DMX’s passing in April 2021 shook the hip-hop world to its core, especially after seeing him look so jovial in his 2020 Verzuz battle with Snoop Dogg. While the legendary rapper no longer exists on this plane, he left behind his classic discography that has been and will be hailed for generations. Though his first posthumous album Exodus, recorded while X was still alive and executive produced by Swizz Beatz, was shared a month after his passing, for some, namely Funkmaster Flex, it wasn’t enough.
On last week’s Hot 97 radio show (September 1), the DJ challenged Swizz to send him a record from X’s vault. Evidently, Swizz Beatz answered the call as Flex debuted an unreleased Dark Man X record on his Thursday night (September 8) radio show. The song samples Big Daddy Kane’s 1988 record “Ain’t No Half-Steppin'” and features production from Marley Marl.
“Unreleased, we don’t know when it’s coming out,” exclaimed Flex after playing some of the track. Notably, Swizz Beats can be heard on the record saying “When I say ‘DMX,’ y’all say ‘The great.” Rightfully so.
Swizz Beatz has spoken previously on how he wants to handle X’s music that has yet to be released in an interview with The Breakfast Club. “Let’s do something masterful with it. Let’s treat it as art and curate it to where it adds to his legacy and is not just a blip of a moment that seems like it works, but you still don’t understand the whole story.”
Check out the unreleased DMX record via Swizz Beatz and Funk Flex above.
