Old School Friday: Criminal Minded

Thembi Ford 18 September 2009 5 Comments

DMX is the most gettin-arrestedest Negro in music, so when I saw the theme “Criminal Minded,” he came to mind immediately. It’s so easy to make fun of ol’ Earl Simmons, or really anyone who’s been arrested so many times that even he admits he lost count, but I really feel for the guy. His drug problem, manic depression, and childhood of abuse and foster care create an all-too-common trifecta of risk factors for a life in and out of lockup. Not only that, but DMX is just weird. He barks, stares intensely, says crazy things, and has the most unique baby mama drama – perhaps because he was married at the time, DMX alleged that the mother of his lovechild raped him. Hmmm, ok. And don’t even get me to talking about Belly.

DMX finished his most recent stint in the big house this past April and will participate in the Def Jam Records tribute at the VH-1 Hip Hop Awards on October 13th. It’s been easy to forget that DMX is the #5 among the best-selling hip-hop artists with 30 million units sold, but when you think about it DJ’s throw on DMX all the time and everybody jams. I wanted to post “Ruff Ryders Anthem Remix” but I got tired of searching for an embeddable version, so I’m settling for the first time I noticed DMX – 1997’s “Money Power Respect.” The anthem still sounds good!

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5 Comments »

pjazzypar said:

Hey Thembi, I enjoy DMX, good choice. I went with rappers too

# 18 September 2009 at 10:20 am

Regina said:

I love DMX – well at least back then I did! when I first heard that voice it was over.
That is definitely a very complex dude, sure one of the best rappers in the game. His concert was one of my top 5 concerts of all time! I think he has the strangest relationship with God ever, some of his prayers are deeper and more compelling than some preachers and then he turns back in to DMX!!! He is definitely the Jekyll & Hyde of hip hop!

Great pick! I was going to go with rappers but than I thought that was too easy, in most minds rappers and criminals is synonymous!

# 18 September 2009 at 1:24 pm

Dara said:

you know i used to love me some dmx. he was my main squeeze from 1997-1999. his performance in belly was just short of perfection.

# 18 September 2009 at 2:24 pm

mignon said:

dmx does get arrested more than any Negro I know, lol. how do i sign up to be a part of the official old school friday participants?

# 18 September 2009 at 4:36 pm

PPR_Scribe said:

DMX certainly does have a voice on him—like rubbing the wrong way on crushed velvet. I had not idea he had served time *that* many times. At what point does the “3 strikes” deal kick in? I commented elsewhere on OSF how unfortunate it is that so many talented people cannot manage their demons.

I went with a slightly take on OSF (well, for all but 1 of my choices). But as I was thinking about this slant to it, I was surprised at how many artists I could come up with who have records.

# 18 September 2009 at 7:02 pm

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THROWBACK POST!!

Police Sketches of Black Dudes

By Thembi Ford on September 26, 2007

Police sketch artist drawings of black people are notoriously poor and rarely look like anyone in particular. I’m convinced that when asked to describe the suspect, witnesses just describe the last black male they saw, even if they last saw a black male on television. So I did a little Thembi-style experiment by going online and digging up dozens of sketches of black suspects to see just who the strong arm of the law is looking for.

Posted in Not Racist Cuz It's True., Our Shame, What the Eff?, Yipes! | 21 Responses

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