BACKSPIN

Backspin: DMX — ‘It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot’ (1998)

While hip-hop shined, DMX doggedly embraced darkness. (89.5/100)

Album art courtesy of Def Jam Music Group and Ruff Ryders Entertainment

A gift and a curse colored DMX’s explosive rise to the top of hip-hop’s food chain. The Yonkers street vet was the first artist to emerge after the murder of Tupac Shakur to draw comparisons with the late legend.

In hindsight, the parallels were mostly cosmetic. As MCs and artists, the similarities are few. Beyond sharp features, sinewy physiques, and brooding intensity seemingly never more than a spark away from eruption, the main element of Pac we sensed in DMX was an unvarnished authenticity. The visceral rawness of his humanity stood in sharp contrast to the hyper-stylized champagne dreams dominating the culture as Puff Daddy’s jiggy-chic gave way to Dirty South bling.

“Get at Me Dog” exploded onto airwaves, mixtapes, and club speakers like a surface-to-air missile. It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot’s frenetic lead single laid waste to the immaculately stylized artifice of all that surrounded it. Dame Grease’s production is edgy, aggressive, and just a touch unstable. Paired with DMX’s gravelly growl, it pulsates with the sort of agitated adrenaline befitting a brawl more so than a party.