Flesh Of My Flesh Blood Of My Blood [PA] - DMX

.../> THE RUFF RYDERS ALBUMS: FLESH OF MY FLESH, BLOOD OF MY BLOOD

_The DMX Album Collection - Part III_


Author: DJ_primo


'''Published by DJ_primo for DIJEH inc. / Works of Art '''

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'''INTRODUCTION'''

Welcome Ciao readers to _part III_ of my DMX album series, ...
...1998'''. Therefore, '''Flesh of My Flesh Blood of My Blood''' is the sophomore album by DMX, the horrocore rapper who hails from the Yonkers, downtown in New York. '''Flesh of My Flesh Blood of My Blood''' was a popular album by DMX and it reached No. 1 in the U.S Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Consequently this record enhanced DMX's glory in the East Coast territory of the rap industry where DMX gained more popularity with his mainstream fans.
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THE RUFF RYDERS ALBUMS: FLESH OF MY FLESH, BLOOD OF MY BLOOD

The DMX Album Collection - Part III

Author: DJ_primo

Published by DJ_primo for DIJEH inc. / Works of Art

******************************************************************** *** *****

INTRODUCTION

Welcome Ciao readers to part III of my DMX album series, where my review shall centre on 'FLESH OF MY FLESH BLOOD OF MY BLOOD'. This was the record that DMX dropped in December 1998 as his follow up to his debut album, It's Dark and Hell Is Hot, released in May 1998. Therefore, Flesh of My Flesh Blood of My Blood is the sophomore album by DMX, the horrocore rapper who hails from the Yonkers, downtown in New York. Flesh of My Flesh Blood of My Blood was a popular album by DMX and it reached No. 1 in the U.S Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Consequently this record enhanced DMX's glory in the East Coast territory of the rap industry where DMX gained more popularity with his mainstream fans.

Well, DMX terrified the living daylights out of me like a bloodthirsty werewolf when he introduced me to his scary hardcore vibe on It's Dark and Hell Is Hot. This album is his most aesthetic record to date, due to the fantastic lyrics and gothic production in many of its classic songs that created a Dark storyline. DMX's refreshing style of rapping provided a new balance of dog barking, introspection and subject matter about violence that contributed to the magnificence of his frightening character. In addition, DMX is highly religious and sometimes he speaks to God and Satan in pious fashion through his music whilst showing tremendous agitation and emotion. Thus, DMX was a new kind of rapper emerging from the hot lava like Satan from Hell, lighting up the Dark atmosphere with fire burning in his eyes! This was a compelling factor that made 'It's Dark and Hell Is Hot' album more than welcoming to the eardrums of many rap listeners including myself.

After making a successful debut album in the dark atmosphere of May, DMX slept in his frightful bloodbath before waking up in December in the same year. That was when the gory rap artist fulfilled his agenda to release his sophomore album, 'Flesh of My Flesh Blood of My Blood', hoping to unleash his devastating charisma. He came out of the darkness and stepped into the light, soaking wet in bright red blood, according to the disturbing images on the album's inside cover. One of his objectives was to eat an umpire of rivalry rappers in the rap game like a hungry monster and drink their blood like a vampire. He aimed to bring absolute madness and terror against evil, materialistic rappers whose wackiness about cars, gold, jewellery and money brought the Hip-Hop industry down into darkness. So he briefly descended to HELL to record Bring Your Whole Crew and Blackout for his sophomore album, devilishly rapping in potent fashion over hardcore instrumentation.

DMX had other important goals to deliver whilst recording 'Flesh of My Flesh Blood of My Blood'. His other objectives included making introspective music to express how much love he has for his companions (i.e. "dogs") and stress the meaning off his life in his own perspective. So DMX briefly ascended to HEAVEN where he recorded majestic songs like Slippin' and Dogs For Life like angelic creations with saintly music productions. Whenever the rapper needed to pray or ask for the forgiveness of his sins through a convocation, he recorded Ready To Meet Him in the most heavenly fashion.

My reasons for buying DMX's 'Flesh of My Flesh Blood of My Blood' mostly stem from the astounding quality of the album's lead single, Slippin'. When I watched the video for this song on MTV Base, I discovered that DMX's approach to his delivery was gentle, emotional and peaceful. Along with DMX's contribution of emotional rapping to Slippin', the production of this song served a calm combination of vocals and instrumentals to my eardrums in ethereal tones. Slippin' was a rather unusual kind of spiritual music coming from a psychotic, hardcore rapper like DMX who is better known for his intense anger on the microphone. The song lacks the general ferocity that makes DMX an exciting performer to me, but nevertheless, the beautiful melody and DMX's introspective subject matter make it very timeless. I even felt a spiritual connection with DMX through the heart and soul of his rhymes and this is what made Slippin' really special to me. Knowing already that Slippin' is an excellent track on Flesh of My Flesh Blood of My Blood, I went about checking out other songs from this album. I was hoping to find tasty tracks that would satisfy my appetite for good quality beats and make me feel bloodthirsty and hungry to hear DMX's raw-meat delivery.

