Want to know how dope DMX was in his prime? Check to see how many times he’s featured last on songs with other rappers and then you’ll understand what he was a monster he was back then.
No other rapper was fucking with his energy. There were rappers at the time who had better punchlines, wittier bars, and technical skills, but DMX just had that mic presence that blew them all away. He also had a gift for incorporating melodies into his rhymes which made his songs so appealing to a wider audience. It’s what made him one of the best 90s rappers off of just two albums.
From Mic Geronimo’s “Time to Build” to Cam’ron’s “Pull It” and The LOX’s “Money, Power & Respect,” here are the top 10 best DMX guest verses of all time.
10. Mic Geronimo ft. DMX, Jay-Z & Ja Rule – “Time to Build”
Released: November 28, 1995
Album: The Natural
Producer: Irv Gotti
I'm peeling niggas caps like oranges Hittin' 'em in the head with two-by-four inches I'm a grimy nigga, so I like my bitches cruddy My clothes dirty, dick shitty and my knife bloody I did too much dirt to turn back now I'm the reason my lil' sister's smoking crack now I'd feel guilty if I had a heart, but I don't Could live a carefree life if I stopped killing, but I won't It's in my blood to destroy mankind With every murder, I lose a little more of my damn mind And I ain't got much left to lose, nigga So don't snooze, nigga, I'm killing crews, nigga Just pay your dues, nigga, respect my motherfucking style Or I'll murder your wife and your unborn child This ain't wild, this how niggas living on the street A little something that can't be beat (It's time to build)
9. Aaliyah ft. DMX – “Come Back In One Piece”
Released: March 28, 2000
Album: Ultimate Aaliyah
Producer: Irv Gotti
Baby, I am what I am, I'm gon' be who I be Everything from chasin' a cat to pissin' on a tree Let me see what I gotta to see, do what I gotta to do Dog for life, but keep it true Every once in a while I'll break out the backyard to roam And get reckless, but I still know that home is home And when I get there I'ma sit there Take a shit there, put my dick there Do I handle my business? Shit, yeah I'ma run 'til I bust my gun and empty the clip Then when I come home And gotta go, just give me the whip I ain't got time for the lip, just open the fence Let me go, I'll come back, I ain't got time to convince Ever since I was a pup, I've been stuck with the street shit Keep the heat shit, fuck it, nigga gotta eat shit I pass on a weak shit, if it's out there I want it All at one time, so when it's my time I've done it
8. Ja Rule ft. DMX & Jay-Z – “It’s Murda”
Released: June 1, 1999
Album: Venni Vetti Vecci
Producer: Ty Fyffe & Irv Gotti
They got my back against the building, I'm the villain that's creeping around corners Like, shorty, if you see them niggas creeping around, warn us We might be coming through, gunning through, running through So be careful what you do or the slugs might come to you As long as I can remember, the streets have kept me safe And ever since that time in December, the heat's been in my waist I need the extra set of eyes so I keep my dog with me Doctor says, "Let 'em die," shit, his fucking dog bit me I don't know what's wrong with me, but it seems like since you heard of us Y'all niggas turned into murderers since you couldn't fuck with a third of us But still against me and wanna see me in the box Grillin' me all crazy when you see me and The LOX Leave you red like Foxx, ain't nothing funny about that ICU up in a coma, you ain't coming up out that You hold on for too long and they ain't pulling the plug for you I'll run up in the joint myself and drop another slug on you It's murda, it's murda
7. Cam’ron ft. DMX – “Pull It”
Released: 1998
Album: N/A
Producer: Darrell “Digga” Branch
Uh, Uh, Uh, RRRRRRRRRRRRRR! AAAYYYYOOOOW! Lets get it on baby (what) Cause I'm ready to start Take the locks of the cage cause I'm ready to bark It's the dark And niggas gonna know when it's on From the heart, niggas gonna go when it's on Motherfuckers, mad drugs you know they feelin' it And I'm giving it to niggas, got them thinkin that they stealin it I hear that but don't go near that you better fear that You was the one that had the house with the pool, right? Where it's at? RRRRRRRRRRRRRR! don't make me bite you I used to fuck wit yo' sister don't make me fight you See how I play wit it but stay wit it I'm okay with it I'll do it, but he will be the nigga that they say did it What you don't know is gonna get you fucked up And when you don't owe, it's gonna get you stuck up Niggas want what (what), thats what I thought Dark Man baby, X for short
6. Onyx ft. DMX – “Shut ’em Down”
Released: February 3, 1998
Album: Shut ’Em Down
Producer: Self Service
Aiyyo I bet you this motherfuckin' double barrel'll blast this face Be on the lookout for a basketcase Niggas pumped you up to watch you get beat, had you thinkin' shit is sweet Now you up shit's creek, cause your shit's weak How much is your life worth to someone important, cause I be extortin' Kidnappin' for ransom is some shit that you don't want to get caught in From back in the days of Gorton, niggas was gettin' robbed The guy from Yonkers High stayed on his job, with his own little mob Was it worth goin' back to the Earth so soon? Worth makin my shit go boom 'Til your own doom, fill them graveyards, til there's no room? Fuck you know about a pine box? Money goin out with nine Glocks Autops' between that same nigga, when they pull out spray nine shots Feel like killin' for your crew? I ain't gon' rest, it don't take a whole lot to fill up your vest Then watch your lungs as they spill out your chest You best get on some, act your age shit, you a little kid That run for faces, more niggas get killed like that than a little bit
