DMX - Grand Champion - Music Review

When I first put this CD in my player it was early.. real early in the morning and the last thing you want to hear at that time of the day (any time of the day) is some dude yelling "suck my d*ck!" But there it was, multiple times. On "Where the Hood At" he actually says, "since we all here you hold my dick while he sucking it." Now that's a banger but the head stopped nodding when I heard that line.. I know X's music.. was ready for some hardcore shit.. but this was beginning to sound homoerotic. X is all hood; that's what you gotta remember at the break of dawn.

The next song "Dogs Out" is some sick (in a good way) slinky ish that is followed up with a bouncy Swizz Beatz joint that has mayhem on the dancefloor spilled all over it. On the whole, your getting the DMX from the early Ruff Ryder days, not debut classic level, it's somewhere between Flesh of my Flesh and Then There Was X. Standout tracks are the aforementioned "Dogs Out," "Don't Gotta Go Home," "Shot Down," "We're Back," and "We Bout to Blow." Warm enough to make it to the truck. - CG

Track By Track

-- Degrees --	10	20	30	40	50	60	70	80	90	100
1. Dog (Intro)
2. My Life feat. Chinky
3. Where The Hood At?
4. Dogs Out
5. Get It On The Floor feat. Swizz Beatz
6. Come Prepared (Skit)
7. Shot Down feat. 50 Cent, Styles P
8. Bring The Noize
9. Untouchable feat. Sheek, Syleena Infa-Red, Cross, Drag On
10. Fuck Y'all
11. Ruff Radio (Skit)
12. We're Back feat. Eve and Jadakiss
13. Ruff Radio 2 (Skit)
14. Rob All Night
15. We Go Hard feat. Cam'Ron
16. We Bout To Blow feat. Big Stan
17. The Rain
18. Gotta Go (Skit)
19. Don't Gotta Go Home feat. Monica
20. A'Yo Kato feat. Magic & Val
21. Thank You feat. Patti Labelle
22. The Prayer V
23. On Top feat. Big Stan

The Industry Says

The Source - 4 Mics .."returning to the days of stale egg rolls and slim bankrolls.. Swizz pumps out a duo of fresh beats.. the dog is rabid in his support of the downtrodden, as he provides the type of struggle music that endeared him to the streets five years ago."

XXL - L .."It's obvious that hip-hop's pit bull is using intensity and attitude as a substitute for substance.. The highlights are all pensive.. DMX's lack of artistic evolution is dissapointing and prevents him from reclaiming his status as rap's focal point."

Vibe - 3.5 CDs .."Lyrically, X's bark still has bite, but it's Grand Champ's sonic overhaul that accounts for the biggest improvement.. it's passion, not posturing, that makes X top dog.