My Gut Reaction: DMX - The Great Depression (October 23, 2001)

Although he was one of the three hip hop Cameo Kings in the late 1990s and early 2000s (alongside Busta Rhymes and Canibus – hey, remember when Canibus used to appear on a bunch of random songs? Strange times, my friend), with a work ethic that generated three full-length albums in two years, all of which took the top slot on the Billboard 200 upon release, DMX stepped away from the spotlight for a brief period in the early part of the millennium. Now, you’re forgiven if you didn’t realize that he was on a break: the man born Earl Simmons was still all over the place commercially, jumping on tracks and unofficially leading the then-burgeoning Ruff Ryders, a crew that counted among its members rappers Eve, Drag-On, and The Lox, along with producer Swizz Beatz. Hollywood had even noticed Earl’s gruff demeanor and charismatic stage presence, which led to starring turns in films such as Belly, Exit Wounds, and Romeo Must Die. But in addition to keeping extremely busy, DMX also found himself in legal hot water exacerbated by his growing celebrity, which caused everyone to simply pay more attention to the man than they might have otherwise.

After getting his issues sorted out as best as he could, DMX returned to the booth for his fourth solo album, The Great Depression, released by Def Jam Records in 2001. It became his fourth consecutive number one album, but his lowest-selling project up to that point. But that may not have entirely been on Earl.

My Gut Reaction: DMX - ...And Then There Was X (December 21, 1999)

The last time I wrote about Earl "DMX" Simmons was back in November of 2008.  Nearly five years ago.  I really have to get on these artists and their back catalogs if I ever wish to see the light of day with my self-imposed project, so I may as well start with X's third solo album, ...And Then There Was X, which was released around the same time that I stopped really giving a shit about the guy's career.

DMX - Flesh Of My Flesh, Blood Of My Blood (December 22, 1998)

Okay, seriously, what the fuck is with that album cover? Was Earl Simmons embarrassed at the prom just before his photo shoot?

I'll be honest: I have absolutely no clue how I ended up with a copy of DMX's second album, Flesh Of My Flesh, Blood Of My Blood, in my crates. (Apparently I had a lot of disposable income ten years ago. Ahhh, to be young again.) I've never considered myself to be an actual fan of DMX: with the exception of a handful of tracks from his debut, It's Dark and Hell Is Hot, I found his antics mostly tedious and repetitive. Back in 1998, though, I was clearly in the minority, as other music fans ate this shit up like fresh baked cookies. In fact, Earl's first album was so successful that Def Jam Records rushed a sophomore effort to the shelves in the same year. (I remember reading many articles lavishing DMX with praise, naming him the first rapper in history to release two albums in the same year, both of which hit number on on the Billboard charts, and I always thought to myself: what about 2Pac? Did he not count back in 1995 because the second album he released that year, posthumously, was recorded under the Makaveli alias? And Kool Keith has been releasing multiple albums each year since the dawn of man.)

Since "Ruff Ryders Anthem", the bizarrely paced tirade against the small business owner that was told from the point of view from a hypermegaconglomerate, became the surprise hit of the first album, receiving radio spins eve before it was officially released as a single, the song's producer, Swizz Beats, became DMX's partner in crime for the majority of this sophomore effort, whose title is so long and ridiculous that I don't want to type it again. That motherfucker went from handling only one track on the debut to producing nine tracks. As such, anybody who is on my side in the war against the overrated Swizz Beats should note that DMX is to blame for the man's "success", and also to blame for the spike in sales of Casio keyboards nationwide.

1. MY N----S (SKIT)
Do you recall the intro from DMX's debut album? Remember how good that intro sounded? Picture the polar opposite of that intro, and throw in some additional suckiness, and you'll still not be close to understanding how bad this rap album intro is.

2. BRING YOUR WHOLE CREW
The beat sounds like an afterthought, as if it was created in roughly two minutes. X also sounds exactly the same as he did on the first album, which is an act that had gotten old with all of his guest appearances on other albums. This can't be good.

3. PAC MAN (SKIT)
Generic gangsta interlude #4080 could have been much better if the fake thugs wherein were talking to the actual Pac Man. Running through a maze may have also been a nice touch.