In this review, I shall be conducting a Holy Communion service with reference to describing the lyrics and production of each track in religious fashion. This is where I will also give a description of the guest performers on the album like a vicar as I talk about that bloodthirsty rapper, DMX. So as I hear the wonderful sounds of gongs in church bells, let's make a musical entrance through the delightful doors of DMX's sophomore album and experience the songs.

WHAT I EXPERIENCED

Greetings Ciao readers for attending the holy ceremony in memory that DMX Christ died for us on his second album called 'FLESH OF MY FLESH BLOOD OF MY BLOOD'. Now that you readers are comfortably seated in church and ready to repent your sins, listen carefully as I preach like a vicar in support of Christianity….

In October 2002, I first purchased DMX's second album CD, from HMV, approximately four months after I acquired the first album from this grisly emcee. I played 16 official tracks on the album and certain ones like Dogs For Life carried musical instruments so beautiful that I thought of it as a useful hymn.

There are a number of tracks like It's All Good where DMX committed sin and nearly allowed the devil to win but when DMX recorded Slippin, the devil lost. That's when DMX successfully defeated The Omen with the help of the Lord God and so once more he felt holy again and as a hardcore survivor, he lives in glory. This remarkable event inspired me to feel heavenly and believe that the Kingdom of God is magnificent as DMX spiritually sees it. After I listened to DMX give holy messages on Ready To Meet Him, I felt like evil spirits were exorcised and cleansed from my body.

The Church service of my Flesh of My Flesh Blood of My Blood review now begins as I play the hymns (music tracks).

1. MY NI**AS ---- Skit (1:27 min)

The church service kicks off in Ruff Ryders style as I read the verses of the opening track, under the heading, MY NI**AS. The track commences with DMX praying to himself like some kind of mad Catholic or church fanatic staring at the holy cross. He emphasises his commitment to NI**AS who are loyal to him and visualises for a moment that he will Ryde or die with them. During the intercession, I can hear somebody whispering ' .…Ruff Ryders….' and ' ….Ryde or die….' in the background and with that in the equation, DMX's prayer is tailored to perfection.

After the intercessory prayer, Swizz Beatz ( real name: Kaseem Dean ) starts the symphony for Ruff Ryders Productions in spiritual mode. The spiritual tone of the production is largely due to unusual synthesisers that are atmospheric in sound, eerily waving around like ghosts in a windy weather. Interestingly, I find the synthesisers very catchy as they constantly drizzle on my eardrums like right rain, gently falling from Stratus clouds in misty grey conditions. Swizz Beatz complements his synthesisers with a combination of slow drums and mellow percussion. My Lord, it sounds like Swizz Beatz is the background percussionist, while DMX is the foreground artist, performing at the altar in a Modern Catholic Church.

Technically for DMX, My Ni**as is officially supposed to be the hardcore rapper's introductory track (or Intro) ahead of the next 15 tracks on his sophomore album.

Rating: 8/10

2. BRING YOUR WHOLE CREW (3:40 min)

Ciao readers please pick up your hymn service books and turn to track two as I prepare to play the first hymn, 'BRING YOUR WHOLE CREW'….

As I enter Bring Your Whole Crew, the strong winds relent and the atmospheric conditions get cloudier and darker in preparation for a horrific event involving DMX. Within three seconds of this song, DMX immediately cries ' ….AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!….' in agony along with the usual shout of ' ….c'mon….'. Personally, it appears to me that he is reacting to a crime that he seriously committed and obviously has something to feel guilty about. Initially, DMX stresses that nobody hears what he has to say in his story, regarding the nasty display of his attitude against his rivalry CREW of black men. Nevertheless he suddenly raps with a dangerous flow and vicious tone of voice on the microphone, unleashing his monstrous charisma like some deranged psychopath.

