DMX 
And Then There Was X (Def Jam)
Rating: 5 out of 7
By Kim Osorio

     No other rapper exerts quite as much energy as Def Jam heavyweight DMX. With his adrenaline-pumped hip-hop anthems, Yonkers-native DMX has taken the hip-hop industry by storm. His third album And Then There Was X comes only one year after his highly-anticipated second album Flesh Of My Flesh..., which came only six months after his multi-platinum debut It's Dark And Hell Is Hot. Yet DMX remains on the cutting edge of rap.
     The first single ÒWhat's My Name?Ó shows the power of the Ruff Ryder-frontman. He keeps his voice and character consistent with his last contributions, and the Swizz Beats-produced tracks back up his rhymes with more of that same energetic flavor. On ÒWhat Y'all Bitches Want,Ó X flips the script on the females, shouting out over 40 girls' names. His rough-edged lyrics and spit-fire delivery will leave his ÒdogsÓ foaming at the mouth for more. Though X is backed by one of hip-hop's most prominent crews (the Ruff Ryders), the platinum pitbull proves he can hold his own and then some.

DMX: All recordings courtesy of Island/Def Jam and Boomer X Publishing/Ruff-Ryders-Dead Game Publishing (ASCAP).  ÒWhatÕs My NameÓ written by E. Simmons, I. Lorenzo and E. Hinson.  ÒOne More Road To CrossÓ written by E. Simmons and K. Dean.  ÒHere We Go AgainÓ written by E. Simmons, M. Gomez.