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"Arf," I say, "Arf."
It's Dark and Hell is Hot by DMX |
| Distinctiveness: | In terms of content, no. In terms of presentation style, yes. On the other hand, there is this blatant 2Pac feel here and there.... |
| Dopeness Rating: | There are basically three kinds of songs on this album. Two of them are pretty damn phat. In the end, DMX hits mostly high points. I give him a Phat. Bascially, if you like gangsta stuff like they use to do, I think you'll like this. If that isn't your thang, then run... run far away. |
| Rap Part: | The arf, arf isn't just a one-note gimmick after all. After careful deliberation, I give him a Phat+ for lyrical jabs and definitive flow. |
| Sounds: | Nice and solid. There are a few missteps here and there--especially when he does anything but come at you at 100 miles/hour. I also find the 2Pac-like undertone slightly disturbing, but this is worth the sale price. Phat. |
| Predictions: | Money in the bank. The second effort will tell the tale, though. |
| Rotation Weight: | I think most heads who aren't repelled by the hype will keep it in. |
| Message: | Arf, arf. It's a lot of street-based bragging with
some street-based commentary.
|
| Tracks: | 19 tracks. 65:21. Plus the bonus CD. |
| Label: | It's all about Def Jam, kid. |
| Profanity: | It's higher than usual, up there with early Cube. Oddly, though, there's something else: every once in a while, my boy just gets vile. Hide it from your nosy aunt. |
So, I've heard noise about DMX for a little while now, but I didn't pay any real attention to him until LL's "4,3,2,1." Even with the LL-Canibus backstory, I think I liked his verse the best.
"Believe what I tell ya
Don't make me put ya somewhere
where nobody can smell ya"
It was definitely a different style, if nothing else. Since then,
he's shown up quite a bit, releasing "Get At Me Dog" and "Stop Being
Greedy," both very in-ya-face, hardcore and quite nice. Now, he's
finally dropped his album, aptly titled It's Dark and Hell is Hot.
I think my biggest fear was that his little "arf, arf" barking would wear thin quickly, and then we'd find out that there was nothing else to him. Mind you, there was no fear that he wouldn't be able to make bank. DMX posters are all over the place; he's plugged into the hype machine in a serious way. He'll make money for Def Jam, no doubt.
Of course this is a double-edged sword. Like Snoop, he risks being overhyped. If expectations are too high, he'll disappoint the headz regardless of the quality of his effort. Also, let's face it: if the underground decides he's too commerical, they'll run away in droves. It won't affect this month's paycheck, but it might affect next year's when he's no longer MTV's current flash, and he'll find he has no core audience.
Anyway, I'm here to report that there's more to DMX that an occassional bark, and loud production. DMX has some serious lyrical skill and a very nice flow. This is a solid album, with only a few weak tracks. There's a hint of real talent here, and even at its weakest, It's Dark and Hell is Hot has a lot of energy and lyrical niceitivity.
All is not perfect, though. There are at least two problems. First off, despite the skillz, every once in a while I think I'm listening to Strictly 4 My Niggaz. That's not completely bad--I loved the album--but it does make me do a double take.
Second, while I appreciate that he's essentially taken up the street gangsta mantle of early 2Pac and early Ice Cube--and the hardcore production style that went with it--one sometimes feel there isn't enough of a self-aware political and social conscious. I appreciate an angry voice as much as anyone, but the gangsta nihilism that underlies some of this work is as empty as the big willie silliness that's been taking over mainstream hiphop. As a result, the first person irony of OG: Original Gangsta or Death Certificate seems to be missing sometimes.
Let me be careful, tho'. I'm not suggesting that there is no message here. There is quite a bit of a point or two, certainly after we hit track nine, "Damien". I also wouldn't suggest that DMX has no care other than rappin' about bangin'. Sometimes you have to listen carefully, but he definitely tries to give the impression that he does care, especially towards the last half, as we shall see. On the other hand, there's something about this album that makes It's Dark and Hell Is Hot far darker and sometimes even meaner than it needs to be. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it's there.
With that in mind, let's get this party started.
We open with "Intro."
"You know when you f*ckin' wit' me
you f*ckin' wit (boom) (uh-oh)"
After a minute of slightly off-the-wall talking, we get into the meat
of the track. This is fairly representative of the rest of the
album. DMX is loud, sing-songy, and very much in your speakers.