In the first verse, DMX openly confesses ' ….I got blood on my hands….', suggesting that he killed someone but feels ' ….there's no remorse….' for his murderous ways. The sheer horror of the DMX's confession gets even more heinous as I hear about his dangerous action of having ' ….f*cked a corpse….'. Apparently, DMX sexually attacked the victim whom he so brutally killed and consequently his pen*s is soaked in blood. The gory nature of this wicked activity reflects DMX's image as a ' ….nasty ni**a….' who instils fear into his enemies when they look into his evil eyes. I suspect that the enemies whom DMX are referring to are the CREW of greedy rappers who flash their jewellery and money in front of his angry face. Thus, whenever any materialistic rapper looks into DMX'' psychotic eyes, they are staring into the face of danger and are ' ….ready to die….'. By Lucifer, DMX is so crazy about preying on his enemies, that he is a thirsty creature, desperate to drink their blood like a vampire.

DMX continues to get bloodthirsty in his lyrical delivery as he declares to ' ….bring beef to ni**az and string them out like spaghetti….'. At this very moment, DMX sounds hungry like a carnivorous monster, ravenous to eat a WHOLE CREW of rappers who are delicious, raw meat to him. These are all the observations that I made as I listened to the wonderful Bring Your Whole Crew song with careful inspection. My goodness, DMX sounds so ruthless in his delivery that it actually makes this track very exciting and appetising for my eardrums. Bring Your Whole Crew therefore guarantees a high replay value from me and it is one of the tracks that I often listen to.

But DMX's interesting hunger and subject matter are not the only reasons why I find this track exciting, boys and girls. The presence of PK ( real name: Anthony Fields a.k.a. P Killer ) as the horrocore producer serves to bring the signature anger out of DMX's scintillating, hardcore performance. PK constructs a gothic production of cinematic violins and haunting bass lines in the background. This potent production theme fits DMX's furious delivery and vicious rhyme schemes like Lego bricks. It feels like P Killer was in HELL, cooking his instrumental like Gordon Ramsay, using a black cauldron of red-hot lava with ni**as' blood as the essential ingredient.

Apart from these horrifying details about PK, the producer spits a chorus in terrifying fashion to supplement DMX's frightening lyrics. PK adds his vocals to the song and carefully tailors it to sound like a ghoul while expressing how much hunger he has for his enemies' flesh. As he sits in the darkness playing the haunting violin symphony like a ghastly musician, he utters:

[PK - chorus]
' ….I just love when a ni**a bring his whole crew
It's just a bigger piece of cake for me to chew a hole thru….'

Rating: 10/10

3. PAC MAN (Skit) (0:56 min)

(Not a music track)

It's time for me to read the passage under the track heading - PAC MAN, so all you Ciao members in your Church seats listen carefully….

As I paid close attention to track 3, I heard DMX apparently having a discussion with another man about a particular male person nicknamed PAC MAN. The man spotted Pac Man in the distance, somewhere in the streets and pointed out, saying " Yo right there" in the presence of DMX himself. DMX turned around, saw the guy he was looking for and started calling out, " Yo Pacman, yo Pacman" and the sound of his voice caught Pac Man's attention.

DMX and PAC MAN have a conversation about which of themselves have the most authority to make money as an emcee representing a certain location of their neighbourhood. Pac Man accuses DMX of smelling ' ….like a New York ni**a….', declaring that no rap artist from N. Y. is going to take over the hood he grew up in. DMX asserts his authority, stating that he was also born in the same neighbourhood projects as Pac Man, particularly in the block (high-rise flats). The interaction between Pac Man and DMX transpires into a heated argument as the two men fight for their right to the location of their native environment in USA. The situation of course gets ugly, ultimately ending with DMX firing a gun shot to Pac Man and resulting in Pac Man getting seriously wounded.

As my eardrums caught the sound of Pac Man dropping dead on the ground, following the single round of a damaging bullet, these were DMX's final words:

[DMX]
' Ride or die motherf*cker'

And now Ciao readers it's time to sing our fourth hymn - Ain't No Way.

Rating: Not applicable

4. AIN'T NO WAY (4:49 min)

Please stand from your seats. Turn to song number 4 in the hymn service book, so that we can sing AIN'T NO WAY together, combining our vocal display in the process….

The track commences with Swizz Beatz playing an introductory combination of bass-driven melody and soft percussion for his production scheme like an easygoing musician. This introductory instrumental takes place for about 12 seconds and during this phase, the Ruff Ryders producer establishes a spiritual link with DMX by ad-libbing a few words. Then after 12 seconds, the official phase of the musical beats, commences with DMX delivering a scintillating chorus that enhances the replay value of Ain't No Way.

