Following the death of legendary rapper DMX, many moved to celebrate his legacy by revisiting his classic discography. Between the years of 1998 and 2003, DMX saw five of his albums — It’s Dark And Hell Is Hot, Flesh Of My Flesh, Blood Of My Blood, …And Then There Was X, The Great Depression, and Grand Champ — reach the number one spot on the Billboard chart.
And while he has indeed had a fair number of hit singles, X never needed to rely on a single song to captivate audiences on a widespread level. Therefore, despite X’s albums dominating on the commercial charts, he’s never quite seen the same results on the Hot 100 singles charts. According to a report from AllHipHop, X’s highest-charting single placement was, until this past week, The LOX’s “Money, Power, & Respect,” on which he and Lil Kim were featured; the title track of The LOX’s 1998 album peaked at #17.
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As it happens, the surge of posthumous streams that tends to occur whenever a beloved artist passes away was enough to push DMX’s “Ruff Ryders Anthem” into the 16th position, thus becoming the highest-charting single of his career. In addition to the It’s Dark & Hell Is Hot fan-favorite, “Party Up” managed to hit the 40th position, with “X Gon Give It To Ya” not far behind at #46. In keeping with tradition, the album on which they were all gathered — The Best Of DMX — managed to lock in the #2 spot on the Billboard charts after moving seventy-eight thousand album-equivalent units.
Though the circumstances around X’s new milestone are unfortunate, it still feels right to see “Ruff Ryders Anthem” holding it down as the highest-charting song of DMX’s career. For many, it’s the song with which he is most affiliated, a daring and original lead single that endures to this day.
Rest in peace to one of the greatest to ever do it. Be sure to revisit the 1998 classic from one of hip-hop’s honest writers right here.
WATCH: DMX – Ruff Ryders Anthem