"Niggas is puss,
keep ya runnin' from the werewolf
Aooow! Howlin' at the moon on the roof
Uh-oh, oof! No!!! Get 'im!
Ten niggas on 'im
Hope God's wit' 'im
Give me the bat, then we split 'im
I have 'im wit a pillow
where a casket won't fit 'im
Only reason I did 'im
wouldn't fight back
gotta strike back"
"Stupid, that's what you get for thinkin' And eventually found that's what you get for stinkin' Blowin' up the spot when you rot plus if it gets hot they know you dead for four square blocks"Musically, this is typical DMX. It's fast, and matches the frantic, almost desperate style of speak that DMX sometimes employs. You just can't picture the man relaxing, and the music tends to make you feel almost itchy.
"Is all I been hearin' lately
Niggas hate me, wanna duct tape me
and make me
put their brains on the wall
when I brawl
Too late for that 911 call"
It works quite well; it's almost a latter-day Bomb Squad approach.
There's noise everywhere, with lots of snatches of real background
sounds. Imagine that Chuck D and Flava Flav had a child, and left him
with his grandmother in Inner City Project #12: you might get DMX.
"Regardless 'cause I'm the hardest rap artist
Imma start this sh*t up for real"
If you don't like that picture, try to imagine latter-day 2Pac, but
without the sadness in his voice.
"Niggas stay deep
but a lot of them bluff
but not me
'cause I'm a nigga that can get out of those cuffs"
By contrast, "Ruff Rider's Anthem" is a bit slower. This is the other
side of this effort: a slower production style with much less
background screeching. It's bouncier, kinda like Strictly crossed
with Puffy.
"Niggas wanna try
Niggas wanna lie
Then niggas wonder why
niggas wanna die
All I know is pain
All I feel is rain
How can I maintain
with that sh*t on my brain?"
By the way, I mean that as a compliment. Puff can pick a danceable
beat, after all.
"My niggas is wit' it
You want it, come and get it
took it, then we split it
You f*ckin' right we did it"
"What was that look for
when I walked in the door
Oh you thought you was raw?
(BOOM)
Not anymore
'Cause now you on the floor
wishin' you never saw
me walkin' through that door
with that four four"
Anyway, while the muzak slows a bit, DMX can't stop his frantic,
desperate style. I think he's trying, but it ain't happening.
Because the track is still relatively high tempo, it works well here,
but on a couple of later tracks the gap between production relaxation
and DMX energy fails to work itself out.
"Oh you think it's funny
Then you don't know me money
It's about to get ugly
F*ck it dog. I'm hungry
I guess you know what that means
Come up off that green
Drive niggas off ravines
Don't make it a murder scene"
That isn't a problem with "Fuckin' Wit D." This is bim-bam-boom.
When I close my eyes, I can see the fast cut MTV-style video already.
It's darkly lit with a brown filter. There are lots of shadows, and
maybe someone hitting a punching bag.
"You know he hurt before he died
And you wonder if he lost his shirt before he died
Only two knew the answer an'
one of us is dead
So anyone who seeks the truth
can get it straight to the head
We never really see DMX's face throughout the video. He's deep in
shadow. Probably not wearing a shirt. Yeah.
"Many lives will be lost
There's a price to pay
How many lives will it cost?"
BTW, I really don't like the chorus.
"I'm gonna pay one day
just not right now"
The track is fairly short, clocking in at only a bit over two minutes.
It stops suddenly, interrupted by "The Storm (skit)".
"You need to get your sh*t together."
When that ends a minute later, we get "Look Thru My Eyes." This is
the sort of thing I was talking about above. Taken alone, DMX comes
correct. Taken alone, the music is just as nice. Together, though,
they don't quite work.
"The dark is for real
The bark is for real
When you see that spark it'll kill"
"What the deal is?
Never forget what real is."
Nevertheless, it's more than a workable track, and mainly it's because
of the lyrics.
"I can't understand why yall niggas is scared of me
and why them big dogs never wanted to play fair with me
'cause I leave blood wherever I go
wherever I flow"
"Look thru my eyes, see what I see
Do as I do, be what I be
Walk with my shoes and hurt your feet"
This brings us to "Get at Me Dog." This is the track you've probably
heard the most. It's kinda phat, you know? It's also not atypical of
about half the album, at least in terms of energy.
