DMXs legendary stage presence was unparalleled. Since he passed away, several people close to the late rapper have recalled what it was like to witness X perform during his heyday.
In the first episode of the fourth season of HBOs The Shop, JAY-Z recounts having to follow DMX on stage at a concert.
My fondest memory of DMX is: he improved my stage show, JAY recalled. X is about to go, and Im like, I wanna see … And he goes [growls], and the fucking arena goes crazy. First of all, its deafening, and Im like, Ohhh shit. He has a thing, like an Alize and Hennessy mix, it looks like blood, like hes drinking blood, and hes running back and forth. Halfway through the show, he takes his shirt off and the whole crowd goes wild. Aaaaaah!
Executive producers LeBron James and Maverick Carter laugh along with Hov as he tells the story. But its truly a vulnerable moment to see Jigga candidly discuss having to hit the stage after X, and being worried about it.
Hes going nuts, right? And Im like, Shit. First the guys are going crazy, now the girls are going crazy. And then he gets to the end, and he starts a prayer, JAY continues. And now theyre crying, the whole arena is crying. And then [organizers] are like, OK, now you go.
Hov was referring to a show during the 1999 Hard Knock Life Tour where he and X were both billed as headliners. Irv Gotti, who played a role in both rappers early careers, shared a similar story in a 2018 interview with GQ.
According to Irv, X had a legendary show at the Apollo. He tore that shit down, and he ended with Prayer, and started crying, Gotti recalled. And when he closes with the lines, So if it takes for me to suffer, for my brother to see the light, give me pain til I die, but please, Lord, treat him right, and threw up the X with his arms, there was hood niggas and bitches in there crying. Every motherfucker in the Apollo had the X up with him and they were crying. He was like, I love yall niggas. I love my niggas. Hes telling everyone in the audience I love yall. I was on stage behind him, and I was like, God, man. Thats DMX, man. Artists dont have a connection like that. Hes in your heart. Hes in your fucking heart.
Check out a clip of JAY-Z on The Shop below:
