DMX passed away on April 9 at White Plains Hospital in New York, leaving the Hip Hop community in a state of collective shock. The 50-year-old MC had been gearing up to release his first album since getting out of prison and was seemingly on a healthy path. But according to reports, he’d slipped up and suffered a drug overdose, which then triggered a catastrophic heart attack.
With the help of longtime producer Swizz Beatz and Def Jam Recordings, DMX’s highly anticipated album will see the light of day.
Titled Exodus, the 13-track project features guest vocals from Nas, JAY-Z, Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg, Alicia Keys, Usher and U2’s Bono, among others. On Tuesday (May 25), fans got a taste of Exodus in the form of “Hood Blues” with contributions from Griselda’s Westside Gunn, Conway The Machine and Benny The Butcher.
With Westside Gunn’s unmistakable rhyming style kicking of the track, DMX’s signature grunts, growls and barks are littered throughout the track as Conway and Benny round out the cut. DMX closes out the record with lyrics such as “Grew up at the dark side, apartheid/Where goin’ against the grain’ll get you kidnapped and hogtied/X the illest n-gga, realest n-gga/Never been scared, I’m a fearless n-gga.”
Exodus is expected to arrive on Friday (May 28) and will have the important task of continuing DMX’s hard-won legacy. During a listening party for the album earlier this month, Swizz Beatz said he was just going to drop the entire project in one swoop but evidently changed his mind.
The Verzuz co-founder also talked about how valuable the album was to DMX.
“This project meant a lot to him,” Swizz shared with HipHopDX on May 13. “It was something he showed up to do and couldn’t wait for people to hear. It was a project he wanted the world to hear. We didn’t want to wait too long because he didn’t want to wait too long. The album’s name is Exodus, which he has across his neck and is on the album cover. It’s also his youngest son’s name.”
Swizz Beatz Reveals Lil Durk & Lil Baby Pushed Back Their LP For DMX's 'Exodus' Album
Speaking to Apple Music’s Zane Lowe this week, Swizz revealed the Snoop Dogg and DMX Verzuz battle is really what helped the project come to fruition.
“All his songs go to number one [following Verzuz],” he said. “He seen everything chart again. I showed him all of it. Then he was just pumped up. He was like the only thing I don’t like about my Verzuz is I wasn’t able to do something new. I want to give all of these people that’s looking at me something new immediately. That’s when that’s the album started.”
I love DMX, he was my a favorite second rapper after EM, and I was so sad he had such problems and wasn’t in a state to put out new music. I think everyone has high hopes for his last CD since it is exactly that, his final outro. But man, on first listen this song was garbage and does not deserve a spot on X’s last album.
Eminem sucks. Don’t ever list him as your favorite again. Eminem isn’t even top 10. He had a run from SSLP to TES but since then only lowered himself by releasing pointless music.
Why does listening to Em matter?? At least it’s not NF or fucking Joyner or some other corny shit. Em at least has some skill whether or not he’s Top 10.
STFU both of you. Can’t we just enjoy the music without a debate. Damn… save that shit for twitter.
lol you sad racist fool. Eminem is has more raw skill than most and has an impressive library to boot, even if the second half of his career was mostly wack. He’s top 5 no matter what anyone says.
Agreed. Just blah…over the top with the ad-libs, beat was ehhh, felt forced, and anything else you can think of.
In before Grisnooza stans say “This is the hardest shit eva! Real hip hop!”
This is Sean P beat ya foul lol
I KNEW I HEARD THAT BEAT SOMEWHERE!!!
Stop it. It’s the sample. Not a beat. Lee Mason – Shady Blues. Used one two many times, drum break included.
This s#!t is straight noise, only decency in it is Bennys verse. I can’t think of a rapper more annoying than Westside Gunn, including Meek Mill with all that yelling on the tracks. F*** even X’s verse was super wack and annoying with the excessive growling! Beat was lazy too…
It wasn’t the just heart attack that killed X, it was the remorse from making this track that did it. We understand now.
Yeah this was not it….. doo doo doo…. brbrbrbrbr… nenenene… arf arf. Come on man? This made the last album?
I thought this was dope… beat was tuff, verses was tuff. X did his thing and of course Griselda murdered shit. I guess the youngins needed Trippie Redd on the shit
Yeah this is hip hop and street shit right here. There is no need to play games! Dope!
I always love this sample (Shady Blues) flips (Lootpack, Pacewon). DMX sounds tired. This song kind of boring but still, Brrrrr.
Too many adlibs and backgroung vocals on X part.
TRUE. THEY SHOULDVE CLEANED UP THE VOCALS A BIT. WORRIED THIS MIGHT ACTUALLY BE RUSHED NOW.
Was X alive when they put this annoying piece of shit together? I hope he hasn’t heard what a disgrace they made with his acappella.
it’s still better than 95% of the shit released right now…
No it’s not…
That’s cause your generation is all about being gay, wearing tight jeans, dressing like females and rapping about stuff only bitches on their period would do
Oh word… what they rappin about here, Triple OG? School me on some s#!t, drop that knowledge fam! Old a$$ n!££@z growling and screaming boom boom on a track, that’s that real hip hop!
Yeah you right… real hip-hop to you is Lil Nas performing on SNL shirtless in a leather pant and getting his nake licked by his dancer. FOH! Yall young mfs dropping vagina bombs in today’s music and walkin with a kitty bw your legs SMH
Yeah you right… real hip-hop to you is Lil Nas performing on SNL shirtless in a leather pant and getting his nake licked by his male dancer. FOH! Yall young mfs dropping vagina bombs in today’s music and walkin with a kitty bw your legs SMH
Fam I’m still bumpin that Apollo Brown. Your standards too low. This shit garbage.
That sucks, westside gunn is the worst rapper of all time and mach hommy is a close 2nd. Hopefully it doesn’t have Conway on there (he’s too repetitive and boring). Benny is the real star in Griselda. He’s like the George Harrison of the group.
I wouldn’t be surprised if jayz leaks this album
once i heard westside guns ayoo ayoodoo doo boom boom shit i turned it off
The adlibs were a bit excessive but this shit fire, people just love to complain these days.
He alredy said it before he did,and than i think it was confirmed again after his death like 2 weeks ago,and now again its an article?
My bad just noticed it came out