I read a short review in the Washington Post and I have to say that I agree with their main point. I’m not saying that he’s unsuccessful with the slower tracks, just that he’s inconsistent.Īnd that sums up my over impression of the album- inconsistent. I listened to Heads Up and then compared it to the very next song and there is a HUGE difference. On Undisputed is seems like his rhyme scheme suffers a bit when doing these slower tracks. You can check out Slippin’ to understand what I mean. But I feel the pivot was poorly executed.ĭMX would do slower paced songs in the past but, he never lost his rhyme scheme. I’m not adverse to artists changing their direction it’s what they are supposed to do. It’s just that with a title like Undisputed, I was expecting something completely different than what I got. However, the pace of the album is slow which is not a bad thing isn’t necessarily. I happen to think that those two songs are successful in blending an old school guy like DMX with what’s current.
Those are the two tracks with EDM like influences of today. Others like I Don’t Dance and Already come close as well. Some songs remind me of that like Get Your Money Up and Ya’ll Don’t Really Know. His style back then was aggressive, high paced, unapologetic and honest. Very few of the songs remind me of the DMX of my youth. So that leads me to believe that his reminiscence was a definite influence in the studio. On his mini documentary, he waxes poetic over his childhood and the 70s compared with children of later generations. I don’t know if it was done purposefully or subconsciously. The overall vibe of Undisputed* is old school, like 70s old school. As it stands, 13 years later, "The Great Depression" is a very good album, certainly not depressing to these ears.I like X I do, but… this is a mixtape posing as an album. Again." And after this album, that was essentially it for Bloodline Records and to this day, I'm still not sure why it never got off the ground. Not surprisingly, aside from a few more guest appearances here and there, he took another break from hip hop and focused more on his acting career, not releasing another album until 2003's "Grand Champ," which will be covered next along with "Year of the Dog. Looking back, I'll also say that after "Who We Be" and "We Right Here" left radio and TV, X began to cool off a bit, which had more to do with the changing nature of hip hop and somewhat less to do with X himself. X stuck with what he knew and did best, coming through with a 4 star album (up from my previous rating of 3.5), moving 439,000 units in its first week, going on to achieve a 3X Platinum certification. "The Great Depression" is nowhere near the level of X's first two albums, and it's about even with ".And Then There Was X", but this is not a bad album. I respect everyone's opinion, however, I disagreed then and I certainly disagree now. When talking about this album, I've often heard people say "yeah it did depress me listening to it," "yeah it was depressing," etc.
#Dmx and then there was x blogspot tv#
And with "Who We Be" and "We Right Here" blazing the radio and TV at the time, all during my senior year of high school, my anticipation level was high. That got me excited, but was that the case? We'll definitely see during this revisit. Also, the month before this album was set to drop, he was a guest on Rap City's "The Basement," and I still remember Big Tigger asking him, and I'm paraphrasing, "when it comes to the new album, which is it more comparable to?" X pointed to "It's Dark And Hell Is Hot" (his first three albums were on a nearby table).
#Dmx and then there was x blogspot movie#
He also had a supporting role in "Romeo Must Die" and I feel it was the Steven Seagal "comeback" film "Exit Wounds" that started to get him noticed more in terms of movie roles. It all started with 1998's "Belly," which is a movie I NEVER liked to this day and you couldn't pay me to revisit it. While he didn't release an album in 2000, he still made guest appearances and notably beginning to get what some would call "that movie money." X's presence begin to grace the silver screen, becoming a respectable actor in the process. Going into his 4th album, DMX was still a hot commodity in hip hop, even with things changing around him.