How did DMX fall off a cliff so fast with popularity?

[kingjones29]

How was he irrelevant after 3 years when he was still going number first week 5 years into his career? He didn't fall to number 2 in first week sales until 2006. He just wasn't as big as he was from 1998-2001, but he was still a huge artist.

There's a big difference between not being as big and being irrelevant. That's a reach.

He fell off by 2003 he was not a top tier rapper anymore

 

[FreshAIG]

He fell off by 2003 he was not a top tier rapper anymore

It was not that many people over him. He wasn't number 1 by any means but he was arguably top 5.

 

[papertrail08]

Jay Z dont sound nowhere near as he did over the last 15 years. The song with Alicia Keys was the last real untouchable hit he had...

Holy Grail?

 

[The Intergalactic Koala]

• Dated flow
• More street hits for the core audience than mainstream hits
• Ruff Ryders collapsing
• Drugs dictating his entire style
• The south influence on hip hop overshadowing the east coast movement
• The Great Depression being depressing to listen to (I actually liked TGD btw)
• Grand Champ being stirred fried buttcrack

All of these factors along with his debut album coming at the right time and that was it. Listening to IDAHIH over his other work is almost night and day. His debut was needed in a pandemic of "big willies" and "pop shyt", along with the fact that the album felt surreal and aged like wine. I can easily play his first jawn over his third album which aged like dried marinated shyt

 

[King Poetic]

1. Drugs

2. women and kids

which led him showing up to the studio and where his people was forced to apologize to Jet Li and directors for showing up late cause he was out fukking and drinking

 

[papertrail08]

He started doing movies and there was nothing on Great Depression that matched up with What These B*tches Want and Party Up. Plus the album was underwhelming.

Him going in and out of jail also didn't help either.

 

[DOGGFATHER96]

Its dark and hell is hot 1998- 4.8 million sold
flesh of my flesh blood of my blood 1998- 3.5 million sold
and then there was X 1999- 4.9 million sold
the great depression 2001- 1.8 million sold
Grand Champ 2003- 1.2 million sold

I could have swore the great depression sold like 4- 5 million until I looked it up, but he was done as a top selling rapper already in 2001. How did he go from going selling 5 million to never selling over 2 million again that quickly?

I thought great depression sold 3 mil and then there was x sold 6mil?

 

[DarkandHellisHot]

1. Drugs

2. women and kids

which led him showing up to the studio and where his people was forced to apologize to Jet Li and directors for showing up late cause he was out fukking and drinking

His work ethic was non existent. Got times he go to play with rc cars and didnt show up to record from some movie he was doing lmao even for one of the video clips, he didnt want to finish it at the same day (?) He as angry with the producer too lol i think it was the "X gon give it to ya" but not sure. Never at time for studio sessions etc etc.. and the drugs didnt help too. And after his grandma died, i think it was even worse

 

[fallback]

DMX had a 5 year run as a top artist. 1998-2003. That's a great run.

But he definitely took a drop in popularity and it was explained: Drugs, Movies taking him away from the music

But another factor that many don't bring up, X didn't do the "collaborate with who's popular to stay relevant" thing that artists do when they're not the "Hot" rapper at the moment. What Jay and Drake do is collaborate with a lot of the upcoming artists, so they're always in the loop of what's happening. You can tell X be in his own world. X wasn't quick to do songs with nikkas who was hot between 2003-2006 during his slowing down phase. And it hurt his longevity.

Him and 50's careers kinda parallel musically. 50 got bigger than DMX was at his height, but X lasted longer. Both came out red hot, and then had a noticeable drop in popularity. 50's drop was just steeper. X had 3 albums before you noticed a drop 5x platinum (Then There Was X) to 2x platinum (Grand Champ). Where 50 went from 6x platinum to 1x platinum after his second album.

would've been interesting to see him do songs with Ross, Jeezy, Lil Jon, T.I. etc in that era

 

[R=G]

• Dated flow
• More street hits for the core audience than mainstream hits
• Ruff Ryders collapsing
• Drugs dictating his entire style
• The south influence on hip hop overshadowing the east coast movement
• The Great Depression being depressing to listen to (I actually liked TGD btw)
• Grand Champ being stirred fried buttcrack

All of these factors along with his debut album coming at the right time and that was it. Listening to IDAHIH over his other work is almost night and day. His debut was needed in a pandemic of "big willies" and "pop shyt", along with the fact that the album felt surreal and aged like wine. I can easily play his first jawn over his third album which aged like dried marinated shyt

Dated flow? How's that current flow though because it mostly sounds like garbage...all around.

 

[Stick Up Kid]

DMX never adjusted, tweaked, evolved, or improved his style at all. There was no way he wasn't gonna fall off quickly. Jay either kept switching shyt stylistically up or working with different producers/rappers so he could attract different audiences.

Aka d1ckrode whoever was hot at the time

From Dipset to Kanye, to Beyoncé etc

 

[Cloud McFly]

Aka d1ckrode whoever was hot at the time

From Dipset to Kanye, to Beyoncé etc

So Nas was doing the same thing when he worked with the likes of Missy, Lil Jon, Kanye, Chris Brown, The Game, and Lil Nas X, or does that logic only apply to Hov?

 

[DANJ!]

So Nas was doing the same thing when he worked with the likes of Missy, Lil Jon, Kanye, Chris Brown, The Game, and Lil Nas X, or does that logic only apply to Hov?

...and Puffy, and Jermaine Dupri, and Lauryn, and Timbaland, and Foxy, and...

 

[A Tribe Called Quest ™]

So Nas was doing the same thing when he worked with the likes of Missy, Lil Jon, Kanye, Chris Brown, The Game, and Lil Nas X, or does that logic only apply to Hov?

@Stick Up Kid respond to this

 

[bordeaux]

kinda crazy to think he was attempting singles like this in 2006. he was still relevant in the early to mid 2000's but not really cool to the younger generation. i guess when u take pirating into account his sales werent that bad. he'd already built a fanbase. w/ better reception he possibly couldve hovered around platinum for a couple more albums.