Grand Champ

by DMX

Overview

It's often said that you can't teach an old dog new tricks, and that maxim certainly holds true for the self-professed Grand Champ of canines, DMX, on his album of the same name. For his fifth album in six years, the veteran rapper reprises many of the same themes and motifs that had made his previous efforts so popular among hardcore rap fans and influential among his East Coast peers. As usual, he barks at his unnamed adversaries over hard-hitting Ruff Ryder beats, flexes his rhetorical muscle with his ever-confrontational rhyme style, advocates valor and faith while disdaining materialism, and frames his world within a polarized context, drawing a bold line between "dogs" and "cats." By this point, the scenario should be familiar to those who've followed DMX this far into his career; in many ways, his albums are mirror images of each other, in terms of drama, production, ideology, sequencing, and thankfully, to an extent, quality. However, the initial impact that DMX made with his tremendous and industry-changing debut, It's Dark and Hell Is Hot (1998), lessened with each successive follow-up, and Grand Champ is no exception. It's a well-crafted and thought-out album but feels like a sequel, and as such, it serves its purpose: to satisfy fans and move units. The anthemic lead single, "Where the Hood At," is precisely modeled after previous DMX rallying calls like "Ruff Rider Anthem," "What's My Name?," and "Who We Be." Likewise, "Get It on the Floor" is a trademark Swizz Beatz club-banger -- and a remarkable one at that, perhaps one-upping even "Party Up (Up in Here)." Grand Champ closes sentimentally: "Don't Gotta Go Home" is a fractured-relationship duet with Monica that's prime urban crossover material; "A'Yo Kato" is a heartfelt ode to a lost dog with a shuffling, almost Latin beat by Swizz Beatz; and "Thank You" is a rousing gospel-rap tune featuring Patti LaBelle that's surprisingly effective and closes the album with magnificent flair (if not for the obligatory bonus track). Yet it's a long road to this sentimental closing run; for every one of the aforementioned highlights, there's at least one, if not two, run-of-the-mill tracks that warrant no more than a couple listens. Not quite the big comeback DMX needed at this point in his quietly sagging rap career, Grand Champ regardless has its share of highlights. Longtime fans may decide to drop off at about this point, if they hadn't already, while those content with the usual -- or new to DMX -- should find plenty to savor on Grand Champ. ~ Jason Birchmeier

Product Details

Release Date:	08/31/2010
Label:	Barclay / Def Jam
UPC:	0602498608968

Tracks

1. Dog Intro
2. My Life
3. Where the Hood At?
4. Dogs Out
5. Get It on the Floor
6. Come Prepared Skit
7. Shot Down
8. Bring the Noize
9. Untouchable
10. F***y'all
11. Ruff Radio Skit
12. We're Back
13. Ruff Radio 2 Skit
14. Rob All Night (If I'm Gonna Rob)
15. We Go Hard
16. We' Boutto Blow
17. The Rain
18. Gotta Go Skit
19. Don't Gotta Go Home
20. A'yo Kato
21. Thank You
22. The Prayer V
23. On Top
24. X Gon' Giveittoya

Album Credits

Performance Credits

DMX   Primary Artist
Infa-Red & Cross   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Val   Primary Artist,Featured Artist,Featured Artist
Sheek Louch   Primary Artist
Styles P   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Monica   Primary Artist,Featured Artist,Guest Artist,Vocals (Background)
Cam'ron   Primary Artist,Featured Artist,Guest Artist
Drag-On   Primary Artist,Featured Artist,Guest Artist
Eve   Primary Artist,Featured Artist,Guest Artist
The Cross   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
InfaRed   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Chinky   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Big Stan   Primary Artist,Featured Artist,Guest Artist
Swizz Beatz   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Patti LaBelle   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Featured Artist
Sheek   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Magic   Primary Artist,Featured Artist,Featured Artist
50 Cent   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Jadakiss   Primary Artist,Featured Artist,Guest Artist
Syleena Johnson   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Featured Artist
Bashir Fadai   Vocals
R.J. Ronquillo   Guitar
Bam   Drums,Keyboards

