How did DMX fall off a cliff so fast with popularity?

[Taadow]

eventually rappers gon fall off

A Jay z career is rare

Especially when Jigger Mayne controls your promotion budget - which is part of the answer OP.

plus:

- 2000/2001 was rough years for Rap comparatively
- Def Jam was becoming a Pop label and less hardcore
- Irv focused on his own chit and left X alone

 

[FreshAIG]

He should have worked with more producers outside of the Ruff Ryder camp. X over Premier, Havoc, Prime RZA, DJ Muggs, Pete Rock, Eric Sermon etc would have been bananas.

Plus his drug habit had gotten worse within every release

I always say this. Every freestyle X did over a Havoc or RZA beat was fire. His style matched perfectly with their production.

And even EPMD, two of his best songs are basically remakes of beats they made Get At Me Dog (Get the Bozack) and fukkin Wit D (Rockin For My Hometown)

 

[Mike the Executioner]

I always say this. Every freestyle X did over a Havoc or RZA beat was fire. His style matched perfectly with their production.

And even EPMD, two of his best songs are basically remakes of beats they made Get At Me Dog (Get the Bozack) and fukkin Wit D (Rockin For My Hometown)

Didn't know Erick Sermon got to this sample first.

 

[King Harlem]

Most rappers used to have 4-5 year runs. There's nothing unusual about DMXs decline.
Things are different now, because new rappers don't really become stars (outside of female rappers), so we tend to hold on to older stars because there's nothing to replace them.

 

[FreshAIG]

Didn't know Erick Sermon got to this sample first.

Yeah they used it on K-Solo's first album



I always took it as DMX purposefully trying to outdo Solo on his own beat. He really was that competitive.

 

[gho3st]

Its dark and hell is hot 1998- 4.8 million sold
flesh of my flesh blood of my blood 1998- 3.5 million sold
and then there was X 1999- 4.9 million sold
the great depression 2001- 1.8 million sold
Grand Champ 2003- 1.2 million sold

I could have swore the great depression sold like 4- 5 million until I looked it up, but he was done as a top selling rapper already in 2001. How did he go from going selling 5 million to never selling over 2 million again that quickly?

Bc X music did not Change. It stayed the same. And the drugs made him rap about things nobody cared about

 

[BK The Great]

He was making real music, and they didn’t want push it.

 

[Street Knowledge]

Great Depression is one of the most disappointing rap albums ever

 

[ManBearPig]

He was making real music, and they didn’t want push it.

Lol he was getting pushed what are you talking about.

He he didn't had legal issue and a drug addiction, I'm sure he would have dropped at least 1 more platinum record, 2 or 3 gold ones, movie star, ect

 

[Figaro]

Around 2001 he started to focus more on movies for 3-4 years then music too, you could tell in the quality of the albums.

Besides Will Smith has their ever been a rapper that's been successful in movies & music at the same time?

 

[FreshAIG]

Around 2001 he started to focus more on movies for 3-4 years then music too, you could tell in the quality of the albums.

Besides Will Smith has their ever been a rapper that's been successful in movies & music at the same time?

2Pac

 

[Pazzy]

X decline was bound to happen especially with the way music was going. People was loving all the watered down shyt so much that if his first album came out now, it would flop and be underappreciated

 

[BK The Great]

Lol he was getting pushed what are you talking about.

He he didn't had legal issue and a drug addiction, I'm sure he would have dropped at least 1 more platinum record, 2 or 3 gold ones, movie star, ect

He was not selling as much when Give Me A Sign dropped, matter of fact his reach was getting smaller since that music didn’t really sell at the time.

 

[Cladyclad]

nas 50 & X suffered from declines on all their first 4 albums. Im not talking personal opinion. Im talking consensus views on their albums

These would be the rankings on their first 4 albums

50
1. GRODT
2. Massacre
3. Curtis
4. BISD

DMX
1. Its Dark
2. Flesh
3. And Then There…
4. Great Depression

Nas
1.llmatic
2. IWW
3. I am
4. Nastradamus

All 3 artists albums got slightly worse after each release. Nas bounced back with Stillmatic but then proceeded to do the same shyt again with his next 4 albums

Thats the recipe for falling off dropping b2b albums that were not better than the predecessor

 

[African Peasant]

Great Depression is one of the most disappointing rap albums ever

Nah it was a good album. It just did not have some club singles