DMX raps as if he was about to explode. You can hear it in his voice.
The way he barks, growls, and slobbers all over the track. "You hear my
shit all in the streets, I'm kinda hot right now," he enthuses on his
debut's most in-your-face selection, "Fuckin' Wit D." And truer words
were never spoken.
Like his Foxy labelmate, DMX doesn't believe in overexposure. The former
1991 Unsigned Hype winner who disappeared after a disappointed single
release, "Born Loser," has reemerged all over your radio and television
screen. This grimy cat has rocked more cameos than Big Daddy Kane,
trading verses with everyone from Ice Cube to John Forte. All of this
has paved the way for his return to the road to the riches.
New York's winter anthem, "Get at Me Dog," was the first blast from our
ferocious vocalist and now....here comes the pain. DMX's plea to be top
dog in the rap game, It's Dark and Hell Is Hot, is a mind-gripping opus
that fully encompasses the appeal of one of rap's newest sensations.
Proving that he's got style and substance, the Yonkers-native weaves
together a plethora of clever concepts.
On "Damien," X goes toe to toe with the devil. Complete with a demented
Marilyn Manson-like vocal sidekick, this songs tragic humor details how
some will sell their soul for the price of fame. Equally profound, the
climatic, "Convo" finds X getting closer to God in a tight situation.
Dazed and confused, the Y.O. native's pow wow with the big man upstairs
steers him on the right path.
If your not feeling the spiritual forays of songs like the above and
"Let Me Fly," then criminal-minded street narratives like "Crime Story"
and "ATF" might be more up your alley. Showing his surprising
versatility, the dark man effortlessly adopts different personas to
accentuate the concept of many of his songs. "Stop Being Greedy"
epitomizes this steelo as he spits a split personality style that would
make Slick Rick or B.I.G proud.
But the artistic forays don't end there. Confidently, he kicks some
shit for the ladies ("How's It Goin' Down") and can flip some southern
bounce shit ("Ruff Ryders' Anthem") with the same effortless passion:
"What a waste of potential is what my teachers used to tell me/He can
always get a job, that weak shit they tried to sell me/Got me nowhere
but broke and fucked up in the game/But now I got a name," he observes
on "Crime Story." Paying dues for a long-ass time, X's time is now.
With out the assistance of Da Hitmen, Trackmasters, or any of his other
highly regarded associates, DMX and his top notch in-house production
team have deaded any one-hit wonder talk. It's Dark and Hell Is Hot
will surely burn throughout the summer.