The first thing that I noticed about Swizz Beatz' instrumental was how wonderful it sounded to my eardrums with its beautiful assortment of musical elements. It encompasses a creative mix of soprano bass lines, soft background bass and highly discrete percussion claps that reflects the best of Swizz Beatz as a producer. The keyboard bass lines persist throughout the Ain't No Way song and are aesthetic, sounding as if they were played by an organist with a passion for music. They enable the production to proceed gracefully and at a steady pace with a variety of amplitudes that I find very catchy and attention grabbing to me. The keyboard bass also provides a relaxing atmosphere to the track, encouraging me to chill out with a glass of refreshing blood or sacred wine.

Lyrically, Ain't No Way find's DMX directly following up his play in the Pac Man skit on track 3. Thus, in the first verse, DMX delivers his subject matter about how no other Hip-Hop performer is going to stop him from being a famous rap artist in town. In short, the Ruff Ryders rapper stresses to his rivals, ' ….ain't no way ya gonna stop my flow….' or ' ….ain't no way ya gonna stop my shine….'. He delivers these lines whilst spitting the chorus for the song. In addition to verse one, DMX comes up with a combination of scintillating lyrics and barking delivery that confirm his unique identity as the dog rapper:

[DMX - 1st verse]
' ….have you forgotten what it means when a dog shows his teeth?
Let me break it down for you he's about to attack you….'

DMX spits lyrics that are mostly monosyllabic and simplistic but the manner, in which he executes his flow to deliver these rhymes, entertains me as a rap listener. This applies especially to the third verse where DMX lyrically attacks rappers for abandoning their mic skills in favour for materialistic possessions like gigantic cars. Sometimes as I listen to verse three, it makes me wonder whether DMX is playing the role of a preacher like Jesus Christ speaking against wealthy sinners. Hell, I will even postulate that this Ruff Ryder was trying to rescue Hip Hop from corruption and commercial possessions like a saviour when he recorded Ain't No Way.

Personally, I think the biggest strength about DMX on Ain't No Way is his singing display in the hook where his vocals are in fine tune with the production. DMX's hook is spectacular and quite catchy to my eardrums and this alone guarantees the track replay value. Another strong point about DMX on Ain't No Way is how the hardcore rapper utilises his tone of voice to sound charismatic over the microphone. DMX doesn't show any anger or sound paranoid like a mad hatter, but I can't deny that his easy-going, rap-talk flow is highly catchy to me. In addition, DMX's slow delivery and verbal flow blends well with Swizz Beatz' smooth instrumental, drawing my attention towards the music track.

No that we have finished the hymn, Ain't No Way''' let us kneel down and pray for DMX in church.'''

Rating: 8/10

5. WE DON'T GIVE A F*CK (4:07 min)

As I preach about WE DON'T GIVE A F*CK, I discover that DMX returns to his anger phase over a sinister instrumental that provides a depressing atmosphere. Filled with anxiety, asperity, empathy and plenty of honesty, DMX proceeds to reveal issues about his loss of faith in a former friend who double-crossed him. In the first verse, the rapper uses simplistic poetry of monosyllabic rhyming to kick off his subject matter about men breaking their loyalty to other men.

From then on, DMX's lyrical topics start to get personal as he begins to criticise a particular person in verbal fashion for being a traitor. At the end of verse one, DMX is absolutely fuming mad like hot sulphur burning in oxygen with a bright blue flame! In verse three, DMX breathes flames through his nostrils and spits fire like a dragon as he continues to lyrically attack his ex-buddy. The hardcore rapper utters venomous lines like ' ....I never did trust you fa**ot, I'll bust you fa**ot....' using a ferocious and vivacious tone of voice over the microphone.

On this song, DMX is joined by his fellow Ruff Ryder members, Jadakiss ( real name: Jason Philips) and Styles ( real name: David Styles) like Jesus Christ followed by two of his disciples. Jadakiss and Styles are also members of their own little Hip-Hop group, Living off Experience (LOX) or D-block with Sheek included in the trio of rappers.

As I listened to the three rap artists preach about devotion, I could hear a wonderful execution of bass synthesisers, drum snares and violins within the musical production. The hard-hitting bass lines and knocking drums bang aggressively on the foreground while the violins play sadly and softly in the background. These execution of instrumentals by Irv Gotti ( real name: Irving Lorenzo ) and Dat Ni**a Reb ( real name: Richard Wilson ) for Top Dawg Productions grab my attention like the hand of God grasping my mind in blind fashion. I must admit that the instrumental goes well with DMX's sorrowful rhymes like consecrated bread with red wine, much to the credit of the two producers. The beats also showcase Irv Gotti in his prime back in 1998, although in a recent time, I am no fan of this producer and his Murder Inc. roster.

