Columbia subsidiary Ruffhouse signed him to a deal the following year and released his debut single, вЂњBorn Loser.вЂќ However, a surplus of talent on the Ruffhouse roster left DMX underpromoted, and the label agreed to release him from his contract.ДMXВ began to rebuild his career with an appearance on one ofВ DJ Clue?вЂ™s underground mixtapes. He made a name for himself on the freestyle battle scene and was written up in The Source magazineвЂ™s Unsigned Hype column in 1991. He found his saving grace in Hip Hop, starting out as a DJ and human beatbox, and later moved into rapping for a greater share of the spotlight, taking his name from the DMX digital drum machine (though itвЂ™s also been reinterpreted to mean вЂњDark Man XвЂќ). A troubled and abusive childhood turned him violent, and he spent a great deal of time living in group homes and surviving on the streets via robbery, which led to several run-ins with the law. He moved with part of his family to the New York City suburb of Yonkers while still a young child. The results were compelling enough to make DMX the first artist ever to have his first five albums enter the charts at number one.ДMX was born Earl Simmons in Baltimore, Maryland, on December 18, 1970. He could move from spiritual anguish one minute to a narrative about the sins of the streets the next, yet keep it all part of the same complex character, sort of like a Hip Hop Johnny Cash. Plus, there was substance behind the style much of his work was tied together by a fascination with the split between the sacred and the profane. Everything about DMX was unremittingly intense, from his muscular, tattooed physique to his gruff, barking delivery, which made a perfect match for his trademark lyrical obsession with dogs.

His rapid ascent to stardom was actually almost a decade in the making, which gave him a chance to develop the theatrical image that made him one of rapвЂ™s most distinctive personalities during his heyday. He was that rare commodity: a commercial powerhouse with artistic and street credibility to spare. Ranking DMXвЂ™s Albums: Following the deaths of Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G., DMX took over as the undisputed reigning king of hardcore rap.

Dmx albums list