DMX Biography
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born December 18, 1970 in Baltimore Maryland in the projects. His family knew in the area he lived that he would get in trouble alot so he moved to Yonkers New York with his aunt. There he showed a talent in music. He was signed to Columbia Records where his first album was brought out called Born Loser. Peepz wasn't feeling him then in 1996..so he had to come out wiht something rougher and harder. That's when he started appearing on artists songs such as LL cool J, John forte, The Lox , Ma$e and many more. That's when 98 came around and he brought out It's Dark and Hell is Hot was under Def Jams Records which sold 3 million copies. Now he is one of the best Eastcost rappers alive. He says he started rappering for the ladies and if he wasn't the best rapper right now he would have been stop rappering.. If there was one defining characteristic to hip hop in 1997, it was the jiggy factor- an aesthetic of unapologetic flash, fashion and glamour that ruled everything around us and made hip hop life nice and organized. Of course, for each movement there always exists a counter-movement; for each yin there is a yang; there must be an uncompromised figure lurking in the shadows, ready and willing to reclaim rap from the penthouse to the pavement. Def Jam Records presents 1998 as the Year of Pandemonium. They need to know there is a voice that speaks for them, and I am that voice.I dont carehow niggas feel I rob and I steal Not cuz I want to, cuz I have to And don't make me show you what the mac do If you don't know by now you slippin' I'm on some bullshit. X was left in the unfortunate scenario of languishing while other artists on the label�s roster prospered. "Columbia tried to put me behind other groups," DMX reflects of the situation. "They were like, 'Well, we're gonna put out Kriss Kross, then we're gonna put out Cypress Hill and then we're gonna put you out.' And I was like, 'Well I'm better than all of them niggas.' So I didn't wanna wait. They let me out of the contract and I'm glad that they did." "I always knew there would be a point when someone would say, 'Somebody needs to make money off this nigga cus he's hot'. That's when Irv Gotti brought me to Lyor Cohen at Def Jam. I guess it's that point now. DMX later experimented with other acronyms true to his evolving, revolutionary vocal steez (Divine Master of the Unknown) while honing his skills around his home in Yonkers' School Street Projects. Along the way, he bumped heads and built long-lasting friendships with fellow Y-O residents and Bad Boy Recording artists, The Lox. "Those are the pups," DMX says of Bad Boy's latest rising stars. "I trained 'em, raised 'em, they doin' their thing and I'm proud of them. I didn't teach I em everything they knew cuz they were doin' it before me, but I influenced them." With the entire Yonkers crew helping out on It's Dark And Hell Is Hot, on the smoldering "Niggaz Done Started Something," the bonds obviously remain strong. The Album's additional sterling guest spots include Brooklyn's finest, Jay-Z, adding his acid-tongued wit and wisdom to the downtempo stinger, "Murdergram," along-side Ja who makes an impactful debut. But ultimately it's the range, cleverness and fierceness of DMX's solo showcases that truly distinguishes It's Dark And Hell Is Hot from the remainder of the rap hordes. A startling descending string line provides a dramatic backdrop for "Stop Being Greedy's," philosophies of rap economic opportunity. "Crime Story," produced by Irv Gotti, finds DMX dropping a compelling heist-and-duck narrative over a slinky, Blaxploitation flick-style bassline-and-congas rhythm track. In the tradition of lyrical giants like Slick Rick and Biggie Smalls, "Damien," finds our hero trading verses with himself in the character of a fake friend with evil intentions.