4. AIN'T NO WAY
My God, this shit is boring.

5. WE DON'T GIVE A FUCK (FEAT JADAKISS & STYLES P)
As The Lox were running with the same crew as DMX (they were all from the same area in New York), it makes sense for them to appear on here: what doesn't make sense is the whereabouts of the third guy in the crew, Sheek. Jada's hook is unintentionally goofy, and can also be taken out of context very easily, which helps a lot, but the beat should have been more confrontational, M.O.P. style, given the title. Alas, I don't give a fuck, either.

6. KEEP YOUR SHIT THE HARDEST
The beat still sucks (this will be a recurring theme), but regardless of a title that sounds like it could be better used as a tagline for an anti-stool softener, DMX at least tries to engage the listener, so as a result, there's a bit more energy present on here than the song deserves.

7. COMING FROM (FEAT MARY J BLIGE)
Sounds incomplete, and Mary must have been included for the name brand recognition alone, as her hook is very weak, and her laugh is creepy in a "I've just kidnapped your family and am holding them hostage in the basement" kind of way.

8. IT'S ALL GOOD
The good news is that the beat is completely different than any we've been presented thus far. Swizz actually put his fucking keyboard down and opted to heavily sample Taana Gardner's "Heartbeat" instead, but the sample is so recognizable that you may be waiting on pins and needles for Ini Kamoze to hotstep in. The bad news is that Earl sounds awkward as shit over this type of club beat, and heaven forbid that any female receive a complement from X, as it will inevitably sound wrong.

9. THE OMEN (FEAT MARILYN MANSON)
A sequel to the first album's "Damien", but with 100% more mediocrity. Its attempts to be scary are more in line with direct-to-video slasher sequels than anything else.

10. SLIPPIN'
Whenever DMX says anything with substance (as opposed to shouting about how he doesn't give a fuck and he keeps his shit the hardest, a sure sign that he may require medical attention), he can either sound good or really really bad. "Slippin'", produced by DJ Shok, is a step in the right direction.

11. NO LOVE 4 ME (FEAT DRAG-ON & SWIZZ BEATS)
Whoever gave Swizz Beats his first Casio keyboard for Christmas should be smacked in the fucking mouth. Whoever let the fucker get behind the mic should simply hang their head in shame.

12. DOGS FOR LIFE
The song itself is no consequence, but the reference to Blood In Blood Out: Bound By Honor, one of the funniest (and entertaining as hell) gang/prison movies ever made, was a nice touch. And I say that previous sentence out of love: it's really a good movie, although it is really fucking long.

13. BLACKOUT (FEAT JAY-Z & THE LOX)
DMX upgrades his "N----s Done Started Something" posse by replacing Ma$e with arguably the biggest rap star in the genre, both in 1998 and today. The fact that Jadakiss shouts out Shawn during the intro, coupled with Jay's repetition of his mantra at the time ("You're about to witness a dynasty like no other"), leads me to believe that this was actually Jay's song first: maybe he decided to return it after hearing how fucking underwhelming the final product was.

14. FLESH OF MY FLESH, BLOOD OF MY BLOOD
While the attempt to (finally) wake up the listener is appreciated, shouldn't this track have been placed earlier in the tracklisting? If it had been, perhaps more people would still be listening right now.

15. HEAT
The hook would have sounded better had it been sung by either Glenn Frey or Asia. That is all.

16. READY TO MEET HIM
X has always been a study of contrast. He can be violent, but he is also very spiritual, although that doesn't mean that he feels bad for his violent tendencies. He'll kill you rather than deal with your issues, but he's ready to meet the Lord. He can be a good rapper, but he's usually an awful one. Here's he does alright for himself, but the sentiment is overly sappy. Kudos to Earl for not going full-on Billy Graham on us, though.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Flesh Of My Flesh, Blood Of My Blood is not a step forward for DMX, as the themes remain consistent from his debut, although if you consider the fact that the debut was just recorded and released earlier that same year, and that the label requested more of the same, it makes more sense. The problem is that DMX's second disc makes his debut sound like The White Album when compared to this mess. DMX is liked because of his style and flow, not because of his beats, although he usually manages to get one or two club bangers to shred on each album, but nothing on this album manages to sound like music at all: it's all noise, like your parents may say after hearing this shit.

BUY OR BURN? Burn if it you must, but I wouldn't. The disc has a couple of high points, but said high points don't come close to the good stuff from his debut.

