Twenty-five years ago today, on October 23, 2001, DMX released The Great Depression, his fourth studio album, through Ruff Ryders and Def Jam. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 440,000 copies sold in its first week, the fourth No. 1 debut of X’s career, per Wikipedia’s album history.
What It Was
X recorded the album between July 2000 and July 2001, and it runs a little over 72 minutes. The production circle stayed close to home: Just Blaze, Dame Grease, Black Key, Swizz Beatz, PK, Kidd Kold and DMX himself. Guests were kept to a minimum, with Stephanie Mills, Faith Evans and Mashonda among the voices on the credits.
The rollout came in three singles. “We Right Here” arrived in August 2001 and reached No. 8 on Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs. “Who We Be” followed in September, peaking at No. 60 on the Hot 100, No. 16 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and No. 10 on Hot Rap Songs. Then “I Miss You” with Faith Evans landed in January 2002.
The Standouts
“Who We Be” is the one everybody remembers: a list of everyday struggles barked over a stripped-down beat, as raw as anything X ever put on wax.
“I Miss You” is the other side of him. The song is dedicated to his grandmother, Mary Ella Holloway, and it peaked at No. 86 on the Hot 100 and No. 37 on the R&B/Hip-Hop chart. Years later, Faith Evans performed at DMX’s homegoing service, which gives the record even more weight now.
Diggers should also hit “When I’m Nothing,” which samples Stephanie Mills’ “Whatcha Gonna Do (with My Lovin’),” and the closer, “A Minute for Your Son,” a nearly 17-minute track.
The Numbers
The album slid to No. 3 in its second week with another 214,000 sold. The RIAA certified it platinum on December 14, 2001, less than two months after release, and by October 2009 it had sold 1,862,000 copies in the U.S. It also went platinum in Canada and gold in the UK. Critics were split, with a Metacritic score of 62.
The Legacy
The Great Depression doesn’t always get mentioned alongside It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot, but it’s the album that proved X’s run of No. 1 debuts wasn’t a fluke, and it’s the most openly vulnerable he’d been at that point. Since DMX passed away in April 2021 at 50, records like “I Miss You” play more like a letter than a single.
Where does The Great Depression rank in your DMX catalog? Let us know.
More from The Archive: 30 Years Ago, Westside Connection Told Hip Hop to ‘Bow Down’.
Sources: Wikipedia: The Great Depression | Wikipedia: I Miss You | REVOLT
