Hear DMX’s sixth
album “Year of the Dog,
Again” now before it hits stores August 1st. Click here to listen: http://www.clearchannelmusic
DMX
Year of
the Dog, Again
IN STORES AUGUST 1
Sony
Urban
Who is
DMX?:
“I don’t make music to make songs,”
says the record-breaking hip-hop icon DMX, “I make music to
record my life.”
DMX, the legendary Ruff Ryder who’s
sold 20 million albums, is back in the saddle with his eagerly-awaited
sixth solo outing, Year Of The Dog, Again, his first since 2003’s
Grand Champ, the album that made him the only artist in the history of
the Billboard Top 200 to have his first five albums debut
consecutively at #1. Beyond iconic, DMX has been the voice of the
hood since he first burst onto the scene as a representative of the
street movement and record label, Ruff Ryders.
As hip-hop
is assimilated into the cultural mainstream, it’s time for the long
overdue and much needed return of rap’s prophetic visionary, DMX.
DMX is currently working with fellow Ruff Ryder and production
mastermind Swizz Beatz (who’s been on-board DMX’s entire career as
well as producing smash tracks for a hip-hop elite including Eve,
Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes, Jadakiss, Mary J. Blige, Lil’ Kim, and Destiny’s
Child).
“Working with the dog in 2006 is truly a
blessing,” said Swizz Beatz. “The dog is focused. And
anyone who thought the dog was gone better put their head between
their legs and kiss their ass goodbye. He’s looking better than ever,
sounding better than ever, and creating better than ever. Swizz Beatz
plus Ruff Ryders plus DMX equals history.”
A reunion
of two old friends lies behind DMX’s new deal. As Chad “Dr.
Ceuss” Elliot, Vice President, A&R, Sony Urban Music,
explains, “Looking backward, the dots always connect. I produced
‘Born Loser,’ DMX’s first commercially released single. And now,
years later, it’s more than just an honor to be part of bringing this
incredible talent back to where he started his career. It is a great
pleasure to say to DMX, ‘Welcome home!'”
“I think
that this deal was meant to be because our first deal was at
Sony,” commented Joaquin Waah Dean, Co-Founder and CEO, Ruff
Ryders. “We did a single deal with DMX and Ruffhouse/Columbia
for ‘Born Loser’ and Chad Elliot, who’s now at Sony, was the producer
of that record. So it’s a 360 degree miracle to be back at Sony 15
years later with the producer who worked on his first record, back on
the first label to ever cut us a check, and DMX starting off fresh
with a clean slate.
Pulling no punches and making no
excuses, DMX tears into his blistering new songs with all the powers
at his command on Year Of The Dog, Again, his first full-length album
for Sony Urban Music. A powerful declaration of DMX’s dreams and
demons, Year Of The Dog, Again reconnects hip-hop with the righteous
moral complexity and unflinching honesty of its roots. When asked
about the current state of hip-hop, DMX is blunt about the so-called
competition. “No one is saying anything,” he exclaims.
“It’s not rap, it’s crap. There is no soul. I refuse to conform
to the norm.”
With the skill and flow that’s earned
him a permanent place in the pantheons of both hip-hop and American
popular music, DMX infuses Year Of The Dog, Again with equal parts
hope, wrath and celebration. With his eyes on abiding core values and
his feet on the pulse of the clubs and the street, DMX combines the
sacred and the profane with the complex artistry and authority that
led the All Music Guide to call him “…a hip-hop Johnny
Cash.”
DMX kicks off Year Of The Dog, Again with the
thundering “I Run Shit,” which lays down the law as only
Earl Simmons, aka Darkman X, is capable of. Set to a driving dramatic
martial beat, “I Run Shit” announces DMX’s reentry into the
ring with the growling imperative, “Ya’ll niggas know what it
took for me to get here/ I’m gonna stay here.”
DMX
keeps the pressure up with the rough and ready “Give Em What They
Want,” in which hardcore throw-downs like “Show some f***ing
respect/knock before you enter” make it clear that while DMX may
have been out of the game for three years, you’d be crazy to
under-rate his status or his skills.
The undisputed king of
the hood switches things up on the guitar-stoked “Wrong Or
Right,” which features his comrades-in-arms, the hard-rockin’
Bizarre Royale. “Life Be My Song” shines a light on DMX’s
reflective side offering hard-won wisdom like “Look through my
eyes the devil is a liar/the truth never lies,” while “Lord
Give Me A Sign” finds the commonality between the streets and the
spirit with DMX continuing his quest for salvation.
# # # #
#
Born Earl Simmons in Yonkers, New York, DMX cut his first
12″ single (“Born Loser”) in 1992 and appeared on LL
Cool J’s ‘ “4,3,2,1” (along with Method Man, Redman, Canibus
and Master P) in 1997. DMX broke big in hip-hop in 1998, first with
his single, “Get at Me Dog,” then his debut album, the harsh
and harrowing It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot which debuted at #1 and went
on to 4x platinum status. Mere months later, Flesh Of My Flesh, Blood
Of My Blood, made him one of the few artists in chart history to have
two albums debut at #1 within the same year.
1999’s
…And Then There Was X repeated DMX’s familiar pattern of
debuting at #1 and has gone on to achieve 6x platinum. 2001’s The
Great Depression, and 2003’s Grand Champ likewise debuted at #1.
1998 was the year DMX made his acting debut, costarring with
comrade rappers Method Man and Nas in Hype Williams’ under-rated
Belly.
DMX’s film career paralleled his musical successes
with the charismatic superstar appearing in a major support roles in
2001, first with Aaliyah and Jet Li in the cult classic Romeo Must Die
and later in Steven Segal’s #1 opening weekend nationwide blockbuster,
Exit Wounds. His next film, Cradle 2 The Grave, again with Jet Li,
opened at #1 in 2003 while its DMX-rich soundtrack debuted in the Top
10. He has appeared as “himself” on numerous television
programs including “Saturday Night Live,” “The Chris
Rock Show,” “Mad TV,” “Moesha,”
“Chappelle’s Show” and “South Park.” DMX recently
completed filming Last Hour, a psychological thriller starring DMX,
Michael Madsen, David Carradine and Paul Sorvino. He is preparing for
his role in the upcoming Marble City, directed by Bill Duke.
DMX’s initial breakout came as a member of the Ruff Ryders record
label/production team/hip-hop talent collective which has included The
Lox, Swizz Beatz, Eve and other hip-hop legends.
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