"Stickin' niggas 'cause they deserve it
when money got murdered
they know he died slow
'cause they heard it"
"Know what I mean
I'm just robbin' to eat
And there's at least a thousand others
like me mobbin' the streets"
Musically, it's a bit more commerical that a lot of the tracks, but
not by much. Further, it's got his punch-punch-jab-swing style, and
it captures it perfectly.
"What the f*ck is on your mind?
Talkin' that sh*t that you be talkin'?
And I betcha wish you ain't never got hit
'cause you'd be walkin'"
"When I blow up sh*t up
I have niggas fallin'
like White b*tches in a scary movie
Ahhhh! You know I don't know how to act
Get too close to niggas it's like
'Protected by Viper! Stand back!'
What's this? I thought you niggas was killas, demented
F*ck you want me to do with this coward?
Finish him! It's ended..."
Anyway, we end with a bit of a skit. It segues, I guess, into "Let Me
Fly." This has another one of this singing choruses that pepper the
album. Oddly, I like it.
"I sold my soul to the devil
and the price was cheap
And yo, it's cold on this level
'cause it's twice as deep
But you don't hear me
Ignorance is bliss and so on
Sometimes it's better to be thought dumb
Shall I go on?"
In fact, I really like this track. There's no barking, and this is
the most restrained DMX you'll hear throughout It's Dark.
"But you can't blame me
for not wanted wantin' to be held
locked down in a cell where the soul can't dwell
This is hell, call me the devil and give me the key
For it can't be worse than the curse that was given to me"
"I'm gonna continue to hit the hardest
whether I scrap or rap"
That isn't really why I like it though. I like it 'cause the lyrics
are like butta and they're delivered on funky bread, spread the way
momma would do your peanut butter and jelly sandwhich on a Saturday
afternoon.
"I merely say what's in my heart
and you call it a style
Don't put it in a cage
Don't mistreat it
You say you hunger for knowledge
Here it is, eat it!"
"X-Is Coming" appears right on its heels. It opens with a Candyman
style mantra.
"I see the part of your head which used to be your face
you've replaced by nothin' for bluffin' what a waste
Niggas wanna see me taste my own medicine
Picture that
Get on some old second grade sh*t
'Imma get you back!'"
This is pure street bravado, and not much else. That's fine, mind
you, I don't have a problem with it. It still sounds good.
"And forgettin' that you ever saw me
is the best thing you can do
Don't give a f*ck about your family
They'll be resting with you"
On the other hand, as with a few spots on other tracks, DMX takes
things way, way too far:
"I ain't knockin' on the door
I'm comin' in the house
and I'm gunnin' for your spouse
Tryin' to send that b*tch back to her maker
And if you got a daughter older than fifteen
Imma rape her
Take her on the livin' room floor
right there in front of you
Then ask you seriously,
'What you wanna do?'
Frustratin' isn't it?
Wanna kill me but Imma kill you
Now watch me f*ck just a little while longer
Please, will you?
This is revenge, no dap before you die
and despite how much I hate to see a grown man cry
Imma make you suffer
See your ass in hell, motherf*cker
Click, boom, boom!
See your ass in hell"
Now that ain't nice. I think I have a good sense of first person
irony, being a head for a very long time. Regardless, this is rank
stuff, and makes for something much darker than it needs to be.
"Give me slugs for my gats
Give me hoods for my rats
Give me wood for my bats
and leave me where the f*ck I'm at"
I'm not getting old am I? I don't think I am. Well, I know I am, but
I don't think that's it.
"I'm hittin' them with sh*t
that they can't all swallow"
Next up is "Damien." It's pretty damn nice, detailing an ongoing
conversation with DMX and his "guardian angel."
"I'm right here shorty and Imma hold you down
You tryin' to f*ck all these b*tches
Imma show you how (But who?)
Name D like you, but my friends call me Damien
And Imma put you hip to something about this game we in"
"Nigga you stay frontin'
but you still my man
I ain't gonna nuttin'
Got your weed, go 'head smoke it (what?)
Go 'head, drink it (word?)
