Following the passing of Earl "DMX" Simmons in 2021, the album experienced a massive, well-deserved surge in popularity, highlighting his enduring legacy and status as a defining figure of 90s and 2000s hip-hop.
The search for a "zip full" of his greatest hits is not merely an act of digital piracy or convenience; it is a quest for an unbroken chain of adrenaline. DMX was not a rapper who relied on radio-friendly crooning or intricate metaphors. His appeal was visceral. A "Best of DMX" playlist serves as a high-octane energy source, stripping away the filler tracks that sometimes bogged down his studio albums. When one listens to the transition from the kennel-club barks of "Intro" on It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot to the abrasive, Swizz Beatz-produced anthem "Ruff Ryders’ Anthem," the listener is reminded that DMX did not make background music. He made foreground music. Compiling his best work highlights the sheer consistency of his run between 1998 and 1999, a period where he released two multi-platinum albums in a single year, a feat that seems impossible in today’s industry. dmx the best of dmx zip full