DMX - The Year of the Dog Again

Insert DMX Album Here…Again

DMX exploded onto the rap scene in 1998 with, not one, but two number one albums at the beginning and end of the year. His sound was new. It was fresh. And it was unmistakably New York. Now four albums and a few run-ins with the law later it’s the same X. Never change. MCs pride themselves on being the same person they were before the game; only making minor tweaks to evolve with the changing times. X, no doubt, has stuck to his guns, but to a fault. The Year of the Dog Again is a prime example of the product of his carbon copy factory

First of all, I didn’t know that Swizz Beats was the mastermind behind “bringin’ New York back” (see Busta Rhymes review). Apparently he is as he declares so at the beginning of We in Here. On I Run Shit it’s apparent that X wants us to know that he…runs shit. Thanks. It’s Personal seems to be the only track with any replay value thanks to the vocals of Styles P and Jadakiss. Without this little Ruff Ryder reunion, there would be no reason to listen to the album. Toward the end of the album we are serenaded by a chipmunk on the beginning of Blown Away. On this cut X talks about how he’s done wrong in his life in hopes that his sins will be blown away. If there was a second best song on the album, this would be it. But because there is no good music on the album, it is what it is.

Dark Man X. A very mysterious name, but the mystery is lost in the music. The record is hard and edgy through the first 75% but when you get to the end you hear the softer side of X which includes the obligatory prayer. Ironic how he denounces his Baby Motha as a “real stupid bitch” but a few tracks later prays that “men respect their ladies”. Overall the hooks are unimaginative and the lyrics are predictable. But if you do force yourself to sit through The Year of the Dog Again, you at least have the features to look forward to (Jadakiss, Styles, Busta Rhymes, etc.).

This album is the same album that he made in 2003. In fact, it’s the same album he’s made in 2001, 1999 and the two in 1998. We liked DMX in the late 90s. With 20 million albums sold, at least someone did. I don’t want a revamped DMX, but I don’t want to hear 4 versions of his first album.

Rating: 1.5 out of 5 matches

Hot Trax: It’s Personal…yeah that’s it.