It's Dark and Hell Is Hot

It's Dark and Hell Is Hot
Studio album by
DMX
ReleasedMay 19, 1998 (1998-05-19)
RecordedOctober 1997 - April 1998
Studio
Genre
Length65:10
Label
Producer
DMX chronology
It's Dark and Hell Is Hot
(1998) 		Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood
(1998)
Singles from It's Dark and Hell Is Hot
  1. "Get at Me Dog"
    Released: February 10, 1998
  2. "Stop Being Greedy"
    Released: March 7, 1998
  3. "Ruff Ryders' Anthem"
    Released: May 5, 1998
  4. "How's It Goin' Down"
    Released: June 9, 1998

It's Dark and Hell Is Hot is the debut studio album by American rapper DMX. It was released on May 19, 1998,[1] by Def Jam Recordings and Ruff Ryders Entertainment.[2] 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.

It primarily includes production from Dame Grease (13 tracks) and PK (8 tracks), in addition to production from Irv Gotti and Lil Rob (2 tracks), Younglord (1 track; add.), and Swizz Beatz (1 track). The album is widely considered a classic among hip-hop fans and critics.[3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarStar[4]
Entertainment WeeklyC[5]
Los Angeles TimesStarStar[6]
MuzikStarStarStar[7]
Pitchfork9.0/10[8]
QStarStarStarStar[9]
Rolling StoneStarStarStar[10]
The Rolling Stone Album GuideStarStarStarStar[11]
The SourceStarStarStarStar[12]
Spin6/10[13]

It's Dark and Hell Is Hot was met with positive reviews from music critics. AllMusic commented that "Unlike so many other hardcore rappers who are more rhetorical than physical, DMX commands an aggressive aura without even speaking a word."[4] Leading hip-hop magazine The Source described the album as "a mind-gripping opus that fully encompasses the appeal of one of rap's newest sensations."[12]

Commercial performance

It's Dark and Hell Is Hot debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 251,000 copies in its first week, the first DMX number one debut on the chart.[14] On December 18, 2000, the album was certified four times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of four million copies in the US.[15]

Legacy

Andrew R. Chow from Time published an article about the album on the day of DMX's passing (April 9, 2021) saying, "Then 27-year-old Earl Simmons, better known as DMX, released his debut album It's Dark and Hell Is Hot, and everything changed. The album was full of violent nihilism, hair-raising tales of betrayal and revenge, and his emulations of dogs barking and whining; the beats were rugged and skeletal. Rather than being rejected or pigeonholed, the album immediately skyrocketed to the top of the charts, selling 251,000 copies in its first week in the U.S as songs like "Ruff Ryders' Anthem" rang out of every car stereo in New York City and beyond." He also wrote the album was catalyst for American producer Swizz Beatz's career and influenced artists later on like American rapper Denzel Curry, who listed it as one of his favorite albums.[16] Nas reminisced in 2013, "that was the year DMX took over the world."[17]

In 2015, Pitchfork wrote, "The debut album from DMX is the Dante's Inferno of rap. His infamous stage presence and aggression gave a voice to the voiceless in the streets of New York and overnight changed the course of hip-hop."[18] In 2022, Rolling Stone ranked the album twenty-second on their list of "The 200 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time".[19]

Canadian recording artist Drake interpolated "How's It Going Down" on his 2016 song "U With Me". He personally asked DMX for his permission.[16]

Track listing

Standard edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Intro"
4:10
2."Ruff Ryders' Anthem"
Swizz Beatz3:34
3."Fuckin' wit' D"
2:18
4."The Storm" (skit)
  • Simmons
  • Blackman
  • Fields
  • Joaquin Dean
  • Mad Man
  • Dame Grease
  • PK
  • Waah (add.)
  • Mad Man (add.)
1:01
5."Look Thru My Eyes"
  • Simmons
  • Fields
  • Blackman
  • PK
  • Dame Grease (co.)
3:51
6."Get at Me Dog" (featuring Sheek Louch)
  • Simmons
  • Irv Gotti
  • Fields
  • Blackman
  • Sam Taylor
  • Dame Grease
  • PK (add.)
4:03
7."Let Me Fly"
  • Dame Grease
  • Young Lord (add.)
4:13
8."X-Is Coming"
  • Simmons
  • Fields
PK4:19
9."Damien"
  • Simmons
  • Blackman
Dame Grease3:42
10."How's It Goin' Down"
  • Simmons
  • Fields
PK4:43
11."Mickey" (skit)
  • Simmons
  • Fields
  • J. Dean
  • Rajah Winn
PK0:25
12."Crime Story"
  • Simmons
  • Lorenzo
  • Freddie Perren
  • Irv Gotti
  • Lil Rob
3:48
13."Stop Being Greedy"
  • PK
  • Dame Grease (add.)
3:37
14."ATF"
  • Simmons
  • Blackman
Dame Grease1:56
15."For My Dogs" (featuring Big Stan, Loose, Kasino and Drag-On)
Dame Grease4:11
16."I Can Feel It"
Dame Grease4:13
17."Prayer" (skit)SimmonsDame Grease2:32
18."The Convo"
  • Simmons
  • Blackman
  • Barry Alan Gibb
  • Maurice Ernest Gibb
  • Robin Hugh Gibb
  • Ed Penney
  • Jerry Gillespie
Dame Grease3:34
19."Niggaz Done Started Something" (featuring The LOX and Murda Ma$e)
Dame Grease5:14
Total length:65:10
2000 reissue bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
20."Ruff Ryders' Anthem" (Live)
  • Simmons
  • K. Dean
Swizz Beatz2:57
Total length:68:07
Notes
  • Track listing and credits from album booklet.
  • "X-Is Coming" features additional vocals by Jamie, Warren and Randy.
  • "How's It Goin' Down" features additional vocals by Lovey Ford and Schamika Grant.
  • "I Can Feel It" features additional vocals by Nardo.
Sample credits
  • "Intro" contains a sample of "Beyond Forever" performed by James Mtume.
  • "Fuckin' wit' D" contains a sample of "Shifting Gears" performed by Johnny "Hammond" Smith.
  • "Get At Me Dog" contains a sample of "Everything Good to You" performed by B. T. Express.
  • "Let Me Fly" contains a sample of "Lo Dudo" performed by José José.
  • "Damien" contains a sample of "Slow Dance" performed by Stanley Clarke.
  • "How's It Going Down" contains a sample of "God Made Me Funky" performed by The Headhunters.
  • "Crime Story" contains a sample of "Easin' In" performed by Edwin Starr.
  • "Stop Being Greedy" contains a sample of "My Hero Is a Gun" performed by Diana Ross.
  • "I Can Feel It" contains a sample of "In the Air Tonight" performed by Phil Collins.
  • "The Convo" contains a sample of "Nights on Broadway" performed by The Bee Gees, and an interpolation of "Somebody's Knockin'" performed by Terri Gibbs.
  • "Niggaz Done Start Something" contains a sample of "Mercy, Mercy Me (The Ecology)" performed by Marvin Gaye.
Courtesies

