X Gon' Give It to Ya
A modest 2002 soundtrack cut that became a cultural explosion thirteen years later when Deadpool hijacked it for its entire identity. For one generation it's a 2003 film track; for another, it's the Deadpool song—DMX's snarl reborn for audiences who weren't born for the original run.
"X Gon' Give It to Ya" was released on December 10, 2002, as the lead single from the soundtrack to Cradle 2 the Grave, the action film starring DMX alongside Jet Li. Produced by Shatek, it peaked at a modest number 60 on the Hot 100. For over a decade it stayed what it was: a beloved single in a heavyweight catalog, never mistaken for one of his biggest hits.
Then came Deadpool in 2016. The irreverent Ryan Reynolds action-comedy built its trailers, marketing campaign, and soundtrack around the song—and in doing so, unlocked a second life no one could have predicted in 2002. Sales jumped 403 percent in a single week (26,000 downloads), and streams doubled, climbing to 2.6 million US streams in that week alone. By May 2017 it was certified platinum—and later double platinum—a retroactive recognition that the song had always had more power than the Hot 100 had ever reflected.
For a generation of kids who grew up with Deadpool, "X Gon' Give It to Ya" isn't a 2003 soundtrack cut at all—it's a 2016 song, DMX's snarl introducing him to listeners who weren't even born when the Cradle 2 the Grave soundtrack dropped. It's a reminder that some songs have second lives, waiting in the vault for the moment when the culture catches up to their energy.
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