DMX faced many hardships throughout his life and he was never scared to talk about them on his records. His pain and honestly helped people resonate with his music and since his passing, a huge hole has been left in the hip-hop world. On Friday, fans were given X’s first posthumous album, Exodus, and it’s clear the artist put his heart and soul into this project prior to his passing. One of the more emotionally driven songs on here is “Hold Me Down” with Alicia Keys, which sees both artists offering inspired performances.
Throughout the song, DMX raps about his life and just how difficult things have been for him. He even talks about God and how the lord can lift him out of despair and to new heights. Meanwhile, Keys delivers soaring vocals on the hook that have a heavenly quality to them. As for the production, heavy drums and beautiful piano lines truly bring the track to a new level.
Let us know what you think of this effort, in the comments below.
Quotable Lyrics:
Everyday it gets darker (Rrr), the road gets longer (Rrr)
My body gets weaker (Rrr), my faith gets stronger (Rrr)
The Devil’s working on me hard, because God loves me (Yeah)
As long as I’m in His graces, it’s gon’ get ugly (Hey)