Artist: DMX

When Aaliyah dropped a duet with DMX to highlight the Romeo Must Die OST, there were two trains of thought. Either you really dug "Come Back In One Piece" or simply couldn't find the vibe. On one hand, combining two superstars over a Parliament sample is sweet in itself, especially when you've got a video that's both theatrical and steamy enough to boost a perceived relationship. On the other hand, their music wasn't particularly on the same wavelength and when this opportunity arose, their backdrop turned out to be a bit [...]

Words By Preezy Da Kid | @PreezyDaKid Murder can be a double-edged sword. While unfortunate and unwelcome in the midst of our everyday lives, in the realm of entertainment it can be fascinating and, dare I say, enticing. No matter how gruesome the violence or the innocence of the victims, we find it hard to look away, even though we may not condone that type of behavior off the screen. Few debuts in the history of Hip-Hop capitalized on this love affair as DMX's It's [...]

Back in 1997, a star-studded Def Jam roster paired a resurging LL Cool J with a handful of superstar hopefuls in Red & Meth, DMX and Canibus to deliver what they anticipated would inevitably be a classic single from from LL's Phenomenon album. By the time "4,3,2,13 was properly released, Russell's label got what they'd hoped for, but definitely not how they presumed. As Hip-Hop folklore goes, Uncle Todd took offense to Canibus' opening line (" Yo LL, is that a mic on your arm? Let me borrow that ") and ended [...]

Following a lineage of legendary Big Apple artists before him, none in history exploded with the level of intensity and graphicness Earl forced upon the world on his debut It's Dark & Hell Is Hot . The unheralded gift X afforded Hip-Hop was a rejuvenated sense of competition. DMX was, in a roundabout way, what Vince Carter was once seen as in basketball. He was a game changer and a game elevator; and yet ultimately an entity which never cracked the true potential his God-given talent. Hence the reason for dusting off the cobwebs for the [...]

Despite key associations and enough talent to justify two-decade-long solo careers for each member, The Lox had their only legitimate hit in 19982s "Money, Power, Respect." Before the Ruff Ryders were popping wheelies all over mainstream radio and directly amidst Bad Boy's primetime in the spotlight, this D-Dot and Amen-Ra-produced hustler's anthem teamed the group with budding superstars like Lil Kim and their would-be chief DMX, to deliver a successful title track for their debut LP that would become an eventual crossover smash and garner the group the type of radio spins that made people stop watching [...]

"I come to you hungry and tired you give food and let me sleep I come to you weak you give strength and that's deep you called me a sheep and lead me to green pastures only asking that I keep the focus between the chapters You give me the word and only acts I interpret And give me the eyes so I can recognize the serpent You know I ain't perfect, but you'll like me to try And just like the devil who wants [...]

As we mentioned last week , we're bringing back our Artist Week with a tribute to DMX on the 15th anniversary of his classic debut, It's Dark And Hell Is Hot . Why dedicate a week to a rapper who's been seen more of a car wreck and a punchline in recent years than a legend? The answer is easy: every rapper aspires to be DMX. Let me explain. Every rapper ideally strives to change the game. To make unflinching, uncompromising music that will force the masses to shift [...]

Back in the olden days of TSS, we used to partake in these events called Artist Weeks that highlighted one aspect of our culture from Monday to Friday. In the past, we've dedicated these weeks to artists like Nas , T.I. and the year 1998 itself. This time, we're proud to mark the 15th anniversary of It's Dark And Hell Is Hot with a week-long tribute to DMX. Sadly, thanks to events of the past few months, there are people who probably only know [...]

Bookstores aren’t usually the prime hangout spot for music lovers. This isn’t just because the music played in bookstores is routinely horrible, but also because many books written about music are both bone dry and feel like they’ve been spat out by agents looking to wring a few extra dollars from their clients’ souls.