5. Jay-Z ft. DMX & Ja Rule – “Murdergram”
Released: May 12, 1998
Album: Streets is Watching
Producer: Ty Fyffe
I'm a cruddy nigga, going up raw-dog in dirty bitches And if I get burned, I'm giving that shit to thirty bitches You say you know a nigga like me—guess again, papi I might smile up in your face, but I ain't your friend, papi Jump out the fifteen hundred, like, "Run it!" Niggas don't want it—get it, done it, when I'm blunted However it went down, I made it happen, made it scraping I made it fussing, busting, I made it capping And letting off wasn't nothing new to a nigga Something to do to a nigga, 'cause you's a fool, nigga I know your type—you hype, all up off that fake shit You can't understand why a man would have to take shit Or steal shit, but this is that real shit, niggas kill shit, peel shit I hit you in your head—you won't feel shit! RRRR! Let the dog loose on a niggas ass Find out if the niggas faster than the trigger blast A fucking snake in the truest form Knowing damn well that what I do is wrong, but still, I do it strong Niggas is making movies, so I gots to stop production I need a block to function, and maybe I'll stop destructing The blocks is not for fronting, so let me get that, shorty 'Cause you don't need that shorty—you don't know what to do with that shorty You might as well hit this forty before you hit the floor Another 24—what you want? Money? More? Them niggas did it raw, with no condom You find him saying he sorry he for what he said before I blind him Get the flame out the four-fifth, and there ain't gonna be no more, Riff Dog you on the floor stiff, would have made it to the door if Bullets traveled a lot slower, and you ran a lot faster But they don't, and you can't, so don't think about after 'Cause tomorrow ain't coming, so stop running, 'cause you gon' die like a sucker Murda, motherfucker!
4. The LOX ft. DMX & Lil’ Kim – “Money, Power & Respect”
Released: March 17, 1998
Album: Money, Power, & Respect
Producer: Jay Waxx, Ron “Amen-Ra” Lawrence & Deric “D-Dot” Angelettie
This is a beat that I can freak to, just drop the reels Bless a nigga with the ill, y'all niggas know my skills X in their grills, hit 'em up, split 'em up Wet 'em up and watch 'em come get 'em up Set em' up, when you do dirt, you get dirt Bitch, I'll make your shit hurt, step back like, "I did work" This ain't no fuckin' game, what, you think I'm playin'? 'Til you layin' somewhere in the junkyard decayin' Moms at home prayin' that you comin' home, but you not 'Cause you sittin' up in the trunk, startin' to rot And hell is hot, I know because I'm here now, baby It's goin' down, baby, get the four pound, baby And let off up in a nigga Especially if he think he bigger than my motherfuckin' trigger Dead eye, can I get mine? Is he gone? DMX representin' one time, put us on
3. Mase ft. Puff Daddy, The LOX, DMX & Black Rob – “24 Hrs. to Live”
Released: October 28, 1997
Album: Harlem World
Producer: Nashiem Myrick, Deric “D-Dot” Angelettie & Carlos “6 July” Broady
Twenty-four left until my death So I'm gon' waste a lot of lives but I'll cherish every breath I know exactly where I'm goin' but I'ma send you there first And with the shit that I'll be doin', I'ma send you there worse I've been livin' with a curse and now it's all about to end But before I go, say hello to my little friend But I gots to make it right, reconcile with my mother Try to explain to my son, tell my girl I love her C4 up under the coat, snatch up my dawg Turn like three buildings on Wall Street into a fog Out with a bang, you will remember my name I wanted to live forever, but this wasn't fame
2. Jay-Z ft. DMX – “Money, Cash, Hoes”
Released: November 9, 1998
Album: Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life
Producer: Swizz Beatz
D-M-X and my dogs bite Jigga, my nigga, rhyme all night Thugs for life, one night with this rap shit Let 'em go and I bet they know what'll happen When we clap shit Acting like we owe 'em something Then we show 'em something Talking greasy, I think they found 'em down the road or something (Wooh) Fucking with a mad man in a bad mood Is like fucking with a mad dog that wants mad food And the only thing that's stopping him is you (WHAT!) So the only thing that he'll be dropping is you (WHAT!) Chopping in two (COME ON!) Then he drop it to Clue, and the response from the street: This is one dog that loves raw meat (woo!) But getting back to, just 'cause I, love my niggas I shed blood, for my niggas Let a nigga holla, "where my niggas?" All I'ma hear is "right here my nigga!"
1. LL Cool J featuring Canibus, DMX, Master P, Method Man & Redman – “4, 3, 2, 1”
Released: October 14, 1997
Album: Phenomenon
Producer: Erick Sermon
Stay out the dark, 'cause if I catch you when the sun is down Run it clown, come up off that, or I'm gon' gun it down Run it now, however it's gon' go, it's gon' be that See that, that shit'll finish you, dog, believe that Where we at? Do you value your life as much as your possessions? Don't be a stupid nigga, learn a lesson I'm gon' get you either way, and it's better to live Let me get what's between your sock 'cause it's better to give Than receive, believe what I say when I tell you Don't make me put you somewhere where nobody'll smell you And when the lights is out, they don't come back on This ain't a flick, you ain't gon' come back on, you ain't that strong You knew it was wrong, but you asked for it, baby You's a big nigga, ski mask for it, baby So I can hit you up on Front Street, you think I'm sweet Want heat, one deep, leave him behind, front seat