Go 'head an' f*ck shorty,
you know I can keep a secret
I'm about to have to drivin'
probably a Benz
but we gotta stay friends
Blood out, blood in"
This is the probably the best track on the album in all the ways that
matter, including concept. Aside from that, though, I like the muzak,
and the flow is just perfect. The give and take between DMX and TP is
pretty phat, too.
"What I got to lose?
Hmmmm. Nothin' I can think of
any nigga would choose"
Anyway, you have to hear it.
A short skit starts up "How's It Goin' Down." Ugh. I pretty much hate this one. This is a perfect example of what I was saying earlier: it's too slow, and DMX's choice of style here just, well, it just isn't.
"Talkin' to shorty made me want to do somethin' nice
Lookin' at that ass makes me want to do somethin' tonight"
And it's not that it's a pseudo-love song--it's hardly LL Cool J doing
"I Need Love". It's not even the R&B background. I just don't like
his style on this track, content aside. You know what I mean?
"Mickey (skit)" gives us a twenty five second rest before "Crime Story." This might just be the second best track on the album. There's a low bass 70s feelin' beat playin behind a slightly restrained DMX.
"They got me trapped off in a building
but you know how that go
I stay f*cking with a hood rat
so I run up in a rat hole"
"This f*ckin' drama continues
I'm wakin' up like every two hours
lookin' out my windows
Plus I keep the four-four pointin' at the door
just in case
so when they bust in, Imma bust them
and I'm aimin' for the face"
Again DMX feels like he's telling a real story. It is no coincidence
that this is one of the best tracks. "How's it Going Down" aside,
that's when this album really comes closest to gangsta classic status.
"Load up the weapons
Murder's on my mind
No half-steppin'
Motherf*cker's want war?
You can get it,
'cause I'm tired of runnin'
Remember me as the nigga that died gunnin'"
And I like the ending, too.
There's a jarring transition to "Stop Being Greedy," the other DMX single you may have heard. It's in the style of "Get At Me Dog" and the hardcore braggadocio is coming fast and furious.
"Paranoid, so I strike out at whatever"
"Will I, kill I
think death is wrong
So Imma keep holdin' on 'til what's left is gone"
"Don't touch that (uh uh)
Leave it alone
and when you walk past the dog house
leave it the bones"
In fact, I like this better than "Get At Me Dog." Arf, arf.
"He's beggin' me to stop
but at least he died hopin'"
"ATF" returns us to the Mother Goose in DMX. This one isn't a very
happy tale either, and has some of the same themes as "Crime Story."
"Yo! Get in! You drive!
(What the f*ck you doin' nigga?)
Tryin' to stay alive"
It's short and sweet, truly. You can almost see it all happening. I
like that.
"Tryin' to pull up on the side
And I'm packin' to blast
Tryin' to take them nigga's heads off
F*ck breakin' the glass"
After a run of very nice tracks, we take a wrong turn again with "For
My Dogs." And, no, it's not that it's wack, I just don't feel that
aimless here's-my-posse-rappin' tracks everyone has to have at least
one of.
"My people show me love
and haven't left me stranded yet
Even though I have a death wish
that aint' been granted yet
So until then Imma be that nigga all up in your chest
until the Lord decides to lay my ass to rest"
I suspect I'd like Big Stan, Goose, Kasino and Dragon in another
context, though. Your mileage may vary. Anyway, we move on to "I Can
Feel It." And yes, that's "I Can Feel It" as in Phil Collins.
"The best of yall niggas
remind me of myself when I was younger
when it was hunger
that stopped a nigga from goin' under"
"Gotta put you on you ass
to see what it does to you
When you stand up you'll see that
I'm just showin' love to you"
Nice lyrics. Okay delivery. Wack, wack, wack chorus. Good choice of
sample (duh). It doesn't come together.
"When I make that you fake cats
have violent dreams
It takes another dog
to be able to hear my silent screams
The devil got a hold on me
and he won't let go
I can feel the Lord pullin'
but he's movin' dead slow
Let him known
that admist all this confusion
some of us may do the winnin'
but we all do the losin'
The next interlude is "Prayer (skit)."
"Lord why is it that
I go through so much pain?
