What Does DMX Want?

Like it makes sense that he started rapping in the 80s.

“this guy is from New York and is very good at rapping in the traditional sense of rapping”

I would argue that 50 cent closed out that era.

DMX was never fashionable with hip hop heads. I remember that Funk Flex (hugely influential at the time) didn't like him. Which probably endeared X to a lot of people.

i assume many people hear some dated-sounding shortcomings in his records' production value but i kinda think all of that stuff sounds even stronger in hindsight.

re: Funk Flex i couldn't help noticing he didn't air much of a DMX tribute on Friday night. i'm guessing it was pre-taped?

i had a long drive and no access to a phone/Spotify/CDs on Friday, and i wrongly assumed the FM tributes in NYC wouldn't be as fulfilling. every 15-20 minutes i was reminded of yet another hit that i had forgotten about. he must have had at least 20 or maybe even 30 hits throughout his peak, way more than i realized.

didn't he break out swizz beats who sort of paved the way for post boom-bap production tho. shooting from the hip but intuitively it seems right

swizz was ruff ryders and i always thought of dmx as like the godfather of that whole crew but i don’t know the inside baseball of the whole thing

it would be enjoyable if Eve dedicated an episode of her podcast to DMX

Backpackers did not think he was a real lyricist or whatevr but that take has aged terribly

He was huge & is an iconic figure. He was not “an intriguing minor figure”

I do think Whiney is right thst he was rapping certain veins of New York traditionalism but he also had this emotional center that felt more in need when Tupac passed that’s more in that Scarface /pac zone even tho aesthetically on the surface his stuff was like an extension of nyc shout rap, I think there was something very unique about how it wedded expressiveness, stylization, and tradition

I was a freshman in high school when “Who We Be” came out and that song in particular made a huge impression on me at the time. I can think of few songs—much less charting singles—that go harder than that one. And at the end when he starts going da-DAHNT da-DAHNT da-DAHNT like a guitar holy shit

always assumed he was a big Onyx fan

one option for the DMX analogue/sign of long-term influence in contemporary rap is this guy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k70UDI89tMw

Yeah 50 was def the closer of that era, but it’s a little fuzzier with him re: how much was pure skills (which he had in abundance) and how much was carried by Shady/Aftermath + “shot nine times”

The idea that dmx was about “pure skills” feels reductive to me also .. he’s an artist, there’s a interaction of difft qualities that makes his stuff sing, and it was kind of seen as offbeat (which is could be albeit in a cool way) & simplistic (🥴) to a lot of lyrically lyrical types at the time

Agreed, re: reductive...
The take that he was representing traditional rap skills feels a bit simplistic, as he also loved to sing all the damn time. On his hooks or even just in verses, he would often break into melodic phrases. It was very very clear that he was a massive rnb fan. This thread runs through all of his work. Between that and the slightly left-of-center music choices (like those early Dame Grease and Swizz Beatz beats... the bizarre Damien series... Marilyn Manson guest appearance, etc...) he didn't feel like some traditionalist to my ears at the time.`It felt like exciting modern music and I devoured it the same way I did all the Tim productions in the late 90's. It was very refreshing!

I’m just saying that’s how he came up wrt those first few records, obviously the other stuff was what kept him around

“If I was to drop dead right now, my last thought would be: I’ve lived a good life.” - DMX, February 2021 pic.twitter.com/aB3hqXbbHx

— love yourself. (@MichellCClark) April 9, 2021

What was the big single off the second record that made him immediately have a #1 record after the first? When I was young I was first introduced to X through Slippin on a compilation, which is a great ducking song, but I just couldn’t imagine making America make that #1?

It was just striking while the iron was still hot, I don't even remember a single coming out before it dropped

flippers already flippin. i think d would have appreciated their hustle.

still can't even believe this, tbh

My second question then is: Has anyone else, between 60s types up until people too followed on social media, had such personality that they could have a hit album with no single?

prince, maybe?

