Steve 'Flash' JuonThis is a DISPUTED album. You will find “Redemption of the Beast” on all streaming platforms, you will see the late DMX’s face on the cover, and you’ll think it’s an official part of his catalogue. When Earl Simmons was still here to speak his mind though, he was extremely unhappy with this album’s release. In 2015 his manager Montana released this statement: “Seven Arts Entertainment had no right to put out a new album. The only contract DMX had was for Undisputed & that came out two years ago. He don’t have a contract with them to release another album. You can’t just put somebody’s album out without permission.”
“This ain’t no shit that we just put together” is thus an unintentionally comedic statement on the Swizz Beatz produced “56 Bars.” A DMX fan would certainly believe this is what the man intended, not just by the words from his own mouth, but by the sound of the track and his passionate attack on the mic. During his lifetime X was synonymous with a ferocity in his delivery, one he often punctuated with barking and growls, just to let you know how vicious he was as an emcee. There are clues that this album was a blatant cash in by Seven Arts though. One of them is the “remastered” version of “Love That Bitch,” a song that was already a bonus track on “Undisputed.”
Montana: “We don’t even know where he got that picture on the cover from. It boils down to they have no rights to whip out that new album. His contract is over.” It feels more like a Pen & Pixel cover for a No Limit album than proper art for X’s catalogue, minus the typical rhinestone encrusted bling. Just look at it and study it for a moment. You notice the way disparate elements are superimposed over each other while having no spatial relationship whatsoever. That’s actually a fitting metaphor for “Redemption of the Beast.” Songs like “On and On” sound like unfinished ideas that Divine Bars slapped a guitar riff on. It’s a leftover studio session DMX didn’t think worthy of release. Seven Arts disagreed.
The difficult part is that having actual well crafted songs mixed in with the lesser ones muddies the waters. “Where You Been” is classic X. Produced by Dame Grease, the track lifts the same “Dance to the Drummer’s Beat” sample as old school tracks like “Rock the House,” “Dopeman” and “Beats to the Rhyme,” which only enhances the track’s throwback feel. Add in a guest appearance by Philly rapper Freeway and it’s absolutely convincing as genuine authentic bonafide Earl Simmons music.
Dame Grease isn’t infallible though. “We Gonna Make It” is pure cheese from riff to chorus, and a slew of lesser names like Kashmir and Stan Spit aren’t what I came to hear. Not everything Divine Bars does is fallible. “It’s Goin’ Down” hints at the kind of crossover tracks X occasionally squeezed into the quiet storm mix amidst his more fiery bars. It would need a censored version for FM radio, but it certainly wouldn’t be out of character for him to record an alternate take for airplay. The success of any individual track is entirely unpredictable based on the previous cut. Rampage turns in a strong cameo on the aptly named “Solid,” but “I’m Gonna Win” is X trying hard to bark his way through rhyming “shit” with “shit.”
“Redemption of the Beast” is best understood in the context of a man who had an almost unbelievable amount of problems with both drugs and the law during his lifetime. He was possessed by a talent that seemed almost God-given, but possessed by demons that seemed equally devilish. His inability to conquer those demons led to the early demise of a once in a generation talent, but it also lead to albums that only hinted at his past greatness. Even his posthumous “Exodus” with all of its good intentions couldn’t quite recapture the early magic of Earl Simmons. DMX and his manager may have hated this album, and I hate Seven Arts for abusing his trust, but I’m still grateful it exists. There’s enough here to be worth a fan’s time as long as you’re a bit selective.