In a rough, rugged voice, one of the most unique in rap history, DMX painted his songs with brutal lines about his troubled upbringing and the effects it had on him as an adult. Over his three decades in hip-hop, he amassed millions of fans who gravitated to his vulnerability and filmic storytelling. The lauded rapper’s tribulations often took the forefront, but paired evenly with them were X’s words of faith.
One thing about DMX is that he always nurtured his relationship with God. Though he embraced the darkness, he often thanked the man upstairs for providing a light for him to follow out of it. As he became one of the most successful rappers in the world during his peak, the fallen legend, whose death at the age of 50 was announced today (April 9), recognized that the divine creator purposely amplified his voice to feed the people principal messages. And that’s exactly what he did on each album and song he delivered.
On “Ready to Meet Him,” featured on The Dog’s 1998 sophomore album, Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood, he encourages his listeners to stay up through the low moments. “No matter how hard it rains, withstand the pain,” he spits prophetically. Likewise, his therapy session on wax “Slippin’,” on the same project, finds X offering words on knowing that there’s always a purpose in having life, even if it isn’t visible. “See, to live is to suffer but to survive/Well, that’s to find meaning in the suffering,” the Yonkers, N.Y.-bred MC notes. True words.
Though today DMX’s passing has been revealed, his message will live on through the expressions he left throughout his celebrated platinum-selling albums—many of which went No. 1 on the Billboard 200—and hundreds of songs. In light of his legacy, XXL highlights DMX’s most inspirational lyrics from his songs that can be applied on a daily basis. Long live DMX. The message shall never fade.
See DMX’s Most Inspirational Lyrics
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