DMX — It's Dark and Hell Is Hot

A prayer over a Mtume sample. DMX asks for strength and admits he is losing. It sets the tone: this will be a confession, not a party.

Swizz Beatz's breakout beat is all kick, snare and a whistling loop, and DMX was right that it is simple. The lyrics are slogans, the hook is a chant, and it works because simplicity here sounds like a threat. The track became the biggest song on the album and launched Swizz's career. It is repetitive, but repetition is the point: this is a block anthem, not a think piece. The energy is undeniable even if the writing is not.

PK and Dame Grease flip a Johnny Hammond sample into a short, blunt threat. DMX runs through the consequences of crossing him in under two and a half minutes. It is filler by album standards, but it keeps the pressure on.

Rain, thunder, dogs barking. A minute of atmosphere that works as a reset before the album dives deeper.

This is where the album shifts from aggression to despair. DMX describes paranoia, poverty and survival guilt over a PK and Dame Grease beat that lets the words breathe. The verse about watching his friend die is specific and devastating, and the hook asks the listener to understand rather than judge. The writing here is vivid without being theatrical: he names the block, the feeling, the consequences. It is one of the best tracks on the album because it sounds like testimony rather than performance.

Dame Grease samples B. T. Express and builds a loop that sounds like it is already moving. Sheek Louch shows up and matches the energy without stealing the track. DMX's flow here is all momentum: he switches cadences every few bars, barks in the ad-libs, and makes the hook sound like a dare. The beat is minimalist, just drums and a bassline, and it works because DMX fills every gap. This was the first single and it showed what the album could do when it was not trying to be a hit.

A José José sample and a plea for freedom. DMX sounds exhausted here, which makes the track feel earned. The production is softer than most of the album, almost mournful, and the hook is one of the few moments where he sounds like he wants something other than revenge. It is a breather in the middle of the descent, and it works because it does not try to resolve anything.

PK builds a creeping beat and DMX describes assault in language so blunt that it crosses from menace into ugliness. Spin was right to call it a rape fantasy, and the track is hard to defend even in context. The writing is specific in ways that feel gratuitous rather than necessary, and it is the clearest example of the album's refusal to soften anything. It is effective as horror, but it is also the moment where the darkness tips into exploitation.

A conversation with the devil over a Dame Grease beat that samples Stanley Clarke and Bach. This is the centerpiece of the album, the track that makes the title literal. DMX frames temptation as a friend who knows exactly what to say, and the writing is specific: the devil offers a gun, a plan, an escape. The back-and-forth structure makes it feel like a short film, and the production builds dread without ever releasing it. The hook is just the devil's voice, calm and reasonable. It is one of the best storytelling tracks in nineties rap because it makes the internal argument audible.

The closest thing to a love song on the album, though even this is suspicious and transactional. PK samples The Headhunters and builds a groove that actually swings, and DMX uses the space to describe a relationship that might be real or might be another setup. The writing is paranoid even here: he is asking questions, testing loyalty, waiting for the betrayal. It was the fourth single and it worked because it gave the album a human moment without breaking character. Drake interpolated it on U With Me in 2016 after asking DMX for permission, which shows the track's reach.

A phone conversation, twenty-five seconds. It is setup for Crime Story and it does not need to be longer.

Irv Gotti and Lil Rob sample Edwin Starr and build a narrative track about a robbery gone wrong. The writing is detailed: DMX describes the planning, the execution, the consequences. It is solid storytelling, but it is not essential. The beat is too polished for the rest of the album, and the track feels like it could have been on a different record.

PK and Dame Grease flip a Diana Ross sample into a warning about loyalty and money. The hook is direct, the verses are blunt, and the track works as a thesis statement about trust. It was the second single and it showed that DMX could make a song about principles without softening the edges. The production is sparse, just drums and a loop, and it gives the writing room to land. It is not a highlight, but it is one of the tracks that aged well because the message is still relevant.

Dame Grease builds a tense, minimal beat and DMX describes a raid in under two minutes. It is short, effective, and one of the few tracks where the brevity feels like a strength. Filler by length, but not by execution.

A posse cut with Big Stan, Loose, Kasino and Drag-On over a Dame Grease beat. It sounds like an obligation. The guests are fine, but the track breaks the album's focus, and by this point in the runtime the energy is starting to sag. It is the weakest track in the back half because it does not add anything the album needs.

Dame Grease flips the Phil Collins drum break from In the Air Tonight and builds a track about inevitability and dread. The sample is famous enough that it carries weight, and DMX uses it to describe the feeling that something bad is about to happen. The writing is less specific than the best tracks, more atmosphere than argument, but the production is strong and the hook lands. It is a solid late-album moment that keeps the mood intact.

Another prayer, two and a half minutes. DMX asks for forgiveness and strength, admits he is struggling, and sounds like he means it. It is the longest skit on the album and it earns the time because it reframes the violence as desperation rather than choice.

The counterweight to Damien: a conversation with God over a Dame Grease beat that samples the Bee Gees and interpolates Terri Gibbs. The structure is the same as Damien, but the tone is different. DMX is begging, not listening, and the writing makes it clear that he does not expect an answer. The production is mournful, almost gospel, and the track works because it sounds like the end of the argument. It is one of the best tracks on the album because it makes the desperation feel permanent.

Dame Grease samples Marvin Gaye and brings in The LOX and Mase for a posse cut that closes the album. It is fine. The LOX match the energy, Mase is out of place, and the track is longer than it needs to be. By this point the album has made its case, and the closer feels like a victory lap that does not quite fit. It is not bad, but it is not the ending the album deserves.