Most rappers have experienced being dropped by a record label, especially in the early years of their careers. And the rapper DMX is one of these rappers.
DMX, born Earl Simmons in smalltown Baltimore, was a troubled child raised in a violent environment. This exposure led to bouts of violence and robbery for DMX himself. It's a good thing though that DMX found a way to channel his negative experiences into something positive.
Being exposed to the hip-hop scene, DMX started out as a DJ. But his interests later developed into rapping, thus taking the name of DMX. The acronym taken means Digital Drum Machine. But in the later years, rumors surfaced that the meaning has been revised to mean Dark Man X.
In 1992, DMX got a recording deal with Columbia Records. With this deal came his single Born Loser. Ironically, the implication of the title seemed to hit home for the aspiring rapper. The single did not do that well. This can probably be attributed to the minimal airplay the single received. Shortly after, DMX was dropped from the label.
But this did not dampen the rapper's spirits at all. He zealously began his search for both management and record deals. Eventually, he signed a management deal with Ruff Ryders. After negotiations with both Bad Boy and Death Row Records, DMX decided to go with Def Jam Records. With Def Jam Records, DMX released his debut album It's Dark and Hell is Hot.
The DMX hell is hot album was released after rival rappers 2Pac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. were gunned down. And the timing couldn't be more perfect! The DMX hell is hot hardcore album peaked at the #1 spot on the charts. DMX All Songs off this album are considered hardcore rap by the hip-hop industry, a semblance of the previous works of 2Pac and B.I.G.
DMX then released And Then There Was X in 1999. This album became the rapper's top-selling album of all time. The album sold close to 700,000 copies in its first week alone. From this album came the chart-hitting DMX party it up in here track. The DMX party it up in here track is just about the most known DMX song. The DMX party it up track has three known versions. The first is the album version that is a bit explicit. The second is still the album version; only this time, it's more censored. The third and final version is the cleanest amongst them all. With DMX- act the fool lyrics, it's not hard to see the need for many versions. Despite these versions, DMX party it up is still featured in the computer game Tiger Woods PGA Tour for its 2004 version.
DMX then delved into the film industry, making the movies Belly, Romeo Must Die, Exit Wounds, and Cradle 2 The Grave. From Cradle 2 The Grave came the X Gonna Give It to You DMX track. X Gonna Give It to You DMX did pretty well in music charts, even in the UK. In fact, the track went as far as 6th place on the UK chart. And that's not the only track that made pages in 2003. Get It On The Floor also scaled the charts to the point that get it on the floor DMX ringtones have been made.
His latest installment, Year of the Dog?Again, came out in 2006. DMX - Year of the Dog...Again; tracks and special guests include tracks produced by Swizz Beatz, and a collaborative piece with Busta Rhymes for the DMX ft busta-come through mp3. Other DMX mp3 tracks off this album are already available.
DMX has also made collaborative hits with a lot of fellow rappers. One of which is LL Cool J- Fuhgidabowdit - featuring DMX/Method Man/Redman. LL Cool J- Fuhgidabowdit - featuring DMX/Method Man/Redman is actually off LL Cool J's G.O.A.T. album. The producers for llcoolj feat redman method man DMX were actually the Trackmasters. And it was a good decision to do so because llcoolj feat redman method man DMX scaled the charts for both rappers.
But the notion that DMX is indeed an established rapper in his own right is the aries spears-snoop DMX jay z impression. Imitation is the best form of flattery, as they say. And with Aries Spears doing the aries spears-snoop DMX jay z impression, it goes to show that DMX has hit it high enough for people to want to imitate him. And the 20 million album sales are more than enough to prove that further.
