June 13, 2024

DMX Lands Second No. 1 Record, First On Billboard Mainstream Rock Airplay Chart

The deceased rapper is featured on Five Finger Death Punch's 'This Is the Way.'

DMX has come back from the dead. Well, at least his voice has to score a number-one hit on a chart many would not have expected the late hip-hop star to occupy.

According to Billboard, the Yonkers-bred emcee is at the top of the magazine’s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart as a featured artist with the song, “This Is the Way” by Five Finger Death Punch. The rock group just scored their 15th No. 1 hit with the DMX-assisted single.

“This Is the Way” is DMX’s second No. 1 Billboard-charted song. The first record was “Party Up (Up in Here),” which topped the Billboard Rap Airplay chart for six weeks in 2000.

“The idea of collaborating with DMX had been in discussion for years, and it was a long and winding road to turn this particular item on our wish list into reality,” Five Finger Death Punch guitarist Zoltan Bathory said in a written statement when the song was released. “He was a lyrical warrior, a true original who spoke his mind incorruptibly. We have always viewed DMX as the metalhead of hip-hop because of his aggressive, raw, and untamed style.

“He growled and snarled, aiming to rattle some cages—an attitude we share, as Five Finger Death Punch has always been drawn to the fearless and the real. It made all the sense in the world, but today, this is more than just a song