“It was explosive, and it was just in the infancy of his career.”Īnd I think I’ve seen it, ’cause I don’t feel the same “DMX was like a broken electric wire around water,” says Lyor Cohen, the president of Def Jam at the time. He rapped explosively and vulnerably about giving into his darkest impulses and the salvation that he hoped he’d find. Though listeners had heard DMX’s growl on record, Survival of the Illest was the first time audiences outside of New York could really see him in person as he emptied out his soul. The Complete History of the Kings and Queens of New York Rap Plenty of times you sent help my way, but I hidĪnd I remember once, you held me close, but I slid… 1 and would eventually be certified three times platinum. Also by the end of December, he would release his second album of the year, Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood. By the end of 2000, it would be certified four times platinum. The previous May, he released his debut, It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot, which landed atop the Billboard 200 chart. Though those acts included veterans who had sold millions of records, the undisputed headliner of the tour was DMX, hip-hop’s breakout star of the moment. Each night featured sets from Onyx and the Def Squad-the trio of Redman, Keith Murray, and Erick Sermon (though the EPMD member didn’t travel to all the concerts). Survival of the Illest was a showcase for artists on Def Jam Recordings. Lord, why is it that I go through so much pain?Īll I saw was black, all I felt was rain. On the road, DMX performed with a pair of then-unknown teenagers-his hypeman, Drag-On, and his DJ, Swizz Beatz-but for his return to New York, the Apollo stage was filled with people, including record executive/producer Irv Gotti, the Lox, and other members of the Ruff Ryder crew. The performance was technically the last date on the Survival of the Illest Tour, though the travelling portion had ended its run of shows a couple of weeks earlier. On July 18, 1998, DMX took the stage at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. Today, we’re looking at X’s first headlining tour, which came just as his popularity was exploding and helped change the way rap tours were perceived. Over the next few days, we’re chronicling the rapper’s rise and place in hip-hop history. On Thursday, Ringer Films will debut the latest installment of its HBO Music Box series, DMX: Don’t Try to Understand.
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