Sunday 17 March 2013

DMX


Earl Simmons, better known as DMX or Dark Man X was born on December 18th, 1970. The Yonkers native is mostly known for his best selling album ...And then there was X and for the raw, gruff style of his voice. He's sold over 30 million records worldwide and is hip-hop's only artist to have his first three albums enter the Billboard Top 200 Chart at the #1 spot, making him one of the best selling hip-hop artists of all time. 

DMX began his career in the '80s as a beatboxer and received praise from a writer at The Source magazine, in a column that highlighted unsigned hip-hop artists. His stage name is attributed to an instrument used by himself in the '80s, a drum machine called the Oberheim DMX. He received critical acclaim in 1998, when he released his debut major-label single, "Get at me Dog" on Def Jam Records. The hit single was certified Gold by the RIAA. The same year, his first major-label album, It's Dark and Hell Is Hot (an all-time favorite of mine) was released. The album was a hit and debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart in the U.S and sold over five million copies. A pivotal point in his career.
In the same year still, X released his second album, Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood. It also debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 and remained there for three consecutive weeks. It went on to be certified Platinum four times. As a result, DMX became the second rapper in history (After Tupac Shakur) to have released two albums in the same year, both of which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. DMX released his third and BEST-SELLING album ...And Then There Was X, in December 1999. It was his third album to debut at #1 on the Billboard 200. It's most popular single, "Party up (Up in here)", went on to become his first Top Ten on the R&B charts.
While captivating hip hop fans in the late '90s, he has also had big-screen success with well-received performances in Romeo Must Die, Cradle to the grave and other films. In his acting career, he has worked with Steven Seagal, Jet Li and many others.  In my honest opinion, DMX is great. He's one of the realest artists out there. He's underrated for sure and if he wasn't always doing stupid shit and getting arrested, he'd probably have more success and a larger fan base, who would appreciate the stability. No rapper has the ability to sound like him, I don't see him in Ja, or Ja in him, they just happened to come out at the same time, it was a feud, fuelled by nothing important. With topics ranging from everyday struggles to being the life of the party, X has come out with club hits just as much as he has, deep soulful lyrics. His originality is a big part of what differentiates him from other rappers. On a scale of Lil Wayne to Tupac, I'd say he's about 9.

Peace and love,
Z. Malik

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