Who Killed It? Ranking Hip-Hop’s Best Verses: ‘Blackout’ – DMX, The L.O.X. and Jay Z
Welcome to Who Killed It?, our new column where we rank the verses on classic posse cuts from worst to first. For our first go-round, we take a look at DMX‘s song "Blackout" from his 1998 album, Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood, which features DMX rhyming alongside future Ruff Ryders label-mates The L.O.X., as well as long-time rival and fellow Def Jam Records franchise player Jay Z.
Essentially turning the tide in rap and replacing Cristal and shiny suits with pitbulls and construction boots, DMX's debut album, It's Dark and Hell Is Hot, would sell over four million copies domestically and thrust DMX into rap superstardom. But when many other rappers basked in the glory, DMX did the unthinkable and went right back into the studio, coming out with another LP that would equal the success of its predecessor.
Released in December of 1998, roughly seven months after the release of It's Dark and Hell Is Hot, Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood was a massive success, moving a whopping 670,000 copies within a week and locking up the No. 1 slot on the Billboard 200 for three weeks. Tracks like the lead-single, "Slipping," and the cub-ready banger, "No Love 4 Me" were both minor hits, however, it was a track titled "Blackout" that got the most burn among die-hard rap fans.
After first turning heads with his appearances on various posse-cuts on other peoples tracks, it was DMX's turn to play host to a few of the hottest M.C.'s in the game and try to make it out of the kennel as the top dog. We took a trip down memory lane to see who killed this classic free-for-all and who had to settle for runner-up status.
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