He’d been featured in The Source ’s Unsigned Hype column back in 1991 and spent years battling MCs around the New York area, but it wasn’t until his 1998 single “Get at Me Dog” that the rest of the country started to catch on. When that moment arrived, he was ready for the stage. “From pretty early on, he was spectacular,” Greenwald says. “It was just raw, you could just feel it.”

He also had a history of serious trauma, rooted in emotional, physical, and substance abuse, as well as extreme poverty and incarceration. His personality could seem manic. Sometimes he couldn’t stop talking, other times he would be guarded and withdrawn. “There was an air of unpredictability around him, but that’s kind of what made him interesting, for better or for worse,” says Duncan-Mao, who interviewed him many times for MTV News over the years and wrote a XXL cover story about him in 2000. “X had demons that he fought all the time, and if you spent any time around him, you would see them.”

In the Backstage documentary, there’s a brief clip where DMX talks to Chuck D before a show. The Public Enemy frontman asks if he enjoys being on tour. “No,” DMX responds immediately. “The only part I like is the performance, that one hour when I’m on stage, that’s it. The rest is hell.” When Chuck D tries to assure him he’ll get used to it, he replies, “I’m used to it, I just don’t like it.”

If you ask people now whether DMX liked going on tour, the replies are mixed. Some will tell you he loved the validation he got from fans and the connection it allowed him to make with them. Others will say he hated the pressure that record labels put on him to promote his music, so that’s why he would sometimes disappear for days. “X wanted to be home with his family and his dogs,” says Byrd. “It’s not the same, living on a bus, eating catered food backstage every day. It can become monotonous and people do want to get home. I don’t think so much that he didn’t like the experience, I think he just didn’t like being away and not being with [his] loved ones.”

After the Survival of the Illest Tour, DMX stripped down his minimal live show even more. He would go on stage with just a DJ, but there was no longer a hypeman. If he needed any help with the words, he knew the crowd would be there to shout them along for him.

Eric Ducker is a writer and editor in Los Angeles.

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DMX, Woodstock '99: a landmark for rap and American realism

The rapper could have faced hostility at the overheated, febrile festival but capitalised on one of rap’s biggest ever audiences with a show of awesome power

E very couple of weeks on Twitter someone posts a video clip of DMX’s performance at Woodstock ’99, usually with a wry caption ( “DMX performed for planet earth. Goals” ) that references the never-ending crowd, crossing their arms into a sea of Xs.

Dripping with sweat and wearing a pair of beaten up Timberland boots and blood-red dungarees, the New York MC (real name Earl Simmons) growls viscerally before launching into raw hood anthems such as Get at Me Dog and Damien. The crowd of 200,000 mostly white concertgoers shout back combative lyrics such as: “What the fuck you gonna do / When we run up on you?” They sing along to Ruff Ryders Anthem as if it’s an American standard, rather than a song that’s been out only a year.

It’s a surreal scene, especially given how much the star power of DMX, who has had high-profile run-ins with the law and battled substance misuse issues, has waned over recent years . Yet this performance immortalises a moment when he was the hottest rapper on the planet, a liberator who had come to free mainstream rap from its excesses with songs fully immersed in the struggle of being young, poor and black.

Just over a year before, DMX had released his gripping debut It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot to critical acclaim and chart success, shifting US rap into a new direction. Following the murders of 2Pac and Biggie, the mainstream popularity of P Diddy was pushing the genre into what critics describe as the “shiny-suit era”. With the fatalism of gangster rap briefly pushed to the side, hip-hop turned to a lighter, goofier sound, with artists such as Jadakiss, Ma$e, Busta Rhymes and even Jay-Z following Diddy’s lead in wearing leather suits in opulent music videos that were almost exclusively directed by Hype Williams.

For some, these videos showed how far US rappers had strayed from the working-class values their genre was borne out of. This backdrop meant DMX’s blunt, throaty raps, which almost exclusively dealt with the pressures of growing up in a project building in Yonkers, New York or finding twisted new ways to defeat his enemies, felt instantly radical. He addressed the shiny suits head on: “Y’all been eatin’ long enough now, stop being greedy! / Just keep it real, partner, give to the needy!”

DMX quickly followed his impressive debut with the darker Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood, becoming the first debut artist to release two No 1 albums in the same year. Marilyn Manson was among its guest stars, and it cemented DMX’s superstardom and crossover appeal. “Pop music became a parody of itself in the 80s and then Nirvana came and brought the raw back; DMX was the hip-hop equivalent of Nirvana,” DMX’s producer Dame Grease claimed in a 2018 interview with Okayplayer . “The ‘shiny suits’ era was dope as fuck, but millions of people were craving something more real and X was the only one brave enough to take them there.” Woodstock ’99 was DMX’s lap of honour.

The festival is rightly looked back on as a chaotic disaster. In the 100-degree heat, the overbooked attendees felt as if they were being cooked. Water was expensive and in short supply, and it took over an hour to get from one stage to another. Rioting and violence resulted, with 44 arrests, 1,200 people being sent to the on-site medical facilities, and multiple women being sexually assaulted by a crowd that repeatedly screamed: “Get your tits out.”. With nu-metal bands including Limp Bizkit and Korn, as well as Wyclef Jean doing a naff Jimi Hendrix impression , Woodstock ’99 strayed a long way from the hippie ideals of its 1969 predecessor. The San Francisco Chronicle labelled it “the day the music died”.

DMX mostly rose above it, delivering a performance that cemented street rap’s place on the biggest festival stages. Backed only by a DJ, he rips through his first two records without backing vocals or gimmicks. Amid the abrasive guitars of Fuckin Wit D, his voice sounds capable of moving mountains. Get at Me Dog is even more thrilling – there’s so much bite to his vocals it’s as if teeth are sinking into your ears.

It’s uncomfortable to watch DMX rap bars such as “leave that hoe in plenty of back pain” while topless women in the crowd are fondled by strangers, and to watch thousands of white, Mountain-Dew swilling, nu-metal fans scream back the n-words in his lyrics. But the majority of the show has held up brilliantly. This was a time when rappers who played to white festival crowds were likely to be bottled with urine. The way DMX convulses across the Woodstock stage, in a performance more akin to a Bad Brains gig in a sweaty punk basement, shattered expectations.

