What must I go through to show you shit is real?

159. DMX - "Get at Me Dog (Ft. Sheek)" (Def Jam Recordings, 1998)

I vividly remember biking to the Brickyard Mall after school (early dismissal, I think) to buy DMX's first album. It was the last month of 6th grade, I had been playing this CD single non stop for weeks, and it was sweaty as hell out.

DMX seemed at the time like the most intense rapper in the world and, while his public persona has devolved to an insane caricature, you can still hear on this track how his craziness made him appealing in the first place. This works as a party record - because of the beat, because of the chorus, because of his voice - but the lyrics are really damn bleak. Besides the usual gun, crime, and poverty talk, X was always good for some very personal depression. I mean, "I've got a lot of dreams but I ain't really chasin' mine" for example, yeesh. That somehow made this track even more exciting, tho.