Album of the Year 2021 #24: DMX – Exodus

Artist: DMX

Album: Exodus

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Background

From the time he started his career until he started making this album, Earl Simmons, known by many as DMX, had established himself as one of the most iconic rappers of all time. He broke out in 1998 with his debut album, It’s Dark and Hell is Hot, topping the Billboard 200 chart and has sold 4.8 million units.

X would quickly follow this success up later that year with Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood, an album which would see similar success. His hot streak would continue with his subsequent albums …And Then There Was X, The Great Depression, and Grand Champ, all of which topped the Billboard 200. This would make him the first artist to top the chart with his first five projects.

Like many careers tend to do, X’s started to slow down with the release of Year of the Dog… Again. The album debuted at #2 behind NOW That’s What I Call Music! 22 and sold 126,000 units. While these numbers are still very high, it did not match the numbers his albums have historically put up. The release of 2012’s Undisputed saw an even deeper dip as the album only charted #19 and sold 17,000 units in the first week.

In the years following this, X was hit with a tax fraud conviction. While he was free for a little bit prior to sentencing, in January of 2018, he was sent back following a relapse. This would eventually lead to a year in prison, but when he got out, X was feeling stronger than ever.

He embarked on a tour soon after his stay in prison celebrating the 20th anniversary of his debut album and would sign a new 2-album deal with Def Jam, which would include a holiday album and what would become Exodus.

He was enthusiastic and ready to share the album with the world. He was excited about songs with Pop Smoke and Griselda, among others, and it seemed like he was ready to make his comeback. Unfortunately, in early April of 2021, tragedy struck.

On April 2, X was rushed to a hospital in critical condition after a cocaine-induced heart attack. After a week of tests and no improvements, Earl Simmons was pronounced dead at 50 on April 9, 2021.

In addition to one of the greatest legacies in hip-hop, X left behind a completed album ready for release. Swizz Beatz, who was working closely with X the last years of his life, made sure that his vision remained nearly completely intact and heard as he took it upon himself to promote this album and give it a proper release.

LONG LIVE DMX

Review

The album opens with “That’s My Dog” with THE LOX & Swizz Beatz. The album opening with this hard-hitting posse cut sets the tone right away. As THE LOX are some of X’s closest collaborators, it makes sense that they would be the first three to rap on the album, even before the lead artist. After the three come hard over a Swizz beat and hook, X comes in with high energy and confidence to show that he still has his skill at 50 years old. This sets an exciting tone for what’s to come.

“Bath Salts” is a song with origins that date back to 2009. X repurposed his verse from “Spit That Shit.” A version of this song was also created for Nas’s 2012 album Life is Good, although it didn’t make the cut. In 2017, a version of the song, featuring JAY-Z, Nas, and Jadakiss, was premiered by Swizz in a beat battle. It was intended for his 2018 album POISON, but the song was also cut from that. The song continued to be reworked, with Nas writing a new verse for this album, Jadakiss being cut, and the removal of the hook, to eventually become the song that is on this album. This song gives you three of New York’s finest just going in on a hard beat with incredible bars by artists at least 2 decades into their careers. Ironically, as this is the song with the oldest vocals on it, this is the track that is currently up for Rap Song of the Year at the Grammys.

“Dogs Out” marks the first collaboration of X and Lil Wayne and as one can expect, it is a bar heavy banger complete with a simple, yet catchy hook by Swizz Beatz. This continues Weezy’s incredible feature run of 2021 while showing X can match up with one of the most clever lyricists of our time. They have always respected each other and it is a celebration that they were able to link up before X’s untimely passing.

“Money Money Money” is the only song changed after X’s passing. The song originally featured a verse by the late Pop Smoke, which was actually originally recorded over this beat. However, Smoke’s team decided that verse would sound better on “Demeanor,” so this unfortunately did not formulate. Instead, Swizz got Moneybagg Yo to spit a verse here. Despite its origins, Moneybagg manages to come through with a well made verse, which features a great flow and impressive bars that appropriately match up with the other heavyweights on this tracklist. X also comes hard in this verse. He comes through with great bars and his energy and delivery are major contributors as to what makes the song great.

With “Hold Me Down,” the record takes a break from the high-energy spitting that’s been going on throughout the album for an introspective cut. Alicia Keys comes through with a simple, yet beautiful chorus as X raps meaningful bars showing his strength over yet another great beat from Swizz.

Similar to “Bath Salts,” “Skyscrapers” is an older POISON throwaway repurposed for this album. With a beat from Swizz and vocals from Bono dating back to 2012, the song originally featured the former rapping two verses and another verse from Kanye West, with X recording his verses in 2020 for his album. Despite the 9-year-old vocals from Bono, he floats on the hook and bridge and sounds far from dated on the song. X recreates this song as an uplifting anthem about strength and faith that makes for a beautiful song.