His set proved rappers could be rock stars, too, writing the blueprint for the punk rap theatrics of a new generation that included Denzel Curry, Slowthai, Rico Nasty, Bob Vylan, XXXTentacion, Tekashi 6ix9ine and Jpegmafia. Each has cited DMX as a major influence.

One of DMX’s final songs, Slippin, is a slower, introspective church confessional, where the rapper compares his lifestyle to a stray dog, someone “headed nowhere fast.” He forces the hundreds of thousands of suburban white kids in the crowd to consider the hopelessness and inequality in black America. He ends the show with a Kanye-like stream-of-consciousness prayer, and the fact he wasn’t booed is an indication of just how powerful this set was.

DMX, who is working on new music having recently been to rehab, is unlikely ever to match the impact of his late-90s run, but this performance is a reminder of how important his legacy is. Maybe there’s a new DMX waiting in the wings, desperate to free mainstream rap from the perceived excesses of the Drake era. Watching him tear through that Woodstock ’99 stage could just be the inspiration they need.

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Remembering DMX, Who Changed Rap Forever

By Matthew Ismael Ruiz

For a brief moment at the turn of the century, DMX was the biggest rapper on the planet. A street rapper with lyrical gifts, the Yonkers, New York MC had a talent for grabbing your attention from the first bar of his verse, balancing the sacred and the profane with an aura of authenticity earned by a dedication to pouring ALL of himself into records—fear, love, joy, penitence, and yes, violence. At the peak of his powers, he presented one of the most high profile expressions of vulnerability in hip-hop. One of the few rappers talented enough to make JAY-Z nervous , he was an antidote to hip-hop’s sanitized shiny suit era, and his success would pave a path to the mainstream for a generation of gruff gangsta rappers that would follow. But even then, he was suffering. When he finally succumbed to a lifelong battle with drug addiction today (April 9), he was 50 years old, in the midst of a renewed appreciation for his contributions in the wake of a memorable VERZUZ battle with Snoop Dogg.

Born Earl Simmons in 1970, the rapper’s early life was plagued by abuse and neglect. His biological father out of the picture, he would wander the streets at night to get away from his abusive mother. He would befriend stray dogs, companions that would later come to define his life and art. And it’s easy to see why he would identify with them—these unloved street urchins, fearful creatures who growl the loudest when they’re the most afraid. Simmons’ own guttural growl was at least partially due to his chronic bronchial asthma, and his trademark aggro style on the mic honed from years in institutions and on the street, where a loud bark would often protect you from large bites. Fellow battle rapper Murda Mook even recalls an infamous battle in Harlem in which DMX used his dogs, trained to growl on cue, to adlib while he rapped .

His interest in hip-hop was piqued while in jail, and he spent much of the ’80s battling, cutting demos, and beatboxing for Ready Ron, a local rapper that took him under his wing as a teenager. In a cruel twist of fate, the man who helped him get his start in hip-hop was also the man who led him down the road to lifelong addiction; Simmons says his first exposure to crack cocaine was in a blunt that Ron had laced without telling him.

When he blew up in 1998, what seemed to be an overnight success was rather the culmination of nearly a decade of grinding. After landing on The Source magazine’s star-making “Unsigned Hype” column in 1991, he signed with a major label, got lost in the shuffle, and dropped. Even then, he embraced the dirt and grime of the street, more concerned with wielding fear—often his own—than a whipping a foreign. His biggest single at the time was the bafflingly self-deprecating “Born Loser”: “They kicked me out the shelter because they said I smelled a/Little like the living dead and looked like Helter Skelter/My clothes are so funky, they’re bad for my health/Sometimes at night my pants go to the bathroom by themself.”

But by 1997, he was showing up big name after big name on some of the year’s biggest posse cuts with boasts as terrifying as they were impressive: Ma$e’s “24 Hrs. to Live,” The Lox’s “Money, Power & Respect,” and LL Cool J’s “4, 3, 2, 1.” When It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot debuted atop the Billboard 200 chart in May 1998, any doubts that his gruff persona could have mainstream appeal were obliterated. He followed it up with a lead role in Hype Williams’ box-office-flop turned cult classic Belly , and then promptly turned in another No. 1 album ( Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood ), winning a $1 million bet with then-Def Jam exec Lyor Cohen. It’s hard to describe to those too young to remember it, but that year it felt like DMX was everywhere .

His debut LP was the complete package, replete with battle raps, hood tales, love songs, radio hits, club bangers, and sorrowful psalms. Its spiritual center is “Damien,” a devil-on-the-shoulder story about being led into the temptations by someone he thought was a friend. It was indicative of his internal dialogue, his desire to be “good” at odds with his circumstances. He made poems out of prayers, desperate pleas that felt brutally honest, even if they were tough to listen to. This was hardcore street rap at its most relatable, a reminder that no man is completely good or evil, and all are capable of both.

As DMX, Simmons never seemed to be playing a character, which made for a fascinating, if rather limited, acting career. No matter what role he was cast in, whether performing opposite Aaliyah ( Romeo Must Die ) or Steven Seagal ( Exit Wounds ), he always seemed to be playing DMX. But it also blurred the lines between his life and art. His later years were plagued by legal and substance abuse problems, marked by lapses in judgement ranging from questionable to downright pitiful . His last official studio album was released in 2012, though at the time of his death he was reportedly working on a comeback album that featured no less than Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg, Alicia Keys, Usher, and U2’s Bono.

DMX’s candor didn’t quite spark an open dialogue on mental health, but he did manage to make it okay for tough guys to be vulnerable. I once memorably saw a dude in New York blasting “Prayer” from his Jeep, windows down, speakers blaring, his face screwed up in a stoic scowl. Simmons was a Christian who looked to God for salvation on the same records he rhymed about child rape and necrophilia. He made many mistakes. But as he languished in a coma, kept alive by machines in the hospital, the internet has been rife with stories from fans , friends, and contemporaries that reveal his thoughtfulness, humility, and regret, painting his fatal overdose in an even more tragic light.

