When X barked: “That DMX n***a is a motherfuckin’ problem!” on his debut album’s explosive intro, the whole world felt it. To millions of people, X, with his warts-and-all honesty, was an artist that felt reassuringly human and down-to-earth.įrom Tupac to Cardi B, there are few rap artists who arrive in the mainstream already feeling fully formed, but it was clear Earl “DMX” Simmons was among them. Yet, this only benefited the listener, with X sounding hungrier than the stray dogs he used to feed in the streets of Yonkers. And as he graduated from doing DJ sets at parties to actually rapping, X would intimidate his opponents (including an emerging Jay-Z) during rap battles by barking, at eye-level, like a pissed-off pit bull.īy the time his introspective debut album It’s Dark and Hell is Hot dropped on May 12, 1998, X had already been through more trials and tribulations than your average 27-year-old.
X felt a particularly strong affinity with stray dogs animals cruelly forgotten by society, which must persevere in order to survive. Having spent most of his childhood in and out of children’s homes, a teenage DMX would wander the streets of Baltimore (and later New York City), befriending dogs and taking part in everything from robberies to drug dealing in order to make a living. Photo Credit: Jonathan Mannion We spoke with Ruff Ryders founder Joaquin “Waah” Dean and producer Dame Grease about It’s Dark and Hell is Hot, DMX’s classic debut. By the time his introspective debut album It’s Dark and Hell is Hot dropped on May 12, 1998, X had already been through more trials and tribulations than your average 27-year-old.
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