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It's often said that you can't teach an old dog new tricks, and that maxim certainly holds true for the self-professed Grand Champ of canines, DMX, on his album of the same name. For his fifth album in six years, the veteran rapper reprises many of the same themes and motifs that had made his previous efforts so popular among hardcore rap fans and influential among his East Coast peers. As usual, he barks at his unnamed adversaries over hard-hitting Ruff Ryder beats, flexes his rhetorical muscle with his ever-confrontational rhyme style, advocates valor and faith while disdaining materialism, and frames his world within a polarized context, drawing a bold line between "dogs" and "cats." By this point, the scenario should be familiar to those who've followed DMX this far into his career; in many ways, his albums are mirror images of each other, in terms of drama, production, ideology, sequencing, and thankfully, to an extent, quality. However, the initial impact that DMX made with his tremendous and industry-changing debut, It's Dark and Hell Is Hot (1998), lessened with each successive follow-up, and Grand Champ is no exception. It's a well-crafted and thought-out album but feels like a sequel, and as such, it serves its purpose: to satisfy fans and move units. The anthemic lead single, "Where the Hood At," is precisely modeled after previous DMX rallying calls like "Ruff Rider Anthem," "What's My Name?," and "Who We Be." Likewise, "Get It on the Floor" is a trademark Swizz Beatz club-banger -- and a remarkable one at that, perhaps one-upping even "Party Up (Up in Here)." Grand Champ closes sentimentally: "Don't Gotta Go Home" is a fractured-relationship duet with Monica that's prime urban crossover material; "A'Yo Kato" is a heartfelt ode to a lost dog with a shuffling, almost Latin beat by Swizz Beatz; and "Thank You" is a rousing gospel-rap tune featuring Patti LaBelle that's surprisingly effective and closes the album with magnificent flair (if not for the obligatory bonus track). Yet it's a long road to this sentimental closing run; for every one of the aforementioned highlights, there's at least one, if not two, run-of-the-mill tracks that warrant no more than a couple listens. Not quite the big comeback DMX needed at this point in his quietly sagging rap career, Grand Champ regardless has its share of highlights. Longtime fans may decide to drop off at about this point, if they hadn't already, while those content with the usual -- or new to DMX -- should find plenty to savor on Grand Champ.
© Jason Birchmeier /TiVo
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Earl Simmons, ComposerLyricist - Rich Keller, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - DMX, MainArtist - Darryl "Pop" Trotter, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Bashir Fadai, Additional Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2003 The Island Def Jam Music Group
John Parker, ComposerLyricist - Earl Simmons, ComposerLyricist - Rich Keller, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - DMX, MainArtist - Chinky, FeaturedArtist - Dart La, Producer
℗ 2003 The Island Def Jam Music Group
Kasseem Dean, ComposerLyricist - Earl Simmons, ComposerLyricist - Antonio Hardy, ComposerLyricist - Franklin Crum, ComposerLyricist - Rich Keller, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - DMX, MainArtist - Eric Serrano, ComposerLyricist - Darrin Dean, ComposerLyricist - Tuneheadz, Producer - Chach, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2003 The Island Def Jam Music Group
Earl Simmons, ComposerLyricist - Kanye West, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Rich Keller, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Lowman Pauling, ComposerLyricist - DMX, MainArtist - Rob Bass, ComposerLyricist - Chico Spadez, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2003 The Island Def Jam Music Group
Kasseem Dean, ComposerLyricist - Earl Simmons, ComposerLyricist - Swizz Beatz, Producer, FeaturedArtist - Rich Keller, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - WAYNE WELLS, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - DMX, MainArtist - Keith Slattery, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Otto D'Angolo, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2003 The Island Def Jam Music Group
David Styles, ComposerLyricist - Curtis Jackson, ComposerLyricist - Earl Simmons, ComposerLyricist - 50 Cent, FeaturedArtist - DMX, MainArtist - Styles P, FeaturedArtist - Salam Nassar, ComposerLyricist - Dragan "Chach" Cacinovic, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Pat "Pat 'Em Down" Viala, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Salaam Wreck, Producer
℗ 2003 The Island Def Jam Music Group
Earl Simmons, ComposerLyricist - Franklin Crum, ComposerLyricist - Rich Keller, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - DMX, MainArtist - Eriberto Serrano, ComposerLyricist - Tuneheadz, Producer - Dragan "Chach" Cacinovic, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2003 The Island Def Jam Music Group
Thomas McElroy, ComposerLyricist - Jay King, ComposerLyricist - Denzil Foster, ComposerLyricist - Earl Simmons, ComposerLyricist - Adam Kagan, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Syleena Johnson, FeaturedArtist - Black Moses, Producer, Co-Producer - Pat Viala, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Tony Pizarro, Producer, ComposerLyricist - S. Martin, ComposerLyricist - DMX, MainArtist - Drag-On, FeaturedArtist - Infa-Red & Cross, FeaturedArtist - J. Lucien, ComposerLyricist - Shawn Jacobs, ComposerLyricist - S. Green, ComposerLyricist - Melvin Smalls, ComposerLyricist - Sheek, FeaturedArtist - Dragan "Chach" Cacinovic, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Digital One, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2003 The Island Def Jam Music Group
Earl Simmons, ComposerLyricist - Ron Browz, Producer - DMX, MainArtist - Lou Courtney, ComposerLyricist - Ron Turner, ComposerLyricist - Dragan "Chach" Cacinovic, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Richard Balmer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2003 The Island Def Jam Music Group
