#Ruff Ryders

2 items

Video thumbnail — DMX - Party Up (Up In Here) (Enhanced Video, Edited)
Celebrities 1998–2003 peak

DMX

The barking Yonkers growl who crash-landed on the glossy late-90s rap charts like a dog off its chain. Earl Simmons snarled prayers over Swizz Beatz beats, made Ruff Ryders a household name, and opened a #1 movie at the box office. Equal parts menace and open wound, he was hip-hop's most ferocious voice when it needed one most.

Video thumbnail — DMX - Ruff Ryders' Anthem
Music 1998–1999

Ruff Ryders' Anthem

DMX's signature moment wasn't supposed to happen. A 19-year-old producer's first beat sale, nearly rejected by the star himself for sounding "too rock 'n' roll," became one of the most iconic hooks of its era—all "stop, drop, shut 'em down, open up shop" and dirt-bike imagery.