DMX Talks Prison, Faith, Sunday Service, and the State of Hip Hop with GQ

Photo courtesy of GQ

In the October issue of GQ, on stands now, famed rapper DMX weighs in on the current state of Hip Hop, his prison experience and much more…check the official line below:

“The standard that I hold myself to is the same: Better than everything I hear…If you don’t give people something incredible to listen to, they’re going to listen to whatever. And I get that.” Embattled rap legend DMX opens up on the current state of music in the October issue of GQ with a Q&A by Mark Anthony Green. “I’m not mad at the fans for enjoying these songs, or the DJs for playing songs they play. I’m not mad at them or the artists that’s winning even though they suck.”

DMX’s life and career has been a series of highs and lows: to this day, he’s the only rapper to have his first five studio albums debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and he is the only living rapper to have two albums go platinum in the same year. He’s also been to jail 30 times, for a myriad of reasons, and was just released from his most recent stint, which saw him living out a quarter of his sentence in solitary confinement. Now at 48 years old, and with 15 children, DMX is ready to reboot his career, again.

“I’d rather make music for people that I come in contact with, people that I can count on. That’s what I make my music for. People in the hood,” he says. “Kendrick is dope. J. Cole. Ya know, lyricists.” Still, DMX doesn’t consider himself a lyricist. He considers himself a poet. Through the rollercoaster of his life and career, he maintains faith has gotten him through. He’s read the bible at least three times. His youngest son is named Exodus. His life philosophy is to not set goals, but to live God’s purpose. So when Kanye West reached out for him to attend Sunday Service, he jumped at the chance. “I wouldn’t call it a church service. There’s no word,” he says. “It’s joyful, which God says to do. We about to make a joyful noise. I enjoyed it. It was moving. I didn’t know what to expect.”

Most of all, as he finishes up his new music, DMX is looking forward to getting back on stage in this new chapter of his life. It’s where he feels most alive. “I end my show with a prayer onstage. And I’d say maybe 65 percent of the time that I get onstage, I’m so emotionally overwhelmed, I just break down. Sometimes it’s leaving the stage, it’s just like, ‘Get me to my dressing room. I don’t want people to see me like this.’ I just take a minute for myself and just, I thank Him, I praise Him. And I’m like, ‘Thank you, thank you.’ I’m like, ‘Who am I to deserve this?’ We all bleed the same blood.”

Check out the full feature, with photos by Awol Erizku, here.

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Tags: #HypeMagazine, DMX, GQ

About the Author

Dr. Jerry Doby Editor-in-Chief of The Hype Magazine, Media and SEO Consultant, Journalist, Ph.D. and retired combat vet. 2023 recipient of The President's Lifetime Achievement Award. Partner at THM Media Group. Member of the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture, the United States Press Agency and ForbesBLK.