When 2pac died in 1996, a whole generation of rabid rap fans were scouring The Source magazine and CD stores for someone who could fill the void that pac had left...
plenty had promise but nobody had the charisma that pac had until DMX arrived.
My good friend @gannonthegreat and I both kept our eye(s) on the release schedules to make sure we didn’t miss out on his @defjam debut album. On May 19, 1996 we left school promptly and hopped into my 1986 Toyota Tercel nearly 30 miles to pick up ‘It’s Dark and Hell is Hot’ on release day. And from the second we hooked up the portable CD player to the tape deck...we were transfixed the whole way through. We just sat in stunned silence. On the second spin…’Ruff Ryders Anthem’ came on we looked at each other and my buddy said ‘I don’t think DMX is capable of making a wack song.’ That album is an absolute classic.
I checked each subsequent release, but was often disappointed. Nothing would ever touch ‘IDAHIH’. So I moved on. And when @therealkuruptsmoonrockgotti dissed him HARD on ‘Streetz is a Mutha’ I laughed along with the joke. I think he got arrested for trying to steal a car in an airport parking lot or something and he was going through some drug stuff and he became the butt of a lot of jokes...I dunno. Dude was lost.
About 6 months ago, I discovered @talibkweli#peoplesparty podcast and the DMX interview was one of the first I ever listened to. I remember I was out jogging when he went into how he got addicted to drugs and tears welled up in my eyes. Like I stopped jogging and just sat down on a bench and listened. And then I sent the interview to a number of friends. I’m not going to tell his story - you can hear it yourself - but it was another reminder to me that no matter how shitty someone acts - you never really know what they’re going through.
IMO Dark Man X passed a long time ago. Once again, he represented a moment in time that defined me. He was an absolute beast in every sense of the word. But his passing...today...at this stage of my life...is another stark reminder that life is precious and it’s fleeting and we all fall someday.