No matter what one might say about DMX, he was decidedly authentic—often to a fault—at a time when such honesty was in short supply. The violence in his music was a symptom of his fear and pain, some self-inflicted, some inflicted by those closest to him. And his influence can be found in some of today’s biggest rap stars: Kendrick Lamar has admitted that It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot was a crucial part of his rap education, though his dialogue with “Lucy” on To Pimp a Butterfly made that abundantly clear. To this day, he remains the only rapper to have his first five albums debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

Earl Simmons’ life has long been a tragic tale of woe, punctuated by dizzying highs and bizarre left turns. On “24 Hrs. to Live,” as a then-unsigned DMX imagined how he might spend the last moments of his life, he almost seems grateful for the relief. “I’ve been living with a curse/And now it’s all about to end,” he mused. Finally free from his curse, one hopes Simmons may finally find some measure of peace.

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From struggle to success: why DMX was one of hip-hop's most influential and loved artists

The troubled rapper died at 50 after suffering a heart attack in new york.

DMX attends a party at Elleven45 Lounge, in Atlanta, Georgia, US, on February 19. On Saturday, April 3, the rapper and actor was admitted to hospital in New York and placed on life support, following a heart attack. Getty Images

The hip-hop world is mourning the loss of one of the genre’s preachers.

On Friday, veteran New York rapper and actor DMX died at a New York hospital after suffering a heart attack. A statement from relatives said he died "with his family by his side after being placed on life support for the past few days".

Superstar Nas led music peers, actors, sportsmen and fans in paying tribute to DMX. "Gods Poet. I Love You," he posted on Instagram.

“Rest easy king Hug my Babegirl Aaliyah when you see her !!!!”, said producer Timbaland on Twitter.

Rest easy king Hug my Babegirl Aaliyah when you see her !!!! pic.twitter.com/6TKo3QepXA — Timbaland (@Timbaland) April 9, 2021

US basketball coach LeVelle Moton addressed members of the new hip-hop generation who may not be as familiar with the rapper, pointing to DMX's popularity and influence.

“Dear kids, DMX sold over 72 million records,” he said. “Do your homework before you ask if the man has fans.”

A star-studded album on the way

While tributes lauded DMX's past achievements, many fans also expressed anguish over the nature of his death. The rapper, who had fought hard to overcome problems with substance abuse, allegedly suffered a heart attack following a drug overdose, though his lawyer, Murray Richman, said he could not confirm the rumours.

DMX’s career followed the familiar trajectory of young prodigious talent shaking up the music scene, then unceremoniously falling to the scourge of drug abuse before making an inspiring comeback.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by DMX (@dmx)

In the past few years, DMX had reunited in the studio with his svengali, producer Swizz Beatz, to record a new album full of his signature blend of gritty street poetry and spirituality.

In a February appearance on the popular hip-hop podcast Drink Champs, DMX illustrated his enduring industry clout by confirming that U2 frontman Bono was set to appear in the project.

"Bono, he’s a music lover. I’m a music lover. We knew each other for a while,” he said.

From the streets to the top of the charts

Born Earl Simmons in New York in 1970, it was his traumatic and violent upbringing that set the tone for DMX's personal and professional life.

DMX was born into a broken home and suffered from severe asthma as a child. He also grew up in a number of boys homes and found himself in legal trouble at a young age because of a series of robberies throughout his teenage years.

That downward spiral was fuelled by a combination of substance abuse, which began from the age of 14, and bipolar disorder, a diagnosis revealed in his 2003 memoir EARL: The Autobiography of DMX.

These experiences served as inspiration for his brooding lyricism, which first bloomed during his prison stints as a teenager in the mid-1980s.

After a series of successful mixtapes and an unfruitful period with Columbia Records, DMX eventually found his place with leading hip-hop label Def Jam Recordings in 1998.

RIP DMX. I pray for the comfort of your children and loved ones. 🙏🏿💛 pic.twitter.com/WC5LsaL9j8 — Viola Davis (@violadavis) April 9, 2021

Their partnership remains one of the most successful in the music industry, with an unprecedented five albums debuting at No 1 on the Billboard 200 Charts and landmark hip-hop anthems, including 1999's What's My Name, 2000's Party Up (Up In Here) and 2003's X Gon' Give It To Ya.

The success allowed DMX to follow Ice-T and Ice Cube in making the rare transition to Hollywood with starring roles in action films, including 2000's Romeo Must Die,  2003's Cradle 2 the Grave with Chinese martial superstar Jet Li and 2001's Exit Wounds alongside Steven Seagal.

Rest In Peace DMX, a true legend. It was truly my honor to work and get to know you. ❤️ — Jet Li 李连杰 (@jetli_official) April 9, 2021

Pain and bravado

While legal troubles racked up, including drugs charges, a six-month jail sentence for failing to pay $400,000 child support to four of his 15 children and a one-year prison stint in 2018 for tax fraud, DMX managed to maintain his fervent following, thus transforming him into one of the genre’s biggest cult acts.

That enduring appeal is not down to the timeless bangers still heard in clubs worldwide, but for the rare blend of authenticity and vulnerability not seen since Tupac Shakur.

Similar to the late rapper, who was gunned down in 1996, DMX’s lyrics are a potent cocktail of bravado and pain.

Sometimes they are addressed separately, such as in 2001's boisterous Bloodline Anthem and 1998's Slippin' , which was a recount of his agonising upbringing.

However, what gives DMX’s body of work that X-factor, so to speak, is a deep and unwavering spirituality displayed from the onset of his career.

From his 1998 debut It's Dark and Hell Is Hot , to 2015's Redemption of the Beast , each of his eight albums featured songs inspired by his Christian faith or spoken-word addresses to God that detail his struggles with addiction and other darker impulses.

DMX often finished his concerts by performing prayers and walking off stage to the sound of "amens" from the crowds.

He also often faced challenges of recovery directly through his music. He alluded to that approach in 2006's Lord Give Me a Sign , in which he asks God for strength to overcome adversity.

"Devil's trying to find me. Please, hide me," he pleads before changing his stance. "Hold up, I take that back. Protect me and give me the strength to fight back."

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Where did DMX grow up? Early life, childhood, career timeline & more

28 April 2021, 11:02

The New York rapper rose to stardom in the late '90s and has now left behind a powerful legacy.

DMX will always be a legend, well-renowned for his powerful impact on hip-hop/rap music and culture.

What happened between DMX's friend Jungle and Pastor AR Bernard at the memorial?

The rapper passed away on Friday (Apr 9) subsequent of a heart attack , which took place the week prior to his death (Apr 2).