BEST TRACKS: "Slippin'"

-Max

RELATED POSTS:
DMX - It's Dark and Hell Is Hot

DMX - It's Dark and Hell is Hot (May 19, 1998)

Most people probably remember Earl Simmons today for his budding direct-to-video film career and his penchant for getting arrested for a diverse range of felonies, from driving while under the influence to animal abuse, with a little bit of alleged rape thrown in to spice things up. It's strange how much of a difference ten years can make.

Ten years ago, Earl Simmons, known on court dockets as DMX, was better known as one of hip hop's cameo kings, someone who you could call upon to make your song sound even better (the other master of this particular art form is the little-known Busta Rhymes: whatever happened to him?). Earl had a solo career of his own in the early 1990s, when he was signed to Ruffhouse Records (home of Cypress Hill and the Fugees): this resulted in his debut single, "Born Loser", which played to the crickets, ending X's short-lived career. ("Born Loser" doesn't actually sound that bad, but it's completely understandable why it failed as a single: who wants to hear such a depressing-ass song in a happy-go-lucky art form such as hip hop?)

X soon went underground and reinvented himself, appearing as the token unknown guy alongside rappers as varied as Mic Geronimo, Jay-Z, LL Cool J, and his close friends The Lox. His cameos soon made enough noise in the industry, and his frequent appearances in the accompanying videos certainly helped matters, earning him both a deal with Def Jam Records, who was in the midst of a reinvention, and also snagging the lead in Hype Williams's directorial debut Belly, which stands out in my mind as the reason I've always felt that Nasir Jones is a terrible actor, but I digress.

It's Dark and Hell is Hot, which I always felt was a weird title, dropped in May of 1998 and proceeded to sell gazillions of copies, as if X was a commercially viable artist or some junk. I picked up the disc on its first day out because I liked what I heard from his guest spots, but mostly because the first fifty thousand copies of It's Dark and Hell is Hot came bundled with a bonus second disc promoting Def Jam's Survival Of The Illest, a nifty marketing tactic designed to give validity to the idea that Def Jam was actually on the verge of a comeback. That bonus disc came with exclusive songs from Ja Rule (don't sound too thrilled, Max), Onyx (including an interesting freestyle that used the same sample as Noreaga's "Noreminatti"), Cormega, and LL Cool J's "Return Of The Ripper", the song that derailed Canibus (he's been playing catch-up ever since) and, consequently, ended up being the one song that I actually remember from this project, and it isn't even a DMX song.

Huh.

1. INTRO (IT'S DARK AND HELL IS HOT)
The dialogue at the beginning doesn't even fucking make sense, but, thankfully, it's just a short prelude to one of the better rap album intros I have ever heard. DMX ignites a pretty hot beat, I have to admit.

2. RUFF RYDER'S ANTHEM
I always thought this song, which is about the American entrepreneur and the decline of small business in the wake of the mega-box stores (that's what I gather from the chorus, anyway), was corny, and repeated radio exposure to the Swizz Beats instrumental hasn't offset my argument. I always thought it was funny when the radio edit was played around my way, though, since there aren't a lot of radio edits that leave the lyric "bitch ass n---a" unaltered.

3. FUCKIN' WIT D
I wasn't really fucking with this song upon its initial release (I never found it to be an effective form of birth control), but hearing it today, this beat doesn't actually sound that bad. Still, DMX sounds like he knows that he's not truly suited to the instrumental, but is too stubborn to give it up.

4. THE STORM (SKIT)
...

5. LOOK THRU MY EYES
X has always has a way of turning the phrase "my n----z" that made it sound as appealing as an offensive racial epithet can sound. Still, I'm not liking this one at all.

6. GET AT ME DOG (FEAT SHEEK LOUCH)
Uh oh, somebody's got EPMD's "Get The Bozack" stuck in their head. (That somebody is me.) Whenever I hear the phrase "Tunnel banger", I tend to think of two things: random sexual encounters in subway terminals, and "Get At Me Dog", DMX's first single, which still sounds as if it will spontaneously combust in my computer. When I picked up Def Jam's Survival Of The Illest live album (which I sold almost immediately), I was surprised to hear that the live version of this song sounds an awful lot like the album track. I believe this video was banned from MTV for bullshit reasons, something probably having to do with profanity (as if DMX's bosses wouldn't have gladly edited the video for mass consumption) or some bullshit. (Clearly, there are no such fucking standards up in this bitch.)

7. LET ME FLY
I don't wanna.

8. X IS COMING
The instrumental, from P.K., sounds horror-movie-creepy enough, but the chorus is completely unnecessary. It's a shame, because the song is interesting otherwise, except for the reference to raping girls older than fifteen: I'm actually surprised that Def Jam let that reference slide.

