Hip-hop heads, did you know that DMX is the only rapper in history to have his first three albums debut at number one on the Billboard Top 200 Chart?







DMX might be a shadow of his former self these days, but hip-hop fans forget just how much of an impact he made when he came out in ’98.

After grinding it out on the streets for years, battling other rappers and making a name for himself, DMX signed to Def Jam and released his debut single, “Get at Me Dog”, arguably one of the greatest hip-hop singles of all time. With the incredible buzz on the streets generated from “Get at Me Dog,” DMX dropped his debut album, It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot, on May 12th 1998.

In an era where hip-hop was dominated by Puffy and his Bad Boy aesthetics, fans were waiting for someone to bring it back to the streets. That someone was DMX and they came out in flocks to cop his shit. It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot debuted at the top of the charts, moving 251,000 units in its first week of sales.

What’s more amazing though is that DMX managed to follow this up with another album in the same year, dropping Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood on December 22nd 1998, a mere six months after his debut. Once again, the album debuted at the top of the charts, moving 670,000 units in its first week of sales.

If that wasn’t enough, DMX decided to drop another album the next year – the multiplatinum seller …And Then There Was X which featured the smash hit “Party Up (Up in Here).” Needless to say, the album debuted at the top of the charts, selling 698,000 copies in the first week. …And Then There Was X went on to sell more than 5 million copies, making it DMX’s best selling album to date.

Even though he’s gone through some rough times recently, DMX has already cemented his legacy as one of Def Jam’s most important artists as well as one of the greatest rappers of all time.