What follows is a skit called “Stick Up,” featuring Cross and Infrared, who have previously collaborated with X, as well as the late Ice Pick, known as the A&R who produced the skits for Ruff Ryders albums. This brief interlude samples the classic “Party Up (Up in Here)” as the three rob a bank. It’s a fun throwback to the classic and beloved skits that appeared on albums of X’s era.

“Hood Blues” was released as the album’s lead single three days before the album. The song features Westside Gunn, Benny the Butcher, and Conway the Machine of the Griselda collective. What results is an incredible bar-heavy posse cut which gives each artist their spotlight. Westside opens the song with his iconic style and Benny follows with a hard verse. Conway comes in smoothly after the Butcher, continuing his incredible feature run. X came in last and showed how he still had it at 50 years old. He meshes well with the Griselda style and it overall creates for an incredible lead single.

“Take Control,” primarily produced by Denaun, is the song that came of X’s Verzuz battle with Snoop Dogg. Sampling Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing,” the two dogs take turn rapping seductive bars about pleasing their ladies. The song is reminiscent of the classic sensual rap songs of their era and despite it’s older style, it once again proves X’s, and even to an extent Snoop’s, longevity and skill failing to sound dated.

“Walking in the Rain” starts with a prayer from Exodus Simmons, X’s youngest child. It then cuts to the song with X singing the simple hook. X then raps an introspective verse reflecting on his past and faith. After this, Denaun, the song’s producer known for his collaborations with Eminem and as a member of D12, sings a beautiful bridge showing that while he is not always respected as he should be, he is always loyal. From here, his singing is infused with X’s hook. Nas then comes in with his second feature on the album, which ends up being one of his finest verses in years. He too reflects on his past and how he’s done a lot right. Had he changed some of his actions, he would not have been in the comfortable position he is in today. After another round of the hook, Exodus comes in once more singing its lyrics, closing out this beautiful song.

The next track is a skit that serves as the title track. Exodus comes in once again cheering on his father. It’s a wholesome, yet bittersweet, little clip that shows the environment surrounding X as he was creating the album.

The final song, “Letter to My Son (Call Your Father),” is another personal song. This track sees X speaking directly to his oldest son, Xavier Simmons. His verse, specifically the line about his drug use, almost feels like a goodbye letter not just to his son, but to his fans as well. Usher comes in with a beautiful hook reminding the listener to “call your father.” In between the two hooks he sings, Brian King Joseph gets the spotlight, which primarily consists of a beautiful violin performance, with him sneaking in two lines regretting not being there for “father,” which could be him talking to a father figure and/or God.

Closing out the album is the traditional “Prayer” track, which is the only track without a Swizz Beatz production credit of any sort. Rather, the track is produced by Kanye West, which has a relatively quiet instrumental. This prayer comes from West’s Sunday Service concert at Coachella on Easter. It seems fitting that the final track from possibly X’s final album is a prayer, a tradition he has stuck onto from the beginning even if the original intention may not have been a goodbye.

Overall, Exodus serves as the perfect swan song for DMX’s legendary career. Tapping a loaded list of features both from this generation and legends he came up with, the album’s diversity of hard, fun, and personal tracks gives a reminder of why X is so beloved as a rapper.

Favorite Lyrics

“I ain’t get a call from you when my mom was in the morgue/Or a n***a needed money, so how the fuck is you my dog?” – Sheek Louch, “That’s My Dog”

“Hate start with H ‘cause the H come after a G.” – Nas, “Bath Salts”

“I DM’d DMX and said they never X’d the dog out.” – Lil Wayne, “Dogs Out”

“Say cheese, now I got pictures of what a bitch is.” – DMX, “Money Money Money”

“Just like reading the Bible to a baby/Some of y’all will get it/But most of y’all gon think I’m crazy.” – DMX, “Hold Me Down”

“Get stronger with the struggle, can’t live without the pain/I just wanna be heard, fuck the fame.” – DMX, “Skyscrapers”

“Every beat I body/My n***a on the way home, he just beat a body.” – Conway the Machine, “Hood Blues”

“From the hip to the dip/She said she wanna fuck with a Crip like Nip, so I dip.” – Snoop Dogg, “Take Control”

“If you rock with your day ones, bless/If you do not, don’t let it stress/There’s friends I only see once a year/Nothing’s changed, love is there.” – Nas, “Walking in the Rain”

“I don’t know what you thought about my use of drugs/But it taught you enough to not use the drugs.” – DMX, “Letter to My Son (Call Your Father)”

“Father, please walk with us through the bad times, as well as the good/Make we be heard and understood, from the suburbs to the hood.” – DMX, Prayer

Talking Points

How does this album compare to other posthumous releases, especially in recent years? Is the feature-heavy approach one that works well for an album like this? (Comeback/legacy albums, etc.) Would the album have improved if more people besides Swizz Beatz contributed to the production? If X’s estate were to make one last album as a more proper “goodbye” (assuming this is not specifically meant as one), how would you want that approached?