Rating: 8/10

6. KEEP YOUR SH*T THE HARDEST (4:48 min)

In the previous song we learned that We Don't Give A F*ck about our former companions who are no longer righteous, betraying us and sinning against us. Now it's time for us to Keep Our Sh*t The Hardest as we move on to seek new friends we can trust….

On this track Swizz Beatz keeps his performance THE HARDEST with one of his catchiest, fast-paced up-tempo instrumental that is somewhat commercial. His production is also one of his best in my opinion. It carries the typical Ruff Ryders vibe with its traditional street-style drums constantly hitting away with a spectacular array of pleasant wind instruments and radiant bass lines. My eardrums also caught the sound of vocals of individuals screaming "Wooo!" in the background, sounding as if they were excited at watching Jesus perform healing miracles. The voices of "Wooo!" take place during the course of the chorus, particularly when DMX exchanges words (' ….Ni**a come and get it ….') with an unknown individual (' ….Ride and die why ….').

Speaking of the chorus, DMX remains righteous when it comes making his hook sound catchy and marvellous to my eardrums. In short, he definitely keeps his SH*T THE HARDEST in the impressive chorus. Unfortunately however, the rapper fails to make sense in his lyrics as his two verses find him switching between different topics way too often. Furthermore his delivery on Keep Your Sh*t The Hardest is somewhat unusual in that it lacks the typical dog bark or emotional wit that bites my eardrums. Maybe DMX's intention was to freestyle on the mic and show off a new side to his charismatic delivery of simplistic rhyme schemes. But since his verses apparently have no subject matter and make little sense to me, I find that his wordplay is nowhere near as valuable as frankincense.

Rating: 6/10

7. COMING FROM (5:13 min) feat. Mary J. Blige

It's time for me to play the next hymn, a song about where DMX is COMING FROM and what path he will be heading along in his lifetime….

On this track, DMX hires Mary J. Blige as the guest singer to educate us rap listeners about how we prosper from the past to the present. The Ruff Ryders rapper, and R'n'b singer, collaborate together to execute a retrospective subject matter about the deprived environment they came from. In verse one, DMX proceeds to describe everything he has seen whilst growing up in religious fashion over a righteous production created at the holy hands of PK. Feeling emotional, he carries out a retrospection of the nature of his life in general and delivers his personal vision for the future for my attention. Some of the visions that DMX sees through the eyes of God are what he calls ' ….a nightmare….' while his other illusions are ' ….what he has as dreams….'. His only answer to his mental images is ' ….bad as that may seem, I know it's only going to get worse….'. This is what DMX foresees like a soothsayer with plenty of passion staring into aftertime for the attention of myself as the rap. As he continues to give messages in each of his verses in ordained fashion, he stops to ask this question, ' …where you coming from, and where you gotta go?' Christ be to God. Amen.

As I listen to DMX sermonise me about life through his lyrical messages, the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul, Mary J. Blige utilises her vocal talents the chorus in hallowed style. As a singer she performs as Virgin Mary asking DMX as the son of God, ' If I don't know where I'm coming from, where would I go?'.

This time around the producer, PK keeps his instrumental relatively simple with his minimal bass lines and short piano loops that sound hallowed to me. This production also maintains a relaxed atmosphere to the song and this along with DMX's flow is also driven on emotion due to the arrangements of the instruments.

Rating: 7/10

8. IT'S ALL GOOD (4:13 min)

IT'S ALL GOOD is without a doubt, the worst musical track on this album, both from a lyrical and instrumental standpoint. I struggle immensely to listen to It's All Good in full because DMX's disgraceful topics about having sex with women is inexplicable and the production is really horrible. According to my experience of DMX's lyrical content and Swizz Beatz' instrumental, I'd say the rapper and producer where attempting to create a commercial hit full of bare bullsh*t!

For the first nine seconds, the song commences with DMX using a singing-talking delivery as he asks, ' Love my ni**az, but wheres my b*tches?' four times. Holy Christ, whenever I hear those evil words from the rapper, I often skip It's All Good immediately to listen to better quality tracks like The Omen.

The hook is completely dreadful, being among the most disgraceful aspect of the It's All Good song. It finds DMX spitting awful subject matter that is sinful to me as the rap listener. In the chorus, DMX stresses that ' .…It's all good….' and ' …..It's alright….' to ' ….f*ck all day, f*ck all night….'. DMX also rounds off his disastrous hook with the ridiculous, wordplay, ' ….east to the west coast, all my b*tches….' that is infamous for representing cliché, commercial Hip-Hop.