While we have remembered DMX for his music , and his legacy , we want to take it back to the beginning of DMX's early life and the beginnings of his career.

Where did DMX grow up? What was his early life like?

DMX was born Earl Simmons on December 18, 1970, in Baltimore, Maryland.

He was the son of 19-year-old Arnett Simmons and 18-year-old Joe Barker. Simmons father moved to Philadelphia and was absent from his life.

He was also known as 'Dark Man X' amongst his people in the School Street Projects of Yonkers, New York.

Simmons attended Yonkers Middle High School as a freshman and was the second-fastest on the track and field varsity team.

Despite his five sisters, DMX was a lonely boy, calling on his friends for brotherhood.

The future-rap star hung out on the streets of his neighbourhood, to chill with his guys and entertain himself.

While he did not have the easiest childhood due to poverty and experiencing abuse in his household, he made sure that he followed his dreams.

From his struggles, DMX gained inner strength and he details overcoming pain and hurt in his candid lyrics about how he was raised in his lyrics.

In his solitude, DMX befriended dogs and developed a close bond with them.

The soon-to-be rapper got the name of his former pet, Boomer, tattooed on his back after the dog was killed after being struck by a car.

DMX promoted his love for dogs in everything he did, whether it was his lyrics, his signature barking ad lib or imagery, especially in his smash debut single “Get At Me Dog.”

What was DMX's career?

DMX was an American rapper songwriter, and actor. The rapper thrived the most in his career during the late 90's to early 00's.

DMX got his start in the music industry at age 14, in 1984, when he beatboxed for Ready Ron.

He then started producing and selling his own mixtapes on street corners.

In 1992, DMX signed deal with Columbia Records and released his promotional single “Born Loser".

DMX then went onto sign a deal with hip-hop collective and record label Ruff Ryders/Def Jam Records in 1997.

The fresh-to-the-game star then released debut album It’s Dark and Hell is Hot in 1998, along with the release of his smash hit single “Get At Me Dog”.

In 1999, DMX released his second album, Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood.

He released his third and best-selling album' ... And Then There Was X' on December 21, 1999.

DMX continued his run with 2001’s The Great Depression and then 2003’s Grand Champ , which both worked their way into the charts.

In 2003, he published a book of his memoirs titled, E.A.R.L.: The Autobiography of DMX .

DMX signed to Columbia Records in January 2006 and released his album ' Year of the Dog... Again' that same year.

In 2006, he starred in the reality television series DMX: Soul of a Man.

In 2012, DMX released his seventh album Undisputed , and followed up with his

Seven Arts released DMX's eighth album Redemption of the Beast in 2015.

DMX was featured in films such as Belly , Romeo Must Die , Exit Wounds , Boricua’s Bond, Backstage, Cradle 2 the Grave , Last Hour and more.

He built a legacy with his skills, crafts and ability to influence and shape the music scene, which will never be forgotten.

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DMX, Top-Selling but Troubled Rapper, Dies at 50

He released a string of No. 1 albums that reflected his gritty past and featured a gruff and unmistakable lyrical style.

By Daniel E. Slotnik

Earl Simmons, the snarling yet soulful rapper known as DMX , who had a string of No. 1 albums in the late 1990s and early 2000s but whose personal struggles came to rival his lyrical prowess, died on Friday in White Plains, N.Y. He was 50.

His family announced the death in a statement. He had been on life support at White Plains Hospital after suffering what his family called “a catastrophic cardiac arrest” a week earlier .

“Earl was a warrior who fought till the very end,” the Simmons family said. “He loved his family with all of his heart, and we cherish the times we spent with him.”

Mr. Simmons had a heart attack at his home in White Plains on April 2. In the days that followed, his representatives said he was on life support “in a vegetative state.” Outside of the hospital, family and friends gathered with hundreds of fans, playing DMX’s music aloud and praying, holding up their arms in the shape of an X.

Mr. Simmons’s music was often menacing and dark, but it was also infused with Christian spirituality; he often ended a concert with a prayer. He had committed crimes, served time in correctional institutions and battled addiction long before he released an album, and his troubled past informed the content and delivery of his rhymes.

He barked over the chorus of “ Get at Me Dog ,” the breakout single from his 1998 debut album, “It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot.”

“His throat seems to hold a fuzzbox and a foghorn, and between songs he growled and barked,” Jon Pareles of The New York Times wrote of a Simmons concert performance in 2000. “In his raps, the gangsta life is a living hell, a constant test of loyalty and resolve.”

He rapped with an explosive cadence on “ Party Up (Up in Here) ,” the big hit from his 1999 album “ … And Then There Was X”; raw braggadocio on “ Ruff Ryders’ Anthem ,” a tribute to his record label on that 1998 debut; and a more introspective, brooding delivery on “ Damien ,” a story about making a murderous bargain with a demonic benefactor.

“Why is it every move I make turns out to be a bad one?” Mr. Simmons asks in “Damien.” “Where’s my guardian angel? Need one, wish I had one.”

Mr. Simmons, who sold millions of records and was nominated for three Grammy Awards, was the first musician whose first five albums debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard chart . He was the standout artist on the Ruff Ryders label, often rapping over tracks by the star D.J. and producer Swizz Beatz. Rappers like Eve, Drag-On and the Lox — a group made up of Jadakiss, Styles P and Sheek Louch —also recorded on the label.

Mr. Simmons was known for electrifying concert audiences. In 2000, the critic Elvis Mitchell wrote in The Times about his “remarkable and combative stage presence” in the concert documentary “Backstage,” which followed him and rappers like Jay-Z and Redman on the 1999 “Hard Knock Life” tour.

“Bombastic and hot-blooded, he holds court in a singular fashion, exercising sheer force of will to pull the spotlight down on himself and demanding the crowd’s attention,” Mr. Mitchell wrote.

Mr. Simmons starred with the rappers Nas and Method Man in Hype Williams’s 1998 gangster film, “Belly”; appeared in the 2000 action movie “Romeo Must Die” with Jet Li and the R&B singer Aaliyah; and starred with Steven Seagal in the 2001 action film “Exit Wounds.” The BET cable channel provided a closer look at his personal life with the 2006 reality series “DMX: Soul of a Man.”