DMX is mad. The rapper is accusing Iyanla Vanzant of setting him up for ratings . According to X, he agreed to do the show in hopes of patching things up with his kids and to speak on his addiction to women, not the drugs that have made the once talented rapper a shell of his former self. "Iyanla set the whole thing up to make me look bad for ratings. That lady is toxic," he said. "My last words to her were that she can suck my d*ck and she still can," added [...]

So there's this intervention-styled show on Oprah's TV Network hosted by this ugly-faced round-headed woman named Iyanla Vanzant. I don't remember how or why she's popular amongst us blacks, but she kinda is. The shit's called Iyanla, Fix My Life . Basically a bunch of dime-store psychology applied to vulnerable folks willing to be exploited on TV for an hour or so. DMX was on the show this weekend and my Twitter timeline convinced me that it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to watch. I figured it was cheaper than going drinking. So I [...]

When you saw a preview from this episode of  Iyanla: Fix My Life featuring DMX , you knew it was going to be intense, but you couldn't have anticipated this. Iyanla sets things up to get heated, and they do. DMX breaks down while talking to his son, calls Iyanla a bitch and then apologizes, and opens up about some very serious life issues. Watch the full episode above. ( Mr. World Premiere )

DMX's highly anticipated Iyanla: Fix My Life episode aired last night on OWN. If you missed it, and want to ruin your morning by watching a broken man speak of [...]

DMX has had a tumultuous couple of years. Despite the fact that his arrest record is less than pristine (he's been arrested "roughly 303 times), DMX revealed in a recent appearance on Iyanla Vazant's talk-show that he doesn't find prison that bad due to the fact that he had experienced being institutionalized as a child. He goes on to explain how his mother had "put [him] away" at the young age of 7. "I enjoyed it," says DMX. "Being in institutions, I got three meals a day, clothes..." When asked why he felt hurt that his mother [...]

Platinum Producer Dame Grease is fresh off tour with DMX, as he accompanied the platinum recording artist on his promotional campaign for his latest album "Undisputed", in which Dame Grease is credited for executive producing the entire project. This year marks 15 years of the classic album "It's Dark and Hell Is Hot" which is widely considered classic by fans and critics alike and Grease can be credited for 15 tracks of the cutting-edge raw grittiness. In understanding the fusion he has created in music with the album, Grease is hyped for the next evolution in his musical career. Still [...]

Max Bell is the Morris Day of the blogosphere. First impressions can make or break you. That's always been the case, but lately, they've become the foundation of hype for still-developing rappers who aren't yet worthy of the adulation. When I think about the too-much too-soon trend, the first name that comes to mind is young and impressionable Joey Bada$$, who was first picked up by Jonny Shipes (K.R.I.T., Curren$y) after a solid, but unremarkable freestyle video . Bada$$ isn't bad. His solo-debut mixtape  1999 is fine in a formalist way, [...]

With DMX appearing on life coach Iyanla Vanzant's Iyanla: Fix My Life next month, you'll now have a reason to find and watch Oprah's OWN channel. In the 30-second clip [...] The post Brave Woman Iyanla Vanzant Will Attempt To Fix DMX's Life And It Will Be F*cking Epic! appeared first on The Smoking Section .

Shuffler.fm: Shuffler.fm Exclusive Mix #008 // Mostly Junk Food - MJF Invented The Mixtape : Shuffler.fm Exclusive Mix #008 // Mostly Junk Food - MJF Invented The Mixtape Thanks so much to Marc and the MJF crew. Y’all knocked it out the park with this mix + artwork.

The Grammy Awards are presented tomorrow, and in light of that I thought I would do my own personal Grammy awards. Honestly, the real Grammy's have become a joke, it's a popularity contest more than giving awards to quality music. It's depressing and frustrating seeing some of my favorite artists go unnoticed, which is why [...]

• Bob Dylan - Tempest
• First Aid Kit - Emmylou
• Grynch - In the Rain (ft. Malice & Mario Sweet)
• Justin Bieber - Love Me Like You Do
• The Pines - Be There in Bells

No text