Technical Credits

Hector "Rick Boogie" Aviles   A&R
Shawn Martin   Composer
Victor Flowers   Producer
Deidre Graham   Marketing
Black Moses   Producer
L. Courtney   Composer
Jason Phillips   Composer
Dart Parker   Producer
Leroy "Tony" Austin   A&R
Bashir Fadai   Composer
Tishawn Gayle   Marketing
Keisha Gibbs   Project Coordinator
Rob Bass   Composer
Andrew Huggins   Recording Director
Pam Viala   Mixing,Engineer
Mister Devine   Producer
Richard Knight   Composer
Rich Balmer   Engineer
Patrice "Trice Blam" Blamoville   A&R
Cameron Giles   Composer
Dion Wilson   Composer
Antoine Macon   Composer
Darrin Dean   Composer
Eric Serrano   Composer
Franklin Crum   Composer
Leonard Perry   Composer
Maldrige Cowart   Composer
Jay King   Composer,Composer
No I.D.   Producer
Tony Pizarro   Composer
Dennis Joyner   Composer
Damon Blackman   Composer
Jermaine Russ   Composer
Eriberto Serrano   Composer
Niem Washington   Composer
Salam Nassar   Composer
Valerie Rangel   Composer
Floyd Massy   Composer
Ron Turner   Composer,Composer
Shandell Green   Composer
Brian Stanley   Mixing,Engineer
Jean Moise Lucien   Composer
Antonio Hardy   Composer
Jay "Icepick" Jackson   A&R,Skit,Executive Producer
Katie Davis   Composer
Dragan "Chach" Cacinovic   Mixing,Engineer
J.C. Phillips   Composer
Earl Simmons   Composer,Producer,Executive Producer
Ernest Wilson   Composer
Tyrone Davis   A&R
Ron Holden   Composer
Sean Jacobs   Composer
Joaquin "Waah" Dean   Skit,Executive Producer
Mel Smalls   Composer
John Parker   Composer
Cross   Performer
Adam Kagan   Engineer
Eve Jeffers   Composer
Jonathan Mannion   Photography
S. Martin   Composer
Reggie Flowers   Producer
Curtis Jackson   Composer
Otto D'Angolo   Engineer
Salam Wreck   Producer
Marcel Hall   Composer
Chico Spades   Engineer
Gerald Flowers   Producer
Anthony Pittman   A&R Assistance
James Parker   Composer
Digital One   Engineer
Tina Davis   Executive Producer
Shatek King   Composer
Samira Hall   Marketing
Ricardo Williams   Composer
Bobby Eaton   Composer
D. Wilson   Composer
A. Hardy   Composer
Deborah Mannis-Gardner   Sample Clearance
Darryl "Pop" Trotter   Composer,Producer
George Spivey   Composer
Akisia Grigsby   Design,Art Direction
Tony "D" Pizarro   Producer
Tony Dawsey   Mastering
Shawn Jacobs   Composer
Ryan Bowser   Composer
Marc Joseph   Cover Photo,Photography
Craig Brodhead   A&R,Executive Producer
Steve Conover   Engineer
Swizz Beatz   Producer
Kevin McCord   Composer
Clarence Reid   Composer
Bam   Producer,Vocal Producer
Fred Bridges   Composer
David Styles   Composer
Lou Courtney   Composer
Rockwilder   Producer
Tuneheadz Productions   Producer
Lowman Pauling   Composer
Denzil Foster   Composer
Rich Keller   Mixing,Engineer
Jennifer Turner   A&R Assistance
Ned Washington   Composer
Marlon Williams   Composer
Kanye West   Composer,Producer
Nemo   Producer
Darrin "Dee" Dean   A&R,Executive Producer
Ron Browz   Producer
Kasseem Dean   Composer
Thomas McElroy   Composer
Keith Slattery   Engineer
DJ Scratch   Producer
Dame Grease   Producer
Dana Stinson   Composer
Mally G.   Producer