It's Dark & Hell Is Hot [Box set, Limited Edition]

DMX | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 19, 1998)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Box set, Limited Edition
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Def Jam
• ASIN: B000006O64
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (347 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #394,231 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Intro

2. Ruff Ryders' Anthem

3. Fuckin' Wit' D

4. Storm (Skit)

5. Look Thru My Eyes

6. Get at Me Dog

7. Let Me Fly

8. X-Is Coming

9. Damien

10. How's It Goin' Down

11. Crime Story

12. Stop Being Greedy

13. ATF

14. For My Dogs

15. I Can Feel It

16. Prayer (Skit)

17. The Convo

18. Niggaz Done Started Something

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars DMX - An Instant Classic, August 10, 2001

By 

Jeff LeBlanc (Center Moriches, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: It's Dark & Hell Is Hot (Audio CD)

The first time I picked this CD up was at my friends house over 2 years' ago. I'd never even heard of DMX, but I wanted to give it a chance, like I give all music. That night I walked out a changed guy. Later that week I made a stop at the store and picked up the best CD I ever bought. Every track is a masterpiece, from the intro, to the finely tuned skits. One by one, Earl Simmons created a conditioned work of art that cannot be topped. The "Ruff Ryders' Anthem" is an urban classic, with a raw sound and beat that still bangs in parties and clubs today. Another hit, "Get At Me Dog" is another rough, and urban sound, which can get anyone's adrenaline soaring. Important messages are detailed throughout songs such as "Damien", which has some of the most well constructed lyrics I've ever come accross. Other tracks such as "Stop Being Greedy" and "ATF" relect on DMX's past street life, which can grab your attention and never let go. Softer cuts such as "How's It Goin' Down", "The Convo", and the infamous "Prayer" show DMX's softer side, and take away some of the anger and angst that is heard throughout all of the other tracks. This will forever remain a classic in the hip hop industry. It re-opened numerous doors for the east coast rap business, and hip-hop in general. This is one disc you cannot be without - satisfaction guaranteed.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars DMX's First Album Was His Best Album, April 24, 2006

By 

Kalie A. Gipson (Louisville, KY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: It's Dark & Hell Is Hot (Audio CD)

DMX came on the scene in 1998 with his first album "It's Dark and Hell is Hot". This album still remains one of my favorite hardcore rap albums of all time. DMX came out straight grimey on this one, dropping extreme rhymes over some gritty production. During the same year X dropped "Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood" (which is a great album, but it doesn't quite measure up to this one), "And Then There Was X" in 1999, "The Great Depression" in 2001, and "Grand Champ" in 2003 (by far his worst album to date). Darkman X started to slip after "FOMFBOMB" but never completely fell off. "Here We Go Again" is scheduled to drop sometime in the next 10 years, but an exact release date is uncertain. However, this album remains his best to date, and hasn't been topped by X yet.

The album starts off with an intro. The next track is the widely known "Ruff Ryders Anthem". "Stop, drop, shut em down open up shop, ohhhh, noooo, that's how Ruff Ryders rooollll" When you hear this song you just gotta sing along to it. What more can I say about it? "F*ckin Wit D'" brings X's energy out to the fullest, especially on the hook. If this song doesn't get you hype I don't know what will. His rugged voice matching with his energetic flow is crazy on this one. "Look Thru My Eyes" is a track about why he does what he does. He's telling you to look at where he came from, and see if you wouldn't be exactly like him. "Get At Me Dog" is all about being a killer. "Let Me Fly" is one of the best tracks on here (honestly that doesn't really say much considering most of these tracks are great). It's more of an introspective track, and the chorus is stellar. I found this on repeat often. "X Is Coming" is just straight grimey. The beat is dark and creepy, and X provides some extremely hardcore lyrics. The chorus uses the song that's from A Nightmare on Elm Street (that "One, Two, Freddy's comin' for you" except Freddy is replaced with X). I love it! "Damien" is one of my favorite songs of all time. It's part 1 to a 3-part series, where the second part, entitled The Omen is found on FOMFBOMB, and Damien III is found on And Then There Was X. On this track, X meets Damien (really the devil) and Damien lures him into doing crime and being evil. However, DMX runs into a tight spot by the end of the track. This one is a classic. "How's It Goin Down" switches things up a bit, where X raps to the ladies. It's more mellow than the rest, but the song is tight nonetheless. "Crime Story" is just that, a crime story with a laidback beat and laidback rapping as well. "Stop Being Greedy" is another hardcore track, "ATF" is a shorter, freestyle type track, again about crime. This is fast paced with an intensified flow.

"For My Dogs" is a standout track for me because partially, in a way, I can relate to it. It's about being there for your friends, or "dawgs" as many MC's put it, and to be ready to lay anyone down for messing with them. I'm just like this; nobody better mess with my friends or they're messing with me. I'll lay it all on the line for them which is what this song is about. "I Can Feel It" is another emotional song. It samples Phil Collins' In the Air Tonight, and his lyrics are exceptional. "Prayer" is a VERY emotional skit. DMX has a talk with God on this skit, there's no music, just X spilling out his heart. I'm an atheist myself, but I was almost moved by this skit. It's just powerful. His voice is strong. "The Convo" is another good song. I like the chorus on this one. The lyrics are good too. "Niggas Done Started Somethin" wraps the album up exceptionally.

It's Dark and Hell is Hot is an almost perfect album in my honest opinion. DMX has a nice blend of introspective, hardcore, and emotional tracks, and it doesn't get redundant as some of his later albums did. This is DMX in his rawest form; he never quite reached this level again with his other albums. His lyrics are great throughout the whole album and the production is rugged and dark. Hip Hop needed a hardcore album like this to slow Puffy's Bad Boy bubblegum pop-rap movement down. Don't overlook this album if you don't already have it. It's worth a purchase. Definitely a 5 star classic.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Has one thing his other albums don't have--VARIETY, March 5, 2003

By 

E.J. Rupert (Milwaukee, WI) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: It's Dark & Hell Is Hot (Audio CD)

I can definitely call this album a classic because it shows his versatility ("Stop Being Greedy" and "Damien" finds him rapping in different voices, while "How's It Going Down" is a successful joint for the ladies), his religious manner without being too preachy ("Let Me Fly"), and his energy, of course ("Ruff Ryders Anthem", "Get at Me Dog", "F'n Wit D" and "N'z Done Started Something"). On the latter song, Mase and The Lox guest starred on there to show everyone that they weren't no shiny suit rappers from Bad Boy. DMX also tells good stories on "ATF" and "Crime Story". On every album following this one, all of his songs have too many "What?"'s and "Come On!"'s, too many Swizz beats that derived from Casio, and too many songs that sound like rejects from this album.