New York, NY (Top40 Charts) As fans around the world continue to celebrate the life of hip-hop icon DMX, his career-long producer and friend
Swizz Beatz announces today that the legendary rapper's posthumous studio album of all new original material, EXODUS, has been set for release on May 28th via Def Jam Recordings.
Swizz Beatz - executive producer and producer of EXODUS - issued the following statement: "My brother X was one of the most pure and rare souls I've ever met. He lived his life dedicated to his family and music. Most of all, he was generous with his giving and loved his fans beyond measure. This album, X couldn't wait for his fans all around the world to hear and show just how much he valued each and every single person that has supported him unconditionally."
Themes of redemption weave throughout EXODUS, the first Def Jam album by DMX in 18 years, since 2003's Grand Champ. The new album shares its name with DMX's son Exodus Simmons. The album artwork is by original photographer Jonathan Mannion, who captured some of the most iconic images of DMX throughout his career.
DMX continues to hold the unique distinction of being the only artist in history to enter both the Billboard 200 and Top R&B/Hip-Hop charts with #1 debuts for his first five consecutive career albums, starting with his debut It's Dark and Hell Is Hot (May 1998, with "Ruff Ryders Anthem"), then Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood (December 1998), ... And Then There Was X (1999, with "
Party Up (Up In Here)"), The Great Depression (2001, with "
Who We Be"), and Grand Champ (2003, with his definitive anthem, "Where The Hood At?").
As reported in Billboard, Yonkers, New York native DMX (aka Earl Simmons) sold more than 74 million records worldwide in his lifetime, and amassed in excess of 14x-platinum RIAA certifications in the U.S. alone. He was "one of the most memorable MCs of all time," wrote journalist Smokey D. Fontaine, co-author of E.A.R.L.: The Autobiography of DMX (2003). "The only artist who has spent a career inspiring fans around the world to bark and rhyme in loud bursts of manic energy; only then to get them to read, rap, think and cry in private moments of honest thought and introspection. He was a man of faith who proudly and publicly depicted aspects of his life through his prayers. No one in hip-hop has ever done it better. No one has meant more."