As I read verse one of the track, DMX sells his soul to the devil as he raps evil topics about his lust for b*tches and hoes. He spits ' Yo, chickens is good for plucking, so I;m stickin' b*tches, f*ckin….' in mischievous fashion that in my opinion is outrageous for sounding whack. The horrific display of pathetic wordplay continues with DMX boasting about how he done it all ' ….from mackin' 2 hoes, on a three way….' 'to ' ….Dominican hoes on B day….'. I perceive these rhymes to be the hardcore rappers' ghastliest lyrics through the eyes of the Lord God. With regards to the actual delivery, DMX doesn't sound like a hardcore rapper with the true aggression, soul and emotion that I am more familiar with. His dark, horrocore image is seriously absent through the lame moment of this sh*tty pop-rap track. Hell, the rapper sounds like an imposter or fake DMX trying to be deceptively nice, but working for Satan by sexually targeting loads of women that he calls b*tches.

While DMX's ideas about having ' Flocks of b*tches by the dozens….' is utterly pathetic, Swizz Beatz' generic instrumental lowers the quality of the music track. The producer concocts a lousy, pop-influenced melody that is based on a sample from Taana Gardner's 1981 hit song - Heartbeat and it sounds cheap and nasty on my eardrums. Production-wise, It's All Good also sounds similar, to the disgraceful, unspectacular dancehall tune, Here Comes The Hotstepper that the overrated Ini Kamoze released in 1994. In addition, the production fails to fit with DMX's flow and execution of rhymes.

Overall, everything about this track is not ALL GOOD, it is ALL BAD!!!! This track is a sign of evil and I urge everyone to avoid singing the chorus of this It's All Good hymn as it may summon the devil. For according to the holy portent and prophecy of Jesus Christ, it brings a wicked treachery that casts a dark moment in the Hip-Hop industry.

Rating: 0/10

9. THE OMEN (4:56 min)

Swizz Beatz directs THE OMEN for Ruff Ryders Productions, starring DMX, Marylin Manson, Dr Kravitz (a woman), Lucifer (the grim reaper) and a Man (Damien as the devil)

Readers please turn to page 666 in your bible as we settle in the cold, dark atmosphere and struggle to see the written text about THE OMEN with a dim candle. The horrocore story resumes at track 9 as the true DMX comes back in a troubled state of mind, attempting to eradicate the false DMX from track 8.…

Once upon a time in The Omen, DMX lied unconscious in a stretcher and soon died as his mother, Dr. Kravitz stood over his body and cried in agony. Worried about the fate of her son, Dr Kravitz sensed dangerous prospects of Lucifer arriving in the main lobby with mischievous thoughts about permanently taking DMX away. She looked up to the Lord through the ceiling, held the cross to her chest and screamed in anguish,

[Woman]
' ….Oh God. He's gone take him from us. I hear him comin, I hear him comin, no I hear him comin comin!….'

But despite the woman desperately asking God to save DMX, Lucifer successfully snatched the dead rapper in an event of madness like the grim reaper from the darkness. Lucifer greeted DMX's body like his Christmas present and said ' ….Hmm……him, him, him, him…… what's this?…..' during the terrifying moment of the The Omen track. Amidst the devilish voice of Lucifer in the opener of The Omen song, I heard the sound of an electrocardiogram. I assumed that the electrocardiogram was attached to the body of DMX, who eventually stopped breathing with his heart no longer beating.

After that the woman screams, the scene transcends to temporary silence, following the disappearance of DMX in the presence of Lucifer's vanishing act of d'evils.

Swizz Beatz starts off his production gently but in splendid fashion. He crafts a dark, ghostly sound like he was setting the scary scene of Halloween in the dark, foggy forests. He follows up this fantastic display of sound effects with deep piano keys and simplistic background drums that play, quietly in a ghoulish way. These musical instruments make the sound of The Omen slow moving like the pace of the snake. The slow pace sets a dark, atmospheric event and horrific place for DMX, Marylyn Manson and Damien to engage in their conversations.

Rating: 8/10

10. SLIPPIN' (5:05 min)

Produced by DJ Shok ( real name: Michael Gomez ) for Ruff Ryders Productions

The first and lead single for DMX's sacred Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood' album has already been briefly described in my Introduction section of this review. In the introduction, I focused mainly on DMX's execution of soft delivery over the quality of DJ Shok's heavenly production.

To all you readers sitting on the pews, for more details about this magnificent song, along with its excellent subject matter, visit my separate review on DMX's Slippin. This music review will be published later, in another church service to be organised sometime in December. Peace.

