REVIEW: DMX - EXODUS

 

4/5

...And Then There Was Exodus.

The Grand Champ is here! Posthumously for a fitting finale. Get it on the floor one more time...because X is gonna give it to ya. Where the hood at? This will make you lose your mind. Up in here we live in a society were we don't let the dead rest for long. It was mere moments after the great purple reign of Prince ended that they were at it. Breaking into his vault of unreleased gems. But now seems as fitting a time as any to release the 'Exodus' that the late, great DMX was working on. X left us last month and a legacy of powerful hard more hip-hop that is passion personified for all the heads that nod to his one mic, vest and chain. The kind that could never keep this dog on a leash. Whose bark had real bite. Sure, when you think of Russell Simmons rap empire of Def Jam, you think of LL Cool J. "Ask Russell who built The West Wing" Todd Smith beautifully boasts on 'The DEFinition' of the Timbaland to old-school throwback 'Feel The Beat'. But X took those same towers that LL built and crashed through the ceilings. Keeping the light on, putting them on his shoulders when he released two multi-platinum classics ('It's Dark and Hell is Hot' and 'Flesh Of My Flesh, Blood Of My Blood') to debut in THE SAME YEAR! Taking them even skyscraper higher. Truly rocking the bells. Rocafella Jay-Z may have made Glastonbury his Oasis, but what rapper do you know "STOP, DROP" rocked Woodstock like everytime Snoopy's kennel was hit by a Charlie Brown fly ball, quite like D? Run-D.M.C. May have rocked with the acid twins of Aerosmith as they walked this way, but DMX once rapped with Limp Bizkit ("bark that s###"), not to mention Ozzy Osborne AND the late, great ODB...on a 'South Park' song for a 'Chef Aid' soundtrack. Competition...there ain't nowhere to run. '...And Then There Was X', 'The Great Depression', 'Grand Champ', 'Year Of The Dog...Again', 'Undisputed' and now the eight wonder of 'Exodus' tattooed on his neck like 1:7 above his silver chain as iconic as Michael Jordan's gold necklace. You can't mess with the Ruff Ryder's discography for his legendary legacy that has sold 74 million albums worldwide. Now how about some more? 

'That's My Dog' like the Swizz Beatz produced prolific opener that's classic D as X's canine growls serve as the beat. Nuanced and nostalgic right off D-Block, The LOX of Jadakiss, Styles P and the Silverback Gorilla, Sheek Louch (thanks for the Cameo's) take the first three 16's, before the dog takes the holy trinity with the last verse. "I ain't your father that shoulda stayed, too late, you shoulda prayed/You ain't know, motherf#####? I'm from the home of the brave/Where we played in the mountains 'cause we lived in the cave/When I came into the game, I crashed with a wave/I'm the best, it's somethin' that I'm takin' to the grave." DAMN! Cradle to the grave, he buried them all. Then the Black Republican's of Jay-Z and Nas reunite like success for the 'Bath Salts' of a former bubbling beef that now soothes in synchronised sound of three golden era greats forming a big-three like when King James went to Miami like Will Smith. "I'm the King of Zamunda, uh, King of the Summer/Come be my Kardashian, queen of the come up, uh/To be loved, Shakespearean/Experience to be us/Jumpin' off boats, hoppin' off another cliff (Woo!)/Every six months, I think I need a new bucket list (Oh!)," Jay raps like he never took all those years off and how we wish upon a star for a new Hov album. All before the Belly of Nas replies like a beast, "Ha, let's put success to the side/I'd still be this fly if I worked at Popeye's/That's a whole lotta spinach, whole game full of gimmicks/Make a fool out of yourself for a post on Akademiks/We are not the same, I am a alien/Hovering over your city, shutting down all the stadiums/Wiping out everything in my radius/Don't play with us, y'all ain't made enough." And then there's X, "Start applying the pressure, give a dog a bone/I'm taking half, it's just that simple/Or I can start poppin' n####s like pimples/I'ma let you call it, you ballin'/'Til you get hit with them hot things, now you're staggerin' and fallin'". It hasn't been this much Murda since Jay and D ruled with Ja. Now who let the 'Dogs Out' with a crack collaboration with another Carter, Lil' Wayne? Swizz Beatz that's who! Who right after 'Money, Money, Money' with more cash in Moneybagg Yo, brings Alicia Keys for a long awaited collabo in 'Hold Me Down'. The most beautiful track on this 'Exodus' for a Romeo who has finally come back in one piece to Queen Aaliyah.

U2 can get it too as Bono assists on the acoustic 'Skyscrapers' that takes this rappers range higher than the clouds as X marks the spot up there like a helicopter pad. "Reach for the sky", you'll find the best like X there. 'Hood Blues' is a classic posse cut storyteller from the man who used to work as many wonders like this as he did deals with the devil ('Damien') or powerful prayers to God for a man who was 'Ready To Meet Him' from the Far East string beginnings of the King of New York from Yonkers. The first Def Jam from the 'Grand Champ' since 2003 sounds like classic Simmons. How's it going down? Well, how about dog for dog as the Snoop Dogg bone sharing 'Take Control' samples Motown's very own Marvin Gaye for some real hood 'Sexual Healing'. When you get that feeling, I can tell you this is the cut that will take control when you need some lovin'. Wake up, wake up, wake up. Get up, get up, get up. 'Walking In The Rain' with Nas talking about Denzel Washington playing him in a movie with CG is the Def pairs real 'Belly' reunion and the best walk on water since Earl told you he was 'Slippin'' as he gets up here ("Look here, I grew up with the thing, hard living/Found out the source of the pain God givin'/He left me with no shelter in the rain/But I learned to stay dry, so it wasn't in vain/Every time you go through somethin', there's somethin' to gain/And you only truly suffer if you remain the same (Come on).") . That is until in his exit he writes a 'Letter To My Son' with Usher ("I can't give you yesterday, but I can learn from my mistakes") and Brian King Joseph and then puts his hand together for one, last storied 'Prayer' that will move even more than a Kanye West Sunday service. In the name of Jesus, "may we be heard and understood, from the suburbs to the good." Amen. Here's to a hip hop founding father. Devoting, "Dear son, I look in your eyes, I see my own/You look in my eyes, you see my throne/As many times I tried to talk to you, explain to you/See it didn't mean a thing to you/Love you, but right now I wanna bite you/I wanna give you a hug, but I might bite you/Be a man about it, we can admit when we're wrong," with powerful poignancy. And for anyone going through it with their old man, or youngest...pick up the phone. Because you never know. It all seems like not that long ago. Memories of Shaq, the late, great, still can't believe he's gone too, Kobe Bryant and the Lakers jumping around and singing "y'all gon' make me lose my mind" to DMX's 'Party Up' anthem, raining champagne in the Philly locker room after winning the 2001 Finals. College years. I was insecure. Laced with anxiety. Didn't know my place. Then my best man George Garner introduced me to rap whose rhythm I owe my writing career to. It lit a fire under me. He did. He wouldn't let me leave the record store without buying DMX's albums. Purpose. Rest peacefully Earl Simmons. The passion of hip-hop. The soundtrack to our coming of age. The true definition of someone who kept it real. A street poet who honoured God in his work. Thank you for the memories. Here's to one last one. A classic cover of black and white album artwork, this is the perfect portrait. Named after and just like his son or the interlude of beautiful family memories, Earl Simmons' Exodus forever is a father's legacy left in his wake. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Playlist Picks: 'That's My Dog (Feat. The LOX and Swizz Beatz)' , 'Bath Salts (Feat. Jay-Z and Nas)', 'Hold Me Down (Feat. Alicia Keys)'.