The macho, streetwise persona Mr. Simmons projected in his music was reinforced by repeated arrests on charges including fraud, assault, weapons possession, narcotics possession and driving under the influence.

He served jail time after pleading guilty in 2008 to animal cruelty, drug possession and theft; in 2018 he was sentenced to a year in prison for tax evasion.

He released several more albums over the years, including “Grand Champ” (2003) and “Undisputed” (2012). But with his frequent run-ins with the law, he never regained the success of his earlier days.

Born in Mount Vernon, N.Y., on Dec. 18, 1970, Earl Simmons was the first and only child of Arnett Simmons and Joe Barker. He grew up in Yonkers, a city just north of the Bronx that was a hotbed of racial tension in the 1980s.

His father was an itinerant artist whom he rarely saw, and his mother struggled to raise him and his half sister, Bonita, in a violent neighborhood. In his memoir, “E.A.R.L.: The Autobiography of DMX” (2002, with Smokey D. Fontaine), he wrote that there was often little food at home while he was growing up and that as a precocious, hot-tempered and disobedient child, he was often beaten by his mother and her lovers. (Information on his survivors was not immediately available.)

Mr. Simmons turned to street crime as he grew older, spending much of his childhood and teenage years in group homes or juvenile detention facilities, where, he wrote, he sometimes faced solitary confinement. He became an adept car thief and robber, he said, often using vicious dogs to intimidate victims.

“I was straight stickup,” Mr. Simmons wrote. “I’d rob three times a day: before school, after school and on the late night.”

In the late 1980s he started performing as a beatboxer, creating beats using only his mouth, with a local rapper named Ready Ron. (He took the name DMX from the Oberheim DMX drum machine, a model popular in the 1980s.) He said he was 14 when Ready Ron introduced him to crack cocaine by passing him what Mr. Simmons thought was marijuana.

“I later found out that he laced the blunt with crack,” Mr. Simmons told the rapper Talib Kweli in an interview last year . “Why would you do that to a child?” He became addicted to it.

His long struggle with drugs, his bleak childhood and their impact on his life informed his music — he titled a 2001 album “The Great Depression” — and many of his most swaggering songs conveyed hints of lingering trauma.

“All I know is pain/All I feel is rain/How can I maintain?” he raps near the start of “Ruff Ryders’ Anthem.”

In 1997 he was featured, along with Method Man, Redman, Master P and Canibus on the LL Cool J song “ 4, 3, 2, 1 .” He was also on Mase’s “ 24 Hrs. to Live ” and, with Lil’ Kim, the Lox’s “ Money, Power, Respect .” Those high-profile guest appearances led to a contract with Def Jam, Ruff Ryders’ parent company; his debut album in 1998 was followed by another one that same year.

Before breaking through as a rap star, Mr. Simmons made a name for himself as a nasty battle rapper in the early 1990s.

“I always made it personal,” he wrote in his memoir. “Nothing was too rude or vicious for me because I didn’t care.”

Joe Coscarelli contributed reporting.

Daniel E. Slotnik is a general assignment reporter on the Metro desk and a 2020 New York Times reporting fellow. More about Daniel E. Slotnik

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News | Remembering the life and career of rapper DMX

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Review: DMX’s posthumous ‘Exodus’ is an artistic triumph amid a tragic new normal for hip-hop

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One unsettling sign of how big the business for posthumous hip-hop albums has become: DMX’s “Exodus,” which arrives just weeks after the gravel-voiced rapper’s death on April 9 at age 50, does so minus a planned appearance by the late Pop Smoke — because, DMX’s producer says, the verse in question ended up on one of Pop Smoke’s posthumous records first.

Released Thursday night, “Exodus” joins a tragic cavalcade of recent projects from hip-hop artists who died before their time, including 20-year-old Pop Smoke and 21-year-old Juice Wrld , both of whose 2020 LPs were among last year’s most commercially successful in any genre, as well as XXXTentacion (20), Mac Miller (26) and Lil Peep (21).

But DMX’s album also stands apart, not least because of his age — “Exodus” has a distinctly grown-up quality, with thoughts of nostalgia and fatherhood — and because he was part of a generation from before the era when digital recording enabled musicians to create vast stores of material that their survivors could later comb through.

Indeed, according to Swizz Beatz, who worked with DMX for years in the studio and oversaw the making of “Exodus,” this impressive 13-track set wasn’t intended to be a posthumous album at all. The producer says that he and DMX got to work on “Exodus” in the immediate wake of the rapper’s well-received July 2020 Verzuz battle with Snoop Dogg, which reinvigorated his career after some time in the wilderness; the idea was a kind of focused, high-level reintroduction of an artist whose fierce lyricism and unvarnished charisma led to a string of five No. 1 albums — including two in a single year — in the late ’90s and early ’00s.

DMX, who’d signed a new deal with the Def Jam label that helped turn him into a star, had the LP virtually finished when he died from a heart attack reportedly related to a drug overdose. (His death closely followed those of two other middle-aged rappers, MF Doom and Black Rob , and shortly preceded that of Digital Underground’s Shock G — an unhappy way to realize that hip-hop itself has been around for nearly half a century.)

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Knowing his ambitions, it’s heartening to hear how much belief DMX had left in his signature approach: Though “Exodus” utilizes more cameos than he went for on his classic early records — among the splashier guests are Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Nas, Snoop Dogg, Usher and U2’s Bono — the music still layers his gruff, chant-like vocals over hard-knocking beats smeared with vaguely gothic overtones; thematically, too, he puts across a familiar blend of threats, confessions and sexual advances — sometimes all in one song, as in “Take Control,” where Marvin Gaye’s sampled croon accompanies him as he imagines the resentments likely to grow out of an intimate bedroom encounter.

“Hold Me Down,” with a reassuring hook sung by Swizz Beatz’s wife, Alicia Keys, ponders the durability of faith — “Devil working on me hard because God loves me,” DMX raps — while the swinging “Hood Blues” vividly flashes back to the Yonkers, N.Y., native’s rough upbringing. In “Money Money Money,” the track that was supposed to feature Pop Smoke (now replaced by Memphis rap star Moneybagg Yo), the men trade growling lines about danger and temptation; “Bath Salts,” which convenes a Big Apple dream team with former enemies Jay-Z and Nas, carries its menace more lightly: “I’m taking half, it’s just that simple,” DMX barks, clearly inspired by the friendly competition, “Or I can start popping n— like pimples.”

