Earl Simmons, known professionally as DMX, was an American rapper and actor. The recipient of various accolades, he won an American Music Award, a Billboard Music Award, and was nominated for six Grammy Awards. Regarded as an influential figure in late 1990s and early 2000s hip hop, his music is characterized by his "aggressive" rapping style, with lyrical content varying from hardcore themes to prayers. His violent lyricism helped popularize the horrorcore genre.
Irving Domingo Lorenzo Jr., professionally known as Irv Gotti, is an American record producer. He co-founded the record label Murder Inc. Records in 1998, which was an imprint of Def Jam Recordings. He received production credits for most of the recordings by artists signed to the label—including Ja Rule, Lloyd, and Ashanti—as well as other artists such as Jennifer Lopez, DMX, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Fat Joe, and Eve, among others. Gotti is also the creator of the BET series Tales.
...And Then There Was X is the third studio album by American rapper DMX. The album was released on December 21, 1999, by The Island Def Jam Music Group, Def Jam Recordings, and Ruff Ryders Entertainment. The album was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 2001 Grammys.
Fred Lee Scruggs Jr., better known by his stage name Fredro Starr, is an American rapper and actor best known as a member of the hardcore rap group Onyx. Fredro Starr was discovered by the late hip hop star Jam Master Jay of Run-D.M.C. who signed Onyx on his label JMJ Records. Onyx went on to release three top selling albums before Fredro began his solo career. As a part of Onyx, Fredro Starr was nominated as "Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop New Artist" on American Music Awards of 1994 and won "Best Rap Album" on 1994 Soul Train Music Awards.
Roc-A-Fella Records was an American hip hop record label and music management company founded by record executives and entrepreneurs Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Damon Dash, and Kareem "Biggs" Burke in 1994. Carter issued his debut album, Reasonable Doubt (1996) as the label's first release, in a joint venture with Priority Records. The label signed and released albums for acts including Kanye West, Cam'ron, Beanie Sigel, Memphis Bleek, Juelz Santana, Freeway, Jadakiss, Teairra Marí, State Property, and The Diplomats before its dissolution in 2013.
Full Surface is a record label founded in 2001, by American hip hop recording artist and record producer Kasseem "Swizz Beatz" Dean. With the help of his protégé, Cassidy, who was the 1st artist signed, the label was established. The label used to operate through Sony's J and through Universal's Interscope, Motown and Universal Motown. However, the label also had released material through joint ventures with other companies outside the Sony BMG group.
Def Jam Recordings is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop.
It's Dark and Hell Is Hot is the debut studio album by American rapper DMX. It was released on May 19, 1998, by Def Jam Recordings and Ruff Ryders Entertainment. It was supported by four singles—"Get at Me Dog", "Stop Being Greedy", "Ruff Ryders' Anthem" and "How's It Goin' Down", in order of release—and their accompanying music videos.
Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood is the second studio album by American rapper DMX. The album was released on December 22, 1998, by Def Jam Recordings and Ruff Ryders Entertainment, only seven months after his debut album, It's Dark and Hell Is Hot.
American rapper DMX released eight studio albums, seven compilation albums, three mixtapes, 47 singles and 24 music videos.
Murder Inc. was an American East Coast hip hop supergroup composed of Jay-Z, DMX, and Ja Rule, formed by record executive Irv Gotti in 1995. They first appeared in tandem on fellow New York-based rapper Mic Geronimo's 1995 song "Time to Build." After each gaining commercial success, the trio later appeared on the cover for the June 1999 issue of the hip-hop magazine XXL.
"We in Here" is a song by American hip hop recording artist DMX, released in June 2006 as the lead single from his sixth studio album, Year of the Dog... Again (2006). The song features vocals and production from longtime friend and collaborator American record producer Swizz Beatz. The song is also known as a diss track towards his old label Def Jam Recordings.
Christian J. Ward, known professionally as Hitmaka, is an American record producer and former rapper. Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Ward was the first artist to sign with American rapper DMX's vanity label Bloodline Records in 2001, at the age of 14. Six years later, he signed with Epic Records and adopted the stage name Yung Berg. His 2007 debut single, "Sexy Lady" peaked at number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100, while his guest appearance on Ray J's single, "Sexy Can I" and Ward's own follow-up single, "The Business" peaked at numbers three and 33 on the chart, respectively, the following year; all three of which preceded the release of his debut studio album, Look What You Made Me (2008). Despite generally unfavorable critical reception, it peaked at number 20 on the Billboard 200. After releasing a number of follow-up mixtapes and singles that failed to chart, he shifted focus away from recording in favor of a career in music production by 2014.
"Ruff Ryders' Anthem" is a song by American rapper DMX, released on May 5, 1998, as the third single from his debut studio album It's Dark and Hell Is Hot (1998). In 2008, the song was ranked at number 79 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop. In the US, upon the song's initial release it had originally peaked at number 93 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, before reaching a new peak of number 16 following DMX's death in April 2021.
This article summarizes the events, album releases, and album release dates in hip hop music for the year 2008.
The Great Depression is the fourth studio album by American rapper DMX. It was released on October 23, 2001 by Ruff Ryders Entertainment and Def Jam Recordings. The production on the album was handled by multiple producers including Just Blaze, Dame Grease, Black Key and DMX himself. The album also features guest appearances by Stephanie Mills, Faith Evans and Mashonda.
"Shut 'Em Down" is a song by American hip hop group Onyx. It was released on February 3, 1998, by Def Jam and JMJ Records as the second single from Onyx's third album, Shut 'Em Down. The song featured labelmate DMX.
The Best of DMX is the third compilation and greatest hits album of DMX music released on January 26, 2010, by Ruff Ryders Entertainment and Def Jam Recordings. Due to DMX's departure from Def Jam Recordings, only songs that were released during his time there are included on this album. Most of the songs on the album were initially released as singles from his 5 studio albums released by Ruff Ryders Entertainment and Def Jam Recordings or singles from movie soundtracks he contributed to. It consists of songs deemed to be DMX's best by Def Jam Recordings.
Ruff Ryders Entertainment is an American hip hop record label and management company founded by siblings and record executives Joaquin "Waah", Darrin "Dee" and Chivon Dean in 1988. It operated as a subsidiary of Universal, and distributed by Interscope Records, with Def Jam Recordings serving as the distributor for DMX albums. The label went on to launch the careers of several successful artists such as DMX, Eve, The LOX, Drag-On, MC Jin, producers Dame Grease and the Deans' nephew, Swizz Beatz among others. The Ruff Ryders namesake also referred to a loose-knit hip hop collective composed of the core signees of the label. Ruff Ryders and its main studio Powerhouse Studios are headquartered at 33 South Broadway in Yonkers, New York.
Exodus is the eighth and final studio album by American rapper DMX. It was released on May 28, 2021, through Ruff Ryders Entertainment, Bloodline Records, and Def Jam Recordings. It is DMX's first studio album in nine years since Undisputed (2012), and is also his only posthumous project released. The album's track "Bath Salts" featuring Jay-Z and Nas was nominated for Best Rap Song at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards.
