DMX has achieved a new career milestone by securing No. 1 song in an unexpected category just days after the four year anniversary of his death.
During a recent interview with Loudwire Nights, guitarist Zoltan Bathory of Five Finger Death Punch discussed details surrounding the release of a deluxe version of the group’s 2022 album Afterlife.
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The project’s lead single, “This Is the Way,” happens to be a fusion of the band’s “Judgement Day” and X’s “The Way It’s Gonna Be.”
“I was always a fan,” Bathory told host Chuck Armstrong.. “Ivan [Moody] loves DMX, so there was always a conversation where we’re like, ‘How cool would it be if we could work with DMX.'”
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Bathory went on to disclose that although the discussion about collaborating with DMX arose nearly six years ago, their schedules never aligned. Then, tragically, in 2021, the “Ruff Ryders’ Anthem” rapper passed away.
“Eventually we got an opportunity with some of [DMX’s] master recordings,” Bathory told the outlet. “We got a green light on that — we can use these verses, these lyrics. So we had the masters and we basically reverse-engineered it. There was music under it, we took off the music and wrote new music and then sort of melded it with our style.”
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The song appears to be what fans have been eagerly anticipating, as this week, Billboard announced that “This Is the Way,” featuring DMX, topped the Hard Rock Digital Song Sales category, securing the No. 1 spot.
The surprising achievement comes just weeks after the Ruff Ryders made a pilgrimage to the late MC’s resting place in Yonkers’ Oakland Cemetery to honor his life.
“You already know what time it is,” a member of the crew said in a video of the visit while pointing his smartphone camera at all the motorbikes and buggies present at the gravesite. “Got the whole pack out here, ya heard? Rest in peace, DMX.”
Some of those in attendance reflected on the legendary rapper’s distinctive position in the music industry and his unwavering authenticity throughout his career.
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“Let’s give it to X because he stayed true to himself and he never sold out,” one person said. “He kept it real till the casket dropped, y’know what I’m saying? You don’t get real cats like that, that represent from the beginning to the end.”
