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songs
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- 1
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Intro
- 04:09
- 87,253 plays
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- 2
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Ruff Ryders' Anthem
- 03:34
- 608,337 plays
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- 3
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Fuckin' Wit' D
- 02:18
- 80,680 plays
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- 4
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The Storm
- 01:00
- 54,598 plays
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- 5
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Look Thru My Eyes
- 03:53
- 97,443 plays
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- 6
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Get At Me Dog
- 04:03
- 100,524 plays
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- 7
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Let Me Fly
- 04:12
- 107,603 plays
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- 8
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X-Is Coming
- 04:18
- 97,100 plays
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- 9
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Damien
- 03:42
- 136,477 plays
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- 10
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How's It Goin' Down
- 04:42
- 135,707 plays
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- 11
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Mickey (Skit)
- 00:25
- 53,507 plays
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- 12
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Crime Story
- 03:47
- 69,836 plays
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- 13
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Stop Being Greedy
- 03:37
- 121,213 plays
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- 14
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ATF
- 01:55
- 75,978 plays
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- 15
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For My Dogs
- 04:11
- 73,817 plays
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- 16
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I Can Feel It
- 04:13
- 82,413 plays
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- 17
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Prayer (Skit)
- 02:31
- 47,082 plays
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- 18
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The Convo
- 03:33
- 63,462 plays
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- 19
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Niggaz Done Started Something
- 05:09
- 68,531 plays
album review
Just as rap music was reaching its toughest, darkest, grimmest period yet, following the assassinations of 2Pac and Biggie in the late '90s, along came DMX and his fellow Ruff Ryders, who embodied the essence of inner-city machismo to a tee, as showcased throughout the tellingly titled It's Dark and Hell Is Hot. Unlike so many other hardcore rappers who are more rhetorical than physical, DMX commands an aggressive aura without even speaking a word. He showcases his chiseled physique on the arresting album cover and trumpets his animalistic nature with frequent barking, growling, and snarling throughout the album. He also collaborates with muscular producers Swizz Beatz and Dame Grease, who specialize in slamming synth-driven beats rather than sample-driven ones. Further unlike so many other hardcore rappers from the time, DMX is meaningful as well as symbolic. He professes an ideology that stresses the inner world -- characterized by such qualities as survival, wisdom, strength, respect, and faith -- rather than the material one that infatuates most rappers of his time. It helpes that his album includes a few mammoth highlights ("Ruff Ryders' Anthem," "Get at Me Dog," "Let Me Fly," and "I Can Feel It") as well as a light, mid-album diversion ("How's It Goin' Down"). The long running length of It's Dark and Hell Is Hot does wear you down after a while, since nearly every song here sans "How's It Goin' Down" hits hard and maintains the album's deadly serious attitude. Even so, It's Dark and Hell Is Hot is a tremendous debut, laying out DMX's complex persona with candor, from his faith in God to his fixation with canine motifs, and doing so with dramatic flair. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
more albums by this artist
See all-
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- ...And Then There Was X (Parental Advisory)
- Released 1999
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- Flesh Of My Flesh, Blood Of My Blood (Parental Advisory)
- Released 1998
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- Grand Champ
- Released 2003
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- The Great Depression (Parental Advisory)
- Released 2001
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listener reviews
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D!M!X!
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- By the muzik box
- 9/12/2009 22:55:34
- DMX started the whole trend of raspy voice rappers.. He was ill cause he made you feel his pain then snap back into some killah shit in a instant.. Dark Man X never really gained the respect that was due in my opinion.. Definitely his best installment of his career
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Yeah,....
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- By BigVeney24
- 5/28/2009 01:34:24
- I remember niggas done started something on the lox mixtape before they even released an album, that's crazy! I heard that shit in 95!
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1 fan
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- By Scizzle333
- 2/19/2009 05:58:06
- If you ask me, this is the pinnacle of DMX's success. This album made a difference in hip-hop and instantly carved a niche for DMX. Kinda like Onyx did. The stand out track on this CD is #19 Niggas Done Started Something. I have yet to hear Dark Man X spit a verse this hard since.
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