Rating: ++10/10

11. NO LOVE 4 ME (4:00 min)

It's time for me to put my preaching aside to make another official complaint in church about a rather lame musical track on DMX's sophomore album. As I wear my spectacle to read about track 11 in the bible, I grumble about NO LOVE 4 ME, the second musical debacle that I find unacceptable....

I honestly cannot understand how 'No Love 4 Me' became DMX's second and final single after Slippin when there are plenty other better tracks on this album. In my opinion Dog For Life and Flesh of My Flesh Blood of my Blood should have been hot favourites for singles due to their brilliant execution of instrumentals. Compared to those creative songs, No Love 4 Me is rubbish due to an unimpressive production, unimaginative hook and uncreative collaboration between DMX and Drag-on. In short, the track is dull, lame and stupid and should have been left for Drag-on's album projects.

While I struggled to pay attention to DMX's uninspiring performance, the presence of a dull verse from Drag-on ( real name: Melvin Smalls ) added further distress to my experience of hearing this song. He sounds half-asleep and lazy in his delivery, being a fake emcee and all washed up like a bucket of water was thrown over his head to wake him up.

The uncreative tune provided by Swizz Beatz carries a repetitive construction of guitar notes, drums and bass. The beat just drags on and on like Drag-on's boring deliveries until it has me feeling weary like the sleeping beauty.

Okay let's forget about this garbage track and resume with the church service so that we can skip to the next hymn, Dogs 4 Life.

Rating: 2/10

12. DOGS FOR LIFE (5:31 min)

Produced by Dame Grease ( real name: Damon Blackmon ) for Vacant Lot Productions

Rating: 9/10

13. BLACKOUT (5:00 min) feat. LOX & Jay Z

May I ask all of you people in church to kneel down and BLACKOUT your vision by closing your eyes to listen as I read about passage 13…?

DMX hooks up with his fellow Ruff Ryders members, the LOX, comprising Jadakiss, Sheek and Styles and the Roca-fella rapper Brooklyn hustler, Jay Z. DMX together with his army of guest soldiers, proceed to attack random rappers in the rap game with braggadocio lines just like he did on Ni**az Done Started Somethin'.

Jadakiss, Sheek ( real name: Shawn Jacobs ) and Styles lyrically deliver their verses first, second and third respectively. Jadakiss as usual shines as the BEST and most aesthetic member of the trio of LOX rappers with artistic, monosyllabic street poetry like:

[Jadakiss]
' Yo, I used to have bad luck
Now you might see me in a Jag truck
Mad stuck either with a dime or a bad duck….'

Jay Z ( real name: Shawn Carter ) snatches the fourth verse. Unfortunately his commercial topics about being ' ….surrounded by 6's and hummers….' is weak and his lyrics somewhat hovers around mediocrity. As usual in this kind of collaboration, DMX raps the fifth and final verse, displaying his wrathful tone of powerful voice over the microphone. In this context, BLACKOUT is similar to Ni**az Done Started Somethin from DMX's first album, 'It's Dark and Hell Is Hot'. Therefore, I sometimes think of Blackout as Ni**az Done Started Somethin Part II . The only exception to this rule is that DMX has hired Jay Z as a guest substitute for Mase.

The production by Swizz Beatz is pretty nice on my eardrums, being built on accurate arrangement of crispy percussion, delicate keyboard bass and persistent synthesisers. It bestows the late 1990s Ruff Ryders feel upon me and although commercial, it is compatible with the hardcore flows of all five emcees, even Jay Z.

Like DMX said at the end of the final verse, my overall assessment of the Blackout song is ' ….It's dark and I LOVE IT!….'

Okay everyone, you can open your eyes and rise from your church pews to receive the FLESH and BODY of DMX as we go to the next track.

Rating: 8/10

14. FLESH OF MY FLESH, BLOOD OF MY BLOOD (4:32 min)

Produced by Swizz Beatz for Ruff Ryders Productions

As we get up from our pews and walk the isle, towards the Altar, let us receive the FLESH and BLOOD of DMX in remembrance that he is sanctified and died making music for us. We eat his body in the form of consecrated bread and drink his blood in the form of holy wine that is burgundy red….

The energy that DMX brings to his delivery of lyrics over the mic is absolutely emphatic like God of power and might. Hell, I will even say that DMX recorded this track while having a street fight with villains, using might of his fists like Mike Tyson.

Flesh of My Flesh Blood of My Blood comes into the equation of passionate tracks driven on anger and power that will always activate my attention.