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[31] Platinum 100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[32] Gold 100,000*
United States (RIAA)[33] 4× Platinum 4,000,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

  • List of number-one albums of 1998 (U.S.)
  • List of number-one R&B albums of 1998 (U.S.)

References

  1. ^ MaddenPublished, Sidney (May 19, 2016). "Today in Hip-Hop: DMX Drops 'It's Dark and Hell Is Hot' Album - XXL". XXL Mag. Archived from the original on May 12, 2021. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
  2. ^ "DMX | Biography, Albums, & Streaming Radio". AllMusic. December 18, 1970. Archived from the original on December 7, 2015. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
  3. ^ "50 Greatest MCs of Our Time (1987 - 2007)". Rap.about.com. Archived from the original on March 21, 2015. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
  4. ^ a b Birchmeier, Jason. "It's Dark and Hell Is Hot – DMX". AllMusic. Archived from the original on October 9, 2015. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
  5. ^ Mukherjee, Tiarra (July 17, 1998). "It's Dark and Hell is Hot". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on December 22, 2008. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
  6. ^ Baker, Soren (May 31, 1998). "DMX, 'It's Dark and Hell Is Hot,' Def Jam". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 23, 2020. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  7. ^ McPhail, Pete (August 1998). "Cam'ron: Confessions of Fire / Charli Baltimore: Ice / DMX: It's Dark and Hell Is Hot". Muzik. No. 39. p. 63.
  8. ^ Pearce, Sheldon (March 5, 2017). "DMX: It's Dark and Hell Is Hot". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  9. ^ "DMX: It's Dark and Hell Is Hot". Q. No. 167. August 2000. p. 124.
  10. ^ Lewis, Miles Marshall (June 18, 1998). "DMX: It's Dark and Hell Is Hot". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 2, 2007. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
  11. ^ Ex, Kris (2004). "DMX". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 248. ISBN 978-0-7432-0169-8.
  12. ^ a b Wilson, Elliott (July 1998). "DMX: It's Dark and Hell Is Hot". The Source. No. 106. pp. 151–152.
  13. ^ Gonzales, Michael A. (August 1998). "DMX: It's Dark and Hell Is Hot". Spin. Vol. 14, no. 8. p. 143. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  14. ^ "Now! 22 Ends DMX's Billboard Winning Streak". MTV. Archived from the original on August 16, 2006. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
  15. ^ "Gold & Platinum Searchable Database - December 18, 2015". RIAA. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
  16. ^ a b "How DMX's It's Dark and Hell Is Hot Changed the Course of Hip-Hop Forever". Time. Archived from the original on August 5, 2022. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  17. ^ "Nas". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  18. ^ "DMX: It's Dark and Hell Is Hot". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on May 24, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  19. ^ "The 200 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. June 7, 2022. Archived from the original on April 20, 2023. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  20. ^ "DMX Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard.
  21. ^ "Official Albums Chart on 7/6/1998 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  22. ^ "Official R&B Albums Chart on 7/6/1998 – Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  23. ^ "DMX Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
  24. ^ "DMX Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
  25. ^ "Ultratop.be – DMX – It's Dark and Hell Is Hot" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  26. ^ "Official IFPI Charts – Top-75 Albums Sales Chart (Week: 31/2024)". IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on August 7, 2024. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  27. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1998". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 23, 2015. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  28. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1998". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 1, 2020. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  29. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1999". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 9, 2021. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  30. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1999". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 28, 2019. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  31. ^ "Canadian album certifications – DMX – It's Dark and Hell Is Hot". Music Canada.
  32. ^ "British album certifications – DMX – It's Dark and Hell Is Hot". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Formats field. Type It's Dark and Hell Is Hot DMX in the "Search:" field.
  33. ^ "American album certifications – DMX – It's Dark and Hell Is Hot". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
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