All I saw was black
All I felt was rain
I come to you because
it's you who knows
You should me that
everything was black
because my eyes was closed"
"Plenty of times you sent help my way
but I hid
And I remember once you held me close
but I slid"
"So if takes for me to suffer
for my brother to see the light
give me pain till I die
but please Lord treat 'em right"
This is but an a capella prelude to "The Convo."
"You tell me that there's love here
but to me its blatant
with all the blood here
I'm dealin' with satan"
"I mean I'm all right I just had to work hard at it Went to granma for the answer she told me that God had it So now here I am, confused and full of questions Am I born to lose or is this just a lesson? And who is goin' choose when it gets turned around and will it be layin' in my own blood and on the ground?"In many ways, this is the natural sequel/counterpart to "Damien." And I don't just see that in the obvious way. Sure, Damien is evil, the voice now is God's (if you weren't sure, the reference to the poem "Footprints" makes it clear, I think). More importantly, just as "Damien" ends with a little realization on the part of the protagonist, "The Convo" ends with something of a question.
"And look at what I've given you:
a talent to rhyme
I may not come when you call
but I'm always on time"
"Learned to stand before I crawled
Things were twisted
And if you showed me anything at all
Then I missed it"
I like that.
Anyway, DMX should have ended here, but instead he ended it with another of the damn posse cuts. Whatever. Let's pretend he did, and "Niggaz Done Started Something" never happened... or maybe happened earlier in the album, and I've already dissected every single line.
There, that was fun.
Okay, before we wrap this up, I should point out that some of you who act now will find a bonus CD with your copy of It's Dark and Hell is Hot. It's called Survival of the Illest and features Ja on "Intro," an Onyx album samples, Def Squad on "Full Cooperation," Cormega, and LL Cool J's "The Ripper Strikes Back." I'd review them, but this has gone on too long as it is.
So, then, the bottom line.
I know that there are some that have been disappointed by this album, and I think I understand why. Still, the truth is, this is really a nice effort. There are some really inventive lyrics throughout, phat presentation and except for a couple of bad choices, the production is tight. If you like gangsta stuff, you'll probably like this. If you're tired of that, then you'll probably hate it. It's fairly simple.
There are three types of tracks here: (1) the in-ya-face punching bag gangsta as bragster, (2) the street stories, and (3) the rest of it. DMX is best known for (1) but I think he's best at (2). The other stuff, I really couldn't care much less about, but I'm all up on the the stories and even the gangsta-bragger. Phat stuff this, kid.
I suggest that you give a serious listen to "Crime Story," "Let Me Fly," "ATF," and "Damien." Then try "Stop Being Greedy," "X-Is Coming," and "Get at Me Dog." Go through those a while, then try "Look Thru My Eyes," "Prayer," and "The Convo." Now give the whole album a listen. This is not quite an all-time classic, but I think you'll find that this was a worth every penny and you'll be playing him for quite a while.
DMX is the natural child of our gangsta eighties. He's the early Ice Cube and breakout 2Pac that so many of us liked and with whom we identified. He's living on the east side, but whatever, it's all the same.
Well, almost. On one level, I really like this album. DMX is a real talent, with a slightly familiar style, but one that at the end is all his own. The production is usually tight, and I appreciate the energy behind his delivery as much as I appreciate the thought behind his rhymes.
On the other hand, this album is like its title. It's dark. Even when he's practically pleading--as in "Prayer"--there's a cold and very scary detachment. There's an almost sociopathic clinicism to his tales. I sense he believes what he says, but there's a cynical air around it all. I don't think this is immaturity (which may have been Cube's thing), the view of a young man who still thinks he's invincible (which may have been 2Pac's thing), or even the man who's given up. I don't know what it is, but whatever it is, it's calculated, and I find that somewhat disconcerting.
Maybe it's just the effect he wants. If it is, it works.
It makes me think twice about "Damien."
Maybe he really is the natural child of our times. I dunno.
Pick it up and let me know.
Arf.
But that's just one Black man's opinion--what's yours?
(c) Copyright 1998, Charles L Isbell, Jr.
All my Hip Hop reviews are available on the World Wide Web. Use the URL: http://www.seditionists.org/HFh and follow the pointers....
Charles Isbell isbell@isbell.org Some of you are homeboys, but only I am The Homeboy From hell