'Great Depression' is one of DMX's best

Grade: B+

In his fourth endeavor titled "The Great Depression," DMX has created a new rap album that can be considered one of his best efforts.

With the usual piece at the beginning titled "Sometimes" and the usual prayer near the end of the album titled "The Prayer IV," DMX has done it again.

Well, he has done it again for rap fans.

If you are not a fan of rap, this album probably isn't for you. With a great deal of curse words and "rap-type" language throughout, it may actually be offensive to some people in some spots.

But, as a rap fan, the new DMX album is a suggested buy.

With 17 original tracks on the album, there is a great deal of music for the money. The music also features great variety, with a number of different beats and tempos throughout the album.

Track three is probably going to be the first hit off of the album, however. It is already getting playtime on some stations. The song is called "Who We Be" and features a repetitious beat. At first I wasn't a fan of the song, but it's one of those songs that definitely grows on you in time, much like "Country Grammer" by Nelly did for most people and "Ugly" by Bubba Sparxx is beginning to for some.

The song before "Who We Be" titled "School Street" is another favorite on X's fourth album. With an addictive beat, the song is catchy from the first listen and may be the best song on the album.

One song that can be a bit deceiving, as far as enjoyable goes, is track 13 titled "I'ma Bang."

The first time the song is played, it is full of energy and enjoyable to listen to. However, after hearing the song three or four times, it becomes repetitious which is fairly uncharacteristic of a DMX song.

Most songs by him are fast pace and move through fluently. This song, however, is very repetitive and is one you might consider tapping the skip button for.

The biggest surprise of the album came with the final track titled "A Minute for Your Son." It has a feel to it that is almost gospel sounding with the backup singers on the song. That's not the surprise. The song is 16 minutes and 55 seconds long. It consists of basically three, maybe four tracks depending how you take hidden tracks -- some featuring DMX himself, some featuring several unlisted artists. A few other artists made appearances on the album, such as Stephanie Mills, Faith Evans, and Mashonda.

Overall DMX's newest album, produced by Def Jam Recordings in conjunction with the Ruff Ryders, is a great album for rap fans.

In fact, if you are considering becoming a rap fan, this might be a great album to start off with. The beats are definitely there and are very prominent in most songs which is one thing rap songs are synonymous for. The lyrics take some getting used to, but are no different than any other album.


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