DMX – Year Of The Dog… Again

DMX - Year Of The Dog... Again1. Intro
We start off with a short little track. The beat is pretty basic, some lifeless horns added in. DMX is pretty awful here….like really awful. With lines like “I’d be on your dick if my name was no *****….ever”, and then does some little song about Bill Bixby. This was not very good….at all. Wack

2. We In Here(Feat Swizz Beats)
Much better than the intro. Nice heavy horns here with sirens added. DMX raps with the energy that made him famous. The chorus is simple with Swizz doing it. This is pretty good, and reminds me of the beginning of “Grand Champ”. Let us hope that it doesn’t fizzle out. Good track. Good

3. I Run Shit(Feat Big Stan)
Heavy techno type beat here with a lame synth that kicks in every so often. Yea, it’s a Swizz Beats beat, who would’ve guessed? Well, DMX does a good job with the flow, but he’s not saying anything of note. It’s pretty obvious DMX has lost a lot of his hunger for rap, but you can’t fault his flow. The chorus is constant “I RUN SHIT HERE” repeated over & over. It’s way too simple, and quite corny. Big Stan is not that good, but he’s tolerable. It’s weird to hear a rapper who raps in a semi calm matter after hearing DMX spazz all over the track. This was average stuff. Average

4. Come Thru(Move)(Feat Busta Rhymes)
Bad party beat by Swizz. Wow, this is sloppy, and sounds like two robots wrestling. DMX atleast tries, but this beat is death in music form. No one is going to shine on this tripe. Busta’s on the track, but again, who cares? Why can’t these 2 rap over a good beat? Wack stuff. Wack

5. It’s Personal(Feat Styles P & Jadakiss)
Pretty good beat here, it’s hard to describe, but it’s banging. Nice bass on the track. Everyone comes correct here. See, these are the type of tracks that DMX should rap over, also, nice dark piano beats are a good atmosphere for DMX. Good track. Good

6. Baby Motha
Decent slower synth-ish type beat by Swizz, it also has a soul touch. DMX raps about his……of course “Baby Motha”, and how sometimes she can annoy him, and he doesn’t like her, but he has a kid. I like this track. Good

7. Dog Love(Feat Janyce & Amerie)
Lame sappy type beat. This is a radio friendly type track that has been heard a million times in different form. DMX talks about being a street guy, but this girl makes him a total sappy guy, but then talks about shooting someone. This track is sort of weird. It’s well done, but the lyrics are way too bi-polar for my taste. Good enough. Good

8. Wrong Or Right(I’m Tired)(Feat Bzr Royale)
So that’s why DMX has been unmotivated for all these years! He’s just tired! Bzr is a horrible singer. It’s like I’m listening to some loser on Soundclick try to sing over a heavy guitar style beat. DMX does a great job though. These type of heavy bouncy guitar beats fit X really well. Besides this Bzr guy, it’s a good track. Good

9. Give Em What They Want
Constant “Give Em What They Want” sayings in the beginning. That’s a real turn off. Scott Storch beat here, and it’s decent enough, it has an Asian feel to it. The chorus is the same as the beginning, and it’s terrible. DMX does a good job actually. Atleast he kept his crazy type flow, even though his lyrics have become terrible. Besides the chorus, this was actually pretty good. Average(Yes, the chorus is THAT bad)

10. Walk These Dogs(Feat Kashmir)
Good 70’s style beat by Dame Grease, it has a nice bounce and a good mixture of heavy sounds. DMX does a good job here, and Kashmir is a decent female rapper. She’s sort of like Eve-lite, but she doesn’t ruin the track or anything. Good track. Good

11. Blown Away(Feat Jinx & Janyce)
Decent slower type beat, it’s sort of sappy, but it fits X’s voice. DMX talks about growing up, & going to jail. Oh, and nice saxophone’s that kick in. I dig the chorus with Janyce singing. Say what you will about him, but X drags you into these type of tracks. The guy really should be a pastor, because he has so much charisma. Yea, this track is pretty good. Good

12. Goodbye
Really good piano beat here. This track is about all those who died. DMX sings, it’s not that good, but it fits the track. DMX raps about reaching the youth, and about his friend who died of cancer. Really emotional track, and it’s pretty good. Good

13. Life Be My Song
Dame Grease sings a relaxed type beat. It’s pretty good. DMX raps about street life, & surviving. It’s pretty good, and DMX is still one of the most emotional rappers in the game. Pretty good track. Good

14. The Prayer VI
Self explanitory.

15. Lord Give Me A Sign
Pretty good electric guitar type beat by Scott Storch, it also has an eerie feel to it. DMX does a prayer in the beginning, and raps about not letting the devil get to him. I like the singing by DMX in the chorus, because this track isn’t really about singing well, it’s about emotion, and X is great at displaying it. Really good way to end this track. Good

All in all, this gets a Good rating. I don’t know why people ragged on this album. Were there bad tracks? yea, but were there good ones? Yes, and the good outweighed the bad. DMX still gives you 100% here, and even though his lyrics are slipping, it’s his emotion that makes this album good. Cop it if you’re a DMX fan.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.