Ironically, perhaps, hearing DMX embrace his vintage sound makes you think about the influence younger rappers have taken from him even as they’ve left behind his straightforward boom-bap production for blearier styles. You could certainly hear him in Pop Smoke’s chesty rumble and in Juice Wrld’s songs about his precarious mental health; you can see him in the flashy yet tattered rock-star iconography favored by the likes of Trippie Redd and Playboi Carti.

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In the tightness of its structure, though, the gratifyingly concise “Exodus” shares little with modern rap — particularly with bloated posthumous efforts that can seem to go on forever in a misguided attempt to sum up an artist’s entire sensibility.

Not every track connects. “Skyscraper,” the collaboration with Bono, goes painfully literal with an angel-devil scheme made only clunkier by the song’s weirdly perky beat. And the frankly emotional “Letter to My Son (Call Your Father)” didn’t need all the weepy violin to make its sobering point about generational trauma. But DMX sounds remarkably driven on “Exodus” — a man with life, not death, heavy on his mind.

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Mikael Wood is pop music critic for the Los Angeles Times.

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Rapper dmx posthumously hits no. 1 on a billboard chart for the first time.

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INGLEWOOD, CA - OCTOBER 04: (EDITORS NOTE: This image has been converted to black and white.) DMX ... [+] performs onstage during the Bad Boy Family Reunion Tour at The Forum on October 4, 2016 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Live Nation)

Throughout his lifetime, DMX planted plenty of major singles on the Billboard charts. He was one of the hottest names–and voices–in rap for a while. Years after his death, he’s still collecting hits, including on tallies he never reached while he was alive..

DMX lands a new No. 1 hit this week on America. The rapper is featured on Five Finger Death Punch’s new single “This Is The Way,” which debuts atop the Hard Rock Digital Song Sales chart.

According to Luminate, “This Is The Way” starts in first place on the Hard Rock Digital Song Sales chart thanks to 1,546 pure sales. The tally ranks the tunes that sell the most copies in the U.S. each tracking frame that Billboard labels as hard rock when it comes to genre. This methodology differentiates it from other rock rankings, like the Hot Hard Rock Songs tally, which takes into account streams as well as sales.

Unsurprisingly, “This Is The Way” marks DMX’s first No. 1 on the Hard Rock Digital Song Sales chart. In fact, it’s the late rapper’s first placement anywhere on the hard rock ranking.

While this may be new territory for DMX and his voice, Five Finger Death Punch has been in this position before–many times, in fact. “This Is The Way” is the band’s seventeenth No. 1 on this specific tally. It also marks their thirty-fifth top 10 and their forty-third placement overall on the list.

“This Is The Way” performed well enough in its first tracking frame to appear on more than just this one chart. The song debuts on half a dozen tallies, with all of them being specific to the rock world.

DMX passed away in 2021 at the age of just 50. A month after his death, his estate released a new album, Exodus , which gave him his first top 10 on a number of Billboard charts, including the Billboard 200, in nearly a decade. It also produced the Grammy-nominated track “Bath Salts,” which honored him posthumously.

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Jay-Z, DMX, Method Man, Redman Launch "Hard Knock Life" Tour

As Korn and Rob Zombie hit the road spreading the rock gospel, hip-hop heavyweights Jay-Z, DMX, Method Man, and Redman launched one of the biggest rap package tours in recent memory.

The first night of the tour found Redman and Meth performing the opening set together, and Meth taking the opportunity to get up close and personal with the crowd, stage diving several times. DMX took the stage next, bringing with him a set punctuated with explosions of blood red flames (which won over local critics). Jay-Z's headlining set managed to win over the crowd as well, with fans responding most to the video images projected behind the rapper during his performance.

Here's where you can check out the Hard Knock Life tour for yourself:

• 3/2 - Washington, DC @ MCI Center
• 3/3 - East Rutherford, NJ @ Continental Airline Arena
• 3/4 - Cleveland, OH @ CSU Convocation Center
• 3/6 - Dallas, TX @ Reunion Arena
• 3/7 - Houston, TX @ Compaq Center
• 3/11 - Montreal, QC @ Molson Centre
• 3/12 - Detroit, MI @ Cobo Arena
• 3/13 - Camden, NJ @ Blockbuster - Sony Ctr.
• 3/14 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Pittsburgh Civic Arena
• 3/16 - Columbus, OH @ Schottenstein Center
• 3/17 - Rochester, NY @ Blue Cross Arena
• 3/18 - Providence, RI @ Rhode Island Convention Center
• 3/19 - Hampton, VA @ Hampton Coliseum
• 3/21 - Hartford, CT @ Hartford Civic Center
• 3/23 - Albany, NY @ Pepsi Arena
• 3/24 - Worcester, MA @ Centrum
• 3/25 - Buffalo, NY @ Marine Midland Arena
• 3/26 - Baltimore, MD @ Baltimore Arena
• 3/27 - Boston, MA @ FleetCenter
• 3/28 - Uniondale, NY @ Nassau Coliseum
• 3/31 - St. Louis, MO @ Kiel Center
• 4/1 - Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center
• 4/2 - Milwaukee, WI @ Milwaukee Arena
• 4/3 - Memphis, TN @ Mid-South Coliseum
• 4/4 - Rosemont, IL @ Rosemont Horizon
• 4/7 - Greenville, SC @ Bi-Lo Center
• 4/8 - Tampa, FL @ USF Sun Dome
• 4/9 - Jacksonville, FL @ Jacksonville Coliseum
• 4/11 - Birmingham, AL @ Birm.-Jefferson Coliseum
• 4/13 - El Paso, TX @ University Of Texas
• 4/14 - Albuquerque, NM @ Tingley Coliseum
• 4/15 - Phoenix, AZ @ Blockbuster Desert Sky Pavilion
• 4/16 - San Diego, CA @ San Diego Sports Arena
• 4/17 - Anaheim, CA @ Arrowhead Pond
• 4/18 - Las Vegas, NV @ Thomas & Mack Center
• 4/20 - Las Vegas, NV @ Thomas & Mack Center
• 4/21 - Tacoma, WA @ Tacoma Dome
• 4/23 - San Jose, CA @ San Jose Arena
• 4/24 - Bakersfield, CA @ Centennial Garden
• 4/25 - Sacramento, CA @ ARCO Arena
• 4/27 - Englewood, CO @ Fiddler's Green Amph.
• 4/29 - Kansas City, MO @ Kemper Arena
• 4/30 - Indianapolis, IN @ Market Square Arena
• 5/1 - Dayton, OH @ Ervin J. Nutter Center
• 5/2 - Louisville, KY @ Louisville Gardens

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15-year-old Miles Russell makes Korn Ferry Tour history with unreal record

Miles Russell, a freshman in high school who hails from Jacksonville Beach, Florida, made history on the Korn Ferry Tour.