Rating: 10/10

15. HEAT (4:07 min)

HEAT finds DMX storytelling about crime. Beat-wise, the track has a movie-like, hardcore feel to it and lyrically, it is actually a sequel to ATF on DMX's debut album. I therefore regard this hardcore track as ATF part II.

Although DMX's subject matter and ability to rhyme his words into a story line is nice, his delivery over the microphone is rather lazy. Swizz Beatz' production is not particularly groundbreaking or special either and it can make me rather sleepy in front of the computer screen. I could also be falling asleep in Church listening to the beat on Heat, leaving my body, mind and soul feeling cold.

Rating: 6/10

16. READY TO MEET HIM (16 min)

Once more after committing crime on Heat, the hardcore artist prays to God for forgiveness on READY TO MEET HIM.....

….after this, DMX continues his convocation with the Lord, asking questions about his sins and looking for the best answers to rectify them. He executes this event by means of playing a split personality, communicating between himself as the emotional one and pretending to be God as the spiritual one. DMX performs this hallowed act, passionately and vigorously over a holy production scheme, just like he did on the Convo track on his first rap album. The hardcore rap artist flows over Swizz Beatz' instrumentals that are driven on pious human vocals and have the spacious feel of a modern Methodist Church. The drum snares pound away like the sound of a heartbeat in the body of Jesus Christ, who rose from the dead in the underground. The church organs are deeply blessed, highly pitched and very pleasing to me. They form the apex of the beats, bringing up my feeling of the song like Jesus rising to heaven and seating in the right hand of his father.

Ladies and gentlemen, I have foreseen from DMX's lyricism and creative rhythm of the Swizz Beatz' production that Ready To Meet Him is Convo, Part II. When I listened to DMX's rhymes on like Ready To Meet Him, I felt holy in mind and the voice of an angel.

As we bow our heads and stare into the Blackout through our closed eyes, my final words about this music track are:

Peace to God, his son Jesus and believer in them, DMX the glorified rapper

Okay, DMX now that you are READY TO MEET HIM, go in peace to love and serve the Lord in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Rating: 9/10

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, I consider 'FLESH OF MY FLESH BLOOD OF MY BLOOD' to be one of the better selections of DMX albums in my Ruff Ryders collection. Overall it's not as magnificent as It's Dark and Hell Is Hot but definitely more potent than DMX's more recent albums like the awful 'Grand Champ'.

I consider Flesh of My Flesh Blood of My Blood to be DMX's third best album and I would recommend it to any rap listener. So here is my advice to anyone who enjoys bumping any old records from Ruff Ryders, listen to the best tracks on DMX's album. In doing so, you receive the BLOOD and BODY of DMX in remembrance that he fought the presence of the OMEN to show love for all us people. According to DMX's gospel rap with the assistance Mary J. Blige and penitence on Ready To Meet Him he asks you to repent of your sins. You know ' ....where I'm comin from….' Ciao readers?

Yo, I'm out! This Church service is over for real.

I Thank you all for attending the Holy Communion.

Amen

FOR THE RECORD

I bought the 'FLESH OF MY FLESH BLOOD OF MY BLOOD' album at a price of £16 and 99 pence (£16.99) from HMV in Oxford Street.

I wandered into the HMV store, dressed as one of Jesus' poor disciples amidst rich shoppers wearing expensive clothing. Thus, I didn't have any money but an ancient bottle of holy red wine and bits of bread that represented Jesus' blood and body respectively. Yeah, I wasn't a modern customer into technology but I was definitely an antiquated, hallowed type of shopper.

I offered 16 cups of red wine (Jesus Christ's blood) and 99 pieces of consecrated bread (Jesus Christ's body) in exchange for the rap album costing £16.99. The HMV sales assistant was glad to accept the sacrifice of Jesus' FLESH and BLOOD feeling blessed with the pleasant taste of wine and bread. This was how I acquired DMX's sophomore album - 'Flesh of My Flesh Blood of My Blood. Yo, that's my word. Christ be to God!

APPENDIX

Best beats: BRING YOUR WHOLE CREW, AIN'T NO WAY, DOGS 4 LIFE, SLIPPIN', FLESH OF MY FLESH, BLOOD OF MY BLOOD

Worst beats: IT'S ALL GOOD

Best hook: SLIPPIN', FLESH OF MY FLESH, BLOOD OF MY BLOOD

Worst hook: IT'S ALL GOOD

Overall rating for album: 7/10

Total marks = 99, 14 music tracks * 10 = 140

99/140 = 7/10 = 3.5/10 = 4/5 = 4 stars 

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