DMX - Exodus ALBUM REVIEW
I had a reaction to this ready to edit, but I didn’t hit the record button. I’m an idiot.
Posthumous albums walk a fine line. If they’re done well, it’s a tribute to the deceased artist. If it isn’t, it comes off as a shameless cash grab. In 2020, we got some pretty good posthumous albums, even if it did mean we had some tragic losses. Juice WRLD and Pop Smoke each had really good tributes with Legends Never Die and Shoot For the Stars, Aim For the Moon respectively, but 2020’s crown jewel was Mac Miller’s swan songs, Circles. It set a high bar for posthumous releases that I didn’t think could be reached this soon. Tragically, the newest posthumous album comes from DMX, who suddenly passed away last April at the age of 50. This project, Exodus, was mostly finished before his death and the production was mostly handled by his close friend, Swizz Beatz. Unlike DMX’s past projects, there are a bunch of features here. The LOX, Jay-Z, Nas, Lil Wayne, Moneybagg Yo, Alicia Keys, Bono, Griselda, Snoop Dogg, Denaun, Usher, and Brian King Joseph came onto this project, and the sheer amount of features worried me. Either way, reviewing posthumous albums is always tough, so let’s see what we get with Exodus.
Let me be totally honest with you. I’ve been sitting here for five minutes, trying to figure out what to say and how to say it. It pains me to say this because DMX was one of my favorite rappers growing up. I definitely haven’t listened to him as much as I do now, but he was some of my first exposure to the hip-hop genre as a kid and I hold him in a very special place. It pains me to say that X was done dirty on this project. While there are verses where he sounds good, there are just as many where he sounds awful. He doesn’t sound like himself here, and even if it has to do with poor health, it just didn’t sound like him. The biggest thing that cripples the album, though, is the production. Swizz is usually a great producer, but I have no clue what he was going for here. There are even parts on here where his verses don’t even match up with the beats. There are still some good things here, though, like some of the verses and most of the features being pretty great, but they don’t make up for the negative aspects of this project.
While it wasn’t an entirely painful experience, Exodus was pretty disappointing. An overall lack of DMX in general kneecaps the potential of this album in general, especially since it’s a posthumous album. Simply, this album is not good. It really sucks that I have to say that, but it’s just true. R.I.P. Earl Simmons, you deserved so much better.
5/10
Listen here
YouTube Music
Exodus is a Def Jam release.
Posthumous albums walk a fine line. If they’re done well, it’s a tribute to the deceased artist. If it isn’t, it comes off as a shameless cash grab. In 2020, we got some pretty good posthumous albums, even if it did mean we had some tragic losses. Juice WRLD and Pop Smoke each had really good tributes with Legends Never Die and Shoot For the Stars, Aim For the Moon respectively, but 2020’s crown jewel was Mac Miller’s swan songs, Circles. It set a high bar for posthumous releases that I didn’t think could be reached this soon. Tragically, the newest posthumous album comes from DMX, who suddenly passed away last April at the age of 50. This project, Exodus, was mostly finished before his death and the production was mostly handled by his close friend, Swizz Beatz. Unlike DMX’s past projects, there are a bunch of features here. The LOX, Jay-Z, Nas, Lil Wayne, Moneybagg Yo, Alicia Keys, Bono, Griselda, Snoop Dogg, Denaun, Usher, and Brian King Joseph came onto this project, and the sheer amount of features worried me. Either way, reviewing posthumous albums is always tough, so let’s see what we get with Exodus.
Let me be totally honest with you. I’ve been sitting here for five minutes, trying to figure out what to say and how to say it. It pains me to say this because DMX was one of my favorite rappers growing up. I definitely haven’t listened to him as much as I do now, but he was some of my first exposure to the hip-hop genre as a kid and I hold him in a very special place. It pains me to say that X was done dirty on this project. While there are verses where he sounds good, there are just as many where he sounds awful. He doesn’t sound like himself here, and even if it has to do with poor health, it just didn’t sound like him. The biggest thing that cripples the album, though, is the production. Swizz is usually a great producer, but I have no clue what he was going for here. There are even parts on here where his verses don’t even match up with the beats. There are still some good things here, though, like some of the verses and most of the features being pretty great, but they don’t make up for the negative aspects of this project.
While it wasn’t an entirely painful experience, Exodus was pretty disappointing. An overall lack of DMX in general kneecaps the potential of this album in general, especially since it’s a posthumous album. Simply, this album is not good. It really sucks that I have to say that, but it’s just true. R.I.P. Earl Simmons, you deserved so much better.
5/10
Listen here
YouTube Music
Exodus is a Def Jam release.
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