9. DAMIEN
Songs which feature the rapper performing a duet with a higher-pitched version of themselves usually come off as forced and pretentious. This song is no different. (The exceptions: Biggie's "Gimme The Loot" and J-Zone's "Inauguration Day".)

10. HOW'S IT GOIN' DOWN
The radio-friendly song for the ladies, although it's really about X hooking up with a chick that's already in a relationship, getting her pregnant, putting her on them corners and ultimately turning her on to a life of crime before...the relationship ends amicably? The fuck?

11. MICKEY (SKIT)
...

12. CRIME STORY
The beat is more suited for spoken-word open mic night at one of those coffee shops where everyone wears all black (including on their souls) and are always terrified of being bought out by Starbucks. (Don't think they'll have to worry about that with this fucking economy, but that's a different conversation entirely.) It's not bad, but the beat puts you in a completely different mood than what Earl wants.

13. STOP BEING GREEDY
The b-side to the "Get At Me Dog" single has a sound that I can only describe as "whimsical" and "enchanting, in a hood way". Seriously. It sounds like a fucking Disney cartoon. It's a good song, though: I have to give credit to P.K. and Dame Grease for taking one of the most evil-sounding (and yet most heavily-sampled) Diana Ross songs in her catalog (here, "My Hero Is A Gun") and making it sound, well, evil, and I mean that in the best possible way. Also, the video, featuring DMX driving around with his split personality, stands out in my mind, which is odd, since I don't remember it being very good at all.

14. ATF
Although this is a one-verse tale that takes waaaay too long to actually start, the beat and rhymes complement each other well. Also, it's about two minutes long, which is perfect for my short att...oooh, shiny object!

15. FOR MY DOG (FEAT DRAG-ON, BIG STAN, LOOSE, & KASINO)
The posse cut with X's weed carriers dog whisperers that inevitably appears on all debut albums. Other than Cam'Ron soundalike Drag-On, I haven't heard from any of these guys since, and in hearing this today, it makes sense why.

16. I CAN FEEL IT
I'm sorry, but fuck this shit. Sampling and interpolating "In The Air Tonight" by Phil Collins? I realize I'm coming off as sounding like Trey Parker and Matt Stone after they lost the Best Original Song Oscar to Phil Collins when they were also up against Aimee Mann, but Max cannot and will not tolerate this shit.

17. PRAYER (SKIT)
These prayer interludes would become a standard of X albums, just like those "Damien" songs, which proves that DMX is a conflicted man. Earl, I'm not sure that God can help you out on the solo tip: you may want to find an army. Or maybe a therapist.

18. THE CONVO
The beat starts off sounding good, but then X starts his talk-rapping, and the tone of the song changes completely. It's actually quite disappointing.

19. N----Z DONE STARTED SOMETHING (FEAT THE LOX & MA$E)
My focus was elsewhere during the Murda Mase era, so as a result I never paid any attention to him until he was signed by Puffy. The Lox all come off as inexperienced weed carriers, which is weird, since they were their own entity and were from the same part of New York as DMX. X easily out-raps all four of his invited guests, but he gave them a consolation prize: much-needed exposure, since this disc sold millions of copies. Me? I always liked the beat.

FINAL THOUGHTS: It's Dark and Hell is Hot suffers from The Case of the Overachieving Rapper (in which the artist remains convinced that this will be his only shot at the big time and needs to cram every empty spot on his album with every idea that pops into his head), combined with Rapper Has Nothing To Say Syndrome, which is self-explanatory. The results are, predictably, mixed at best, which makes DMX's album incredibly hard to listen to straight through (it doesn't help that some of the lyrics are just downright ugly and masochistic). Some of the beats, though, are fucking brilliant, and a handful of songs actually rock, so it's not a completely lost cause. DMX's internal struggle between good and evil also makes for some partially interesting subject matter, the key word being "partially".

BUY OR BURN? Burn it. Regardless of what I'm sure the comments will look like, DMX's debut album doesn't hold up to close scrutiny or the passage of time. There are some good songs, and he has made some entertaining songs since, but this album ain't so great.

BEST TRACKS: "Intro (It's Dark And Hell is Hot)"; "Get At Me Dog"; "Stop Being Greedy"; "N----z Done Started Something"

-Max