Swizz Beatz Explains Why DMX Albums Rarely Had Features

DMX passed away in April of 2021 and tons of rappers paid respect to his influence afterwards. Despite the love many had for his work, he doesn't seem to be all that much of a fan of hip-hop himself. In a new interview reflecting on his legacy, legendary producer Swizz Beats explained why DMX's albums rarely had features. "The reason he didn't like so many features is cause he was just competitive as an artist," Swizz explains. "He only wanted people on his album he was a real big fan of. And mind you, X wasn't a fan of too many rap artists. He was a fan of Earth, Wind & Fire, he was a fan of R&B music."

Very few rappers had the chance to feature on a DMX album. The ones that did were often legends of their era like The LOX, 50 Cent, Styles P, Mase, and Swizz Beatz himself. His posthumously released album Exodus featured some of those artists and many more legends who paid tribute to his influence. Jay-Z, Nas, Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg, and more showed up to tribute the late legend.

Swizz Beatz has been putting in the work to keep DMX's legacy alive. Last month he shared some old clips of the rapper performing various tracks from his classic album It's Dark And Hell Is Hot at the Apollo. Swizz also said in an interview that he thought X may have had something to do with Swizz finding his new prodigy. He's recently taken NY rapper Scar Lip under his wing and credits DMX with some kind of influence over it.

Earlier this year, his most beloved project It's Dark And Hell Is Hot celebrated its 35th birthday. The album was an instant smash that hit number one on the Billboard 200 and spawned the hit song "Ruff Ryders' Anthem." Many fans and fellow rappers alike took the opportunity to shout out the influential project on its birthday. DMX's What do you think of Swizz Beatz's explanation of why DMX didn't have many features? Let us know in the comment section below.

About The Author

Lavender Alexandria is a music and culture journalist based in Los Angeles, California. She’s covered dozens of musical genres and styles from the most mainstream to the most experimental and underground on her blog and accompanying YouTube channel that looks at music, pop culture, and Billboard charts since 2017: Lav’s Music Corner. Lavender has produced editorial and listicle content both in written and video form over the past far years and has also interviewed up-and-coming artists like Censored Dialogue. Her experiences covering culture have taken her from Hyperpop parties in LA to underground rap shows in Atlanta, to DIY punk shows in Charlotte. Lavender has also written for iHeartRadio, covering some of the biggest artists in Hip Hop such as Ice Spice, Drake, Doja Cat and Cardi B. She also has bylines with ScreenRant and continues to write for Ringtone magazine. Lavender is a lifelong Charlotte Hornets fan and her favorite rap artists include Clipping, Little Simz, Earl Sweatshirt, and Kendrick Lamar.

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