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DMX Album: “Grand Champ [Japan Bonus Track]”
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Grand Champ [Japan Bonus Track] |
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Release Date:2003-09-22
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Type:Unknown
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Genre:Hip-Hop/Rap, East Coast Rap, Mainstream Rap
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Label:Universal
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Explicit Lyrics:Yes
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UPC:4988005344199
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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 {$Patti LaBelle} that's surprisingly effective and closes the album with magnificent flair (if not for the obligatory bonus track). Yet it's a long road to this sentimental closing run; for every one of the aforementioned highlights, there's at least one, if not two, run-of-the-mill tracks that deserve no more than a couple listens. Not quite the big comeback {$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}. [A Japanese version added a bonus track.] ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
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![DMX Album: “Grand Champ [Japan Bonus Track]”](http://www.rapmusiczone.com/covers_yaD/dmx/2003_170_170_Grand%2520Champ%2520%255BJapan%2520Bonus%2520Track%255D.jpg "DMX Album: “Grand Champ [Japan Bonus Track]”")