Jason Phillips, ComposerLyricist - Earl Simmons, ComposerLyricist - Franklin Crum, ComposerLyricist - Eve, FeaturedArtist - Jadakiss, FeaturedArtist - Pat Viala, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - DMX, MainArtist - Eriberto Serrano, ComposerLyricist - Eve Jeffers, ComposerLyricist - Tuneheadz, Producer - Dragan "Chach" Cacinovic, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2003 The Island Def Jam Music Group
Dana Stinson, ComposerLyricist - Earl Simmons, ComposerLyricist - Rockwilder, Producer - Pat Viala, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - DMX, MainArtist
℗ 2003 The Island Def Jam Music Group
Cameron Giles, ComposerLyricist - Earl Simmons, ComposerLyricist - Ernest Wilson, ComposerLyricist - Cam'ron, FeaturedArtist - No I.D., Producer - Ricardo Williams, ComposerLyricist - DMX, MainArtist - Bobby Eaton, ComposerLyricist - Richard Knight, ComposerLyricist - Fred Lavon Bridges, ComposerLyricist - Dragan "Chach" Cacinovic, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Conover, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2003 The Island Def Jam Music Group
Damon Blackman, ComposerLyricist - Earl Simmons, ComposerLyricist - Clarence Reid, ComposerLyricist - Rich Keller, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - DMX, MainArtist - Big Stan, FeaturedArtist - Dennis Joyner, ComposerLyricist - Dame Grease, Producer - Chico Spadez, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2003 The Island Def Jam Music Group
Earl Simmons, ComposerLyricist - George Spivey, ComposerLyricist - Leonard Perry, ComposerLyricist - Katie Davis, ComposerLyricist - DMX, MainArtist - Maldrige Cowart, ComposerLyricist - Dragan "Chach" Cacinovic, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - D.J. Scratch, Producer
℗ 2003 The Island Def Jam Music Group
Kasseem Dean, ComposerLyricist - Earl Simmons, ComposerLyricist - Swizz Beatz, Producer - Rich Keller, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - WAYNE WELLS, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - DMX, MainArtist - Magic, FeaturedArtist - Flyod Massy, ComposerLyricist - Valerie Rangel, ComposerLyricist - Val, FeaturedArtist - Keith Slattery, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Otto D'Angolo, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2003 The Island Def Jam Music Group
Earl Simmons, ComposerLyricist - Marlon Williams, ComposerLyricist - Kevin McCord, ComposerLyricist - Marcel Hall, ComposerLyricist - Patti LaBelle, FeaturedArtist - DMX, Producer, MainArtist - Nemo, Producer - Ron Holden, ComposerLyricist - Niem Washington, ComposerLyricist - Dragan "Chach" Cacinovic, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Conover, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Chico Spadez, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ron H., Producer - Gerald, Victor, & Reggie Flowers, Producer, Additional Producer
℗ 2003 The Island Def Jam Music Group
Earl Simmons, ComposerLyricist - Marlon Williams, ComposerLyricist - Kevin McCord, ComposerLyricist - Marcel Hall, ComposerLyricist - DMX, Producer, MainArtist - Ron Holden, ComposerLyricist - Niem Washington, ComposerLyricist - Dragan "Chach" Cacinovic, Mixer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2003 The Island Def Jam Music Group
Earl Simmons, ComposerLyricist - Brian Stanley, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - DMX, MainArtist - Big Stan, FeaturedArtist - Dennis Joyner, ComposerLyricist - Jermaine Russ, ComposerLyricist - Mac G, Producer
℗ 2003 The Island Def Jam Music Group
Album review
It's often said that you can't teach an old dog new tricks, and that maxim certainly holds true for the self-professed Grand Champ of canines, DMX, on his album of the same name. For his fifth album in six years, the veteran rapper reprises many of the same themes and motifs that had made his previous efforts so popular among hardcore rap fans and influential among his East Coast peers. As usual, he barks at his unnamed adversaries over hard-hitting Ruff Ryder beats, flexes his rhetorical muscle with his ever-confrontational rhyme style, advocates valor and faith while disdaining materialism, and frames his world within a polarized context, drawing a bold line between "dogs" and "cats." By this point, the scenario should be familiar to those who've followed DMX this far into his career; in many ways, his albums are mirror images of each other, in terms of drama, production, ideology, sequencing, and thankfully, to an extent, quality. However, the initial impact that DMX made with his tremendous and industry-changing debut, It's Dark and Hell Is Hot (1998), lessened with each successive follow-up, and Grand Champ is no exception. It's a well-crafted and thought-out album but feels like a sequel, and as such, it serves its purpose: to satisfy fans and move units. The anthemic lead single, "Where the Hood At," is precisely modeled after previous DMX rallying calls like "Ruff Rider Anthem," "What's My Name?," and "Who We Be." Likewise, "Get It on the Floor" is a trademark Swizz Beatz club-banger -- and a remarkable one at that, perhaps one-upping even "Party Up (Up in Here)." Grand Champ closes sentimentally: "Don't Gotta Go Home" is a fractured-relationship duet with Monica that's prime urban crossover material; "A'Yo Kato" is a heartfelt ode to a lost dog with a shuffling, almost Latin beat by Swizz Beatz; and "Thank You" is a rousing gospel-rap tune featuring Patti LaBelle that's surprisingly effective and closes the album with magnificent flair (if not for the obligatory bonus track). Yet it's a long road to this sentimental closing run; for every one of the aforementioned highlights, there's at least one, if not two, run-of-the-mill tracks that warrant no more than a couple listens. Not quite the big comeback DMX needed at this point in his quietly sagging rap career, Grand Champ regardless has its share of highlights. Longtime fans may decide to drop off at about this point, if they hadn't already, while those content with the usual -- or new to DMX -- should find plenty to savor on Grand Champ.
© Jason Birchmeier /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 19 track(s)
- Total length: 01:10:31
- Main artists: DMX
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Def Jam Recordings
- Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap
© 2003 UMG Recordings, Inc. ℗ 2003 UMG Recordings, Inc.
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