Today in Hip-Hop — October 23: DMX’s The Great Depression Turns 25, the Fourth Straight No. 1

October 23, 2001. Ruff Ryders and Def Jam drop The Great Depression, DMX’s fourth album, and it turns 25 today. It moved 440,000 copies in its first week and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. That made four No. 1 debuts in four tries. Here’s the receipt people forget: X produced the opener “Sometimes” and “The Prayer IV” himself, and he has co-production credits on “Bloodline Anthem” and “When I’m Nothing.” The Dog was building his own beats in the middle of a run of No. 1s.

The Fourth Straight Number One

Some context on the streak. It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot and Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood both landed at No. 1 in 1998, seven months apart. …And Then There Was X made it three in December 1999, carried by “Party Up (Up in Here).” The Great Depression was the fourth, and Grand Champ made it five in 2003. DMX became the first artist whose first five albums all debuted at No. 1. The Ringer called that a height few have reached since.

The credits show how the sound was shifting. Swizz Beatz is still on board, but he’s down to two tracks, “You Could Be Blind” and “A Minute for Your Son.” Dame Grease is back from the early Ruff Ryders days with “School Street,” “Trina Moe” and “Shorty Was Da Bomb.” Black Key did both early singles, “We Right Here” (out August 14) and the roll-call anthem “Who We Be” (out September 25). Just Blaze gets one beat, “I’ma Bang,” six weeks after his work on Jay-Z’s The Blueprint came out. Then the album turns soft. Stephanie Mills sings on “When I’m Nothing,” and Faith Evans is on “I Miss You,” the third single. “The Prayer IV” keeps the ritual going, and the title tells you it’s the fourth chapter of X’s prayer series.

Critics said it didn’t hit as hard as the first three. Fans heard a grown man carrying the same weight with a little more quiet in the room. Both of those are true, and the album still went straight to the top.

We made a DMX It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot tee for the album where the streak started. Wear it today for the fourth link in the chain.

Also Today in Hip-Hop

• 2001: Dilated Peoples, Expansion Team (25 years). It came out on Capitol the same Tuesday as X. The liner notes on Alchemist’s “Worst Comes to Worst” credit William Bell’s “I Forgot to Be Your Lover” and Mobb Deep’s “Survival of the Fittest,” and Guru adds vocals. It reached No. 29 in the UK. DJ Premier produced and cut “Clockwork,” which is built on Stetsasonic’s “DBC Let the Music Play,” so an LA crew was flipping Brooklyn’s hip-hop band. Questlove produced “War,” and Black Thought is on “Hard Hitters.”
• 2007: Little Brother, Getback (19 years). This was the first album after the split with 9th Wonder, who has one beat on it (“Breakin’ My Heart” with Lil Wayne). Phonte leaked it to Okayplayer himself, eleven days before release day.
• 2015: DJ Khaled, I Changed a Lot (11 years). His eighth album debuted at No. 12. The lead single, “They Don’t Love You No More,” put Jay-Z, Meek Mill, Rick Ross and French Montana on one record. That’s the posse-cut playbook in a single track.

Stay creative — The Custom Creative Team

Jon Jones