Probably like One Direction or some K pop thing, I’m not gonna do the due diligence on it

They all follow into the second category, you would think. Basically my point is that even when X didn’t have hit singles, like he is massively known for, his personality and story made him so engaging that he did something no one else could ever really do

Plenty of acts between the 60s and '10s had hit albums without releasing singles at all. I don't think Jimmy Page's personality comes into it.

Sure but I don’t think zeppelin and dmx are the same. He was still so new, in a genre that was incredibly singles driven, and released an album about god fearing self reflection. It’s not exactly Whole Lotta Love’s riff.

Jay Z has had 14 Number One albums and I'm guessing not all of them came with a hit single unless you really want to ride for "Blue Magic"

I guess technically Roc Boys came out before the album, again, I'm not gonna bean count this

Chicago has had five number one albums

Well 1998 was a year where a Cappadonna album could debut at #3.

Yeah, like 1997-2002 was like peak music industry

Silkk the Shocker's Main Man hit No. 1 that very year with no pre-release single according to wiki

he Charged [those sales] 2 Da Game

Well 1998 was a year where a Cappadonna album could debut at #3.

― Muswell Hillbilly Elegy (President Keyes), Monday, April 12, 2021 5:48 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

when the music industry is doing well rap is doing well

or maybe invert those

that cappadonna album rules

yea incredible album

i remember noz saying mf doom was listening to it a ton when recording op doomsday which makes a lot of sense ... the flow style

ahhh interesting

 hoy hoy at 4:56 12 Apr 21

My second question then is: Has anyone else, between 60s types up until people too followed on social media, had such personality that they could have a hit album with no single?

I dunno, Korn? Wu Tang didn't have huge singles....a lot of metal bands

Pantera had at least one #1 album and radio didn’t touch those guys.

A quite good dmx piece:

https://nplusonemag.com/online-only/online-only/that-real-shit/

^^ that was excellent

the author says that dmx was the first rapper that he can recall being aware of, I’m trying to think of the first rapper i can remember being aware of...probably busta

or coolio

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7Tat4ONKR8

Worth a look if you want to hear what he was like when he was rapping in a more traditional way.

Always thought dame grease got unfairly stuck in second place after swizz in terms of his producers.

Andrew Unterberger at Billboard on why the US radio airplay charts didn't represent DMX as well as the album sales charts: https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/hip-hop/9555561/dmx-hot-100-chart-success-ruff-ryders-anthem

A comment about sandals on another thread suddenly made me free associate to the DMX/Jay-Z sandals diss

DMX – the oft-arrested hip-hop star – says real men don’t wear sandals. And he blames Beyoncé for Jay-Z’s flip-flop fetish. “The flip-flops – he’s just not the same,” DMX complains in Vibe magazine. “It’s Beyoncé. He’s a sucker for love. Thugs don’t do flip-flops. Yo, no matter how much vacation I’m on – we been to St. Thomas, Bahamas, all the little islands – I don’t wear no flip-flops. I’m never that comfortable, not even in my own house.”

I always found that quote unintentionally revealing and sad. RIP, hope you found comfort.

Exodus is out.

It's loaded up on big guest features, which is par for the course I guess.

BUT

DMX sounds really good! and Swizz has some cool production

It's a very uneven album with some totally confusing choices but there are maybe four great tracks (Money Money Money, Hood Blues, Take Control, Walking in the Rain) and Bath Salts and Hold Me Down are pretty good. Prayer is a good way to end.

have always loved him on jayo felonys whatcha gonna do
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqZNDQzvhpU

oh shit! the things you forget with old age! goddamn, i literally wore that 12" out. that part about "too sexy for mah mothafuken low rye-DAH!" got juggled so much people told me to replace my copies because it sounded terrible.

HOW DID I SO THOROUGHLY FORGET ABOUT SUCH AN ABSOLUTE JAM?

i am forever indebted to you, spottie.