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Miles Russell started playing golf at two years old and first broke par at the age of six.

Nine years after shooting under par for the first time, Russell made the cut in a Korn Ferry Tour event, becoming the youngest player ever to do so.

“That’s pretty cool, I did not know that,” Russell said after making the cut at the LECOM Suncoast Classic.

“That’s a cool [record] to have.”

Russell shot a 3-under 68 in the opening round and carded a 5-under 66 during Friday’s second round—a round that featured a pair of eagles on the opening nine.

“I’m kind of speechless. The goal was to make the cut, and we made it, so we’ll see where the weekend goes,” Russell added.

“It’s a cool record to break. People are getting so good, so young. It could hold out for a week. You never know, but it’s pretty cool right now.”

Only one other player under the age of 16 has ever made the cut in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event. At the 2013 Masters Tournament , Guan Tian Liang of China—at 14 years old—made it to the weekend. He also made the cut at the 2013 Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

Nevertheless, Russell surpassed the Korn Ferry Tour record set by Gipper Finau— Tony Finau’s brother—at the 2006 Utah Championship. At the time, Finau was 16 years old.

Now, Russell—the number one ranked player within the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA)—has had a tremendous opportunity to see how his game compares to that of professionals.

“I knew it was going to be a good test to see where I am against some of the best,” Russell said.

“It’s definitely something I’ll remember, even when times get hard. I’ll remember it when that happens and go with the flow.”

So far, Russell has passed the test with flying colors. Despite his young age, he looks the part of a future star.

His calm demeanor is just another reason why Russell has had so much success in Florida this week.

“Kind of keep trying to do what I’ve been doing,” Russell said Friday.

“I don’t know what the weather looks like in the next few days, but I think it’s pretty much the same. I mean, have a day like today, maybe make a few fewer mistakes, and see how it goes.”

With Russell making the cut, he has his sights set on another goal: finishing in the top 25. That could lead to another opportunity on the Korn Ferry Tour next week at the Veritex Bank Championship in Texas, but Russell is not getting ahead of himself too much—just like a seasoned pro.

Still, further opportunities will surely present themselves to this budding young star.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.

Next Up In Golf

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Method Man, Redman, Styles P and More Bring In 4/20 At Inaugural BUD DROP Concert

The dynamic duo of  Method Man  and  Redman  headlined the inaugural  BUD DROP  concert at  Terminal 5  in NYC on  Friday, April 19th.  This groundbreaking event, produced by  LTB Productions , provided a New Year’s Eve-style celebration on the eve of the cannabis holiday, culminating in a midnight “BUD DROP,” which is a spinoff of the NYE ball drop – counting down to the 4/20; marijuana culture’s high holiday.

The night started with sets from  DJ DPrizzy . Host  Ace the General  introduced the opening act including  Doov.   DJ Self  provided an enthusiastic set that transitioned from old-school hip-hop to Latin, to reggae, keeping the crowd energetic before the duo  Girll Codee  performed their set. They had the crowd chanting, “Roll that smoke that pass that” as it was a 4/20-themed event. DJ Self also paused for a brief moment to acknowledge the late great  DJ Mister Cee , who recently passed away. Kyah Baby also graced the stage for the main acts. 

Yonkers legend  Styles P  performed some of his old hits including “Fuck You” and “Wild Out.” Fellow LOX member  Sheek Louch  came out to perform “Wild Out” with Styles P. The duo also paid tribute to the late rapper DMX, performing “We Gonna Make It.”

His high-energy performance set the tone and prepared the crowd for Method Man and Redman, who closed out the BUD DROP event with an iconic performance. In the middle of their set, Method Man and Redman counted down the last few seconds before it was officially 4/20. Balloons and confetti dropped soon after and the Wu-Tang members continued their celebratory performance. 

Throughout the show, attendees were able to shop with different THC and weed strain companies. Some vendors included  Nectar Wellness ,  Motagua NYC ,  Don Karlos Cannabars ,  The Culture Craft Cannabis , and the  Empire Cannabis Club . Attendees were able to purchase teas, candy bars, edibles, vapes, and weed strains.

Sei Less  was the event’s food partner. They gave concert-goers a culinary journey that perfectly complements the festive atmosphere.  Empire Cannabis Club NYC  brought its unique touch to the event, ensuring concert-goers enjoyed an immersive holiday atmosphere. Empire provided all the pre-rolls in the balloons that dropped after the bud drop countdown, as well as complimentary tote bags upon entry filled with branded lighters, grinders, pre-rolls, edibles and more. 

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miles and miles

15-year-old Miles Russell shoots final-round 66 on Korn Ferry Tour, makes history, earns spot in next week’s stop

Douglas P. DeFelice

Miles Russell isn’t going anywhere. In fact, his next stop will be in four days.

During a week when most eyes were on Scottie Scheffler and Nelly Korda, the 15-year-old lefty finished off an incredible week with a five-under 66 in the final round of the Korn Ferry Tour’s LECOM Suncoast Classic at Lakewood Ranch in Florida.

After opening with 68-66-70, Russell finished at 14-under-par total to tie for 20th place. The finish in which he jumped 28 positions on the leaderboard on the final day, gives him an exemption into next week’s Veritex Bank Championship at Rangers Park in Arlington, Texas. He’s the youngest player to finish inside the top 20 on the PGA of Korn Ferry tours, according to records that go back to 1983.

Tim Widing topped Steven Fisk and Patrick Cover in a playoff to earn the victory. The trio shot 21-under-par 264.

“I don’t know what to expect, but I’d love to make the cut and who knows, maybe have a good weekend and see where it puts me,” Russell told PGATour.com on Tuesday.

