DMX is 100% right...It is not about image, lyrics or whatever...It ALL comes down to DELIVERY...
If you have a good delivery people will buy into the image, and they will give your lyrics more meaning than what you actually intended...
For example, you listen to a song like New York State Of Mind...It is not like Nas is spitting some Biblically Epic lyrics like Canibus...It is just simple lyrics, but the way he is delivering it, is effective...
Anybody can right dope lyrics, all you need is Yahoo Jokes and your Thesaurus...But a dope delivery isn't as easy to master...