It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot by DMX

It's Dark and Hell Is Hot, DMX's debut album, hit the streets on May 19, 1998 through Def Jam and Ruff Ryders, after a false start at Columbia had gone nowhere. Dame Grease handles the lion's share of the beats, with PK close behind and Irv Gotti, Lil Rob and Swizz Beatz dropping in, and the whole thing sounds like it was recorded in a basement with the lights off.

X raps like he's trying to rip through the speaker, all growl and menace, and there's real hurt under the snarl; the horror-flick atmosphere earns every bit of that title. It moved 251,000 copies in its first week, "Ruff Ryders' Anthem" became a top-20 pop hit, and "Get at Me Dog", "Stop Being Greedy" and "How's It Goin' Down" kept the pressure on. It's widely held up as a hip-hop classic.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.