Playing well before the leaders teed off, Russell opened Sunday with three birdies in the first seven holes. After a bogey on the eighth hole, he made four birdies over the next five holes and was tied for third place for a brief moment. He finished with four pars and a bogey on the 18th hole to shoot 66.

“I drove it great today,” Russell told reporters afterward. “I kept that going all the way through the day. Really only hit one bad one there on eight, hit it right, made bogey, but it was a good bogey. My iron play on the back side was the best iron play I had all week.”

In four days Russell recorded three eagles, 17 birdies, seven bogeys and one double bogey.

Russell, while playing in his first professional event, is no stranger to junior golf circles. He’s the reigning AJGA Player of the Year, won the Junior PGA Championship by seven shots last year and won the Junior Players Championship, shooting a second-round 66 at TPC Sawgrass. He also signed an NIL deal with Transcend Capital Advisors last fall.

The teen had plenty to say about his Korn Ferry Tour experience, and said that his biggest takeaway was, “I was able to hit some good shots in the right moments.”

“Everybody has been so nice, especially for my first one, you may get a couple weird looks like ‘who is the little kid on the range,’ but everybody was so nice and so helpful with everything,” Russell said. “It was an awesome week. It was a blast.”

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Nelly Korda chases LPGA history at 2024 Chevron Championship, where she trails by one

T HE WOODLANDS, Texas – There’s a portable heater on the dais now at the 2024 Chevron Championship, hidden behind a vase of flowers, and Nelly Korda was grateful for the warmth.

After a storm system rolled through The Woodlands on Saturday, suspending Round 3 and dropping 1.52 inches of rain, temperatures plummeted into the low 50s, and the wind kicked up for the resumption of play. It was an early wakeup call for the 7 a.m. local start time, and everyone on the leaderboard grinded down a demanding final stretch at the Club at Carlton Woods.

Korda, who looks to become only the third player in LPGA history to win five consecutive starts, trails by one going into the final round, with her 12:36 p.m. ET tee time coming roughly two hours after she completed Round 3. Hae Ran Ryu, last year’s Louise Suggs Rolex LPGA Rookie of the Year, holds the lead at 11 under after making birdie on three of her last six holes on Ssaturday to shoot 67. Ryu began Sunday morning in a share of fifth.

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Korda, meanwhile, held on with a long string of pars to card a 69 and sit tied at 10 under with Brooke Henderson. While Korda had seven holes left to play this morning, Henderson needed only to finish the par-5 18th. Henderson parred the last to shoot a course-record 64 and put herself in the mix for a third career major title.

“So different, oh, my gosh,” said Korda. “The first three days we were sweating so much, and today I was freezing out there. Pars went a long way. Made some good up-and-downs. Overall played pretty well. The golf course is just playing so different right now. It's quite tough in this weather.

“The wind is out of a complete different direction, too, so the holes that I would probably hit 3-wood on or maybe take advantage of, I had 6-irons in instead of short irons. Completely different.”

A trio of players are tied for fourth at 8 under, including Maja Stark, Jin Hee Im and Atthaya Thitikul, who began the morning with the solo lead at 11 under. Thitikul bogeyed the three toughest holes in the third round – Nos. 14-16 – to card an even-par 72. Last year’s Vare Trophy winner injured her thumb after the LPGA season and was forced to take several months off from competition. The Chevron marks her first start to the season.

Annika Sorenstam (2004-05) and Nancy Lopez (1978) are the only two players in LPGA history to win five consecutive starts. Korda’s in prime position to make it an elite trio.

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Nelly Korda chases LPGA history at 2024 Chevron Championship, where she trails by one

Teenager Miles Russell makes Korn Ferry Tour history in first pro start with top-20 showing

Fifteen-year-old Miles Russell made a hard push up the leaderboard at the Korn Ferry Tour’s LECOM Suncoast Classic, rising to as high as tied for third place.

Russell shot a final-round 66 and was 14-under-par for the week at the event at Lakewood National in Lakewood Ranch, Fla. After a bogey on 18 he was tied for 15th as he walked off the course. He finished in a 10-way tie for 20th place.

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Russell, who is 15 years, five months and 19 days old, became the youngest player to make the cut in a Korn Ferry Tour event after shooting first- and second-round scores of 68 and 66, including a front-nine 31 on Thursday.

The left-handed Russell followed that up with a 70 on Saturday, well within his stated goal of a top 25 in his first professional start (he’s playing on a sponsor exemption). He did far better than that, grabbing an early birdie on the par-4 4th, then going birdie-birdie-bogey-birdie-birdie-par-birdie-birdie over the next eight holes. That’s 6 birdies, one par and one bogey against two par 3s, three par 4s and three par 5s.

7 birdies in the last 10 holes 😳 Miles Russell moves into T3 at the LECOM Suncoast Classic. pic.twitter.com/jlYUIuSQOn — Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) April 21, 2024

With a top-25 finish, Russell is automatically eligible for next week’s Veritex Bank Championship in Arlington, Texas.

Russell and Guan Tian Liang are the only players younger than 16 to make a cut in a PGA Tour or Korn Ferry Tour event. Russell drew praise from Phil Mickelson on X , the latter giving a fellow left-handed golfer praise for “playing such incredible golf.”

He broke one of Tiger Woods’ records last year, becoming the youngest player to be named the AJGA Player of the Year. Russell, who is from Jacksonville Beach, Fla., is a high school freshman who has also won the Junior PGA and Junior Players Championship events. He shot a 66 at TPC Sawgrass in the latter. Russell said that he began playing golf at age 2 and broke par by age 6.

Russell told reporters Friday that he has a sponsor exemption into the PGA Tour’s Butterfield Bermuda Championship in November. In the meantime, he expects to continue to play AJGA events as well as elite amateur tournaments.

(Photo: Douglas P. DeFelice / Getty Images)

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Hugh Kellenberger is the senior managing editor of The Athletic's golf group. A native of North Carolina, Kellenberger previously served as sports editor and columnist for the Jackson (Mississippi) Clarion Ledger. He first covered Ole Miss for the paper, and in the past has covered Indiana for the Bloomington Herald-Times and the ACC for the Rocky Mount Telegram. Follow Hugh on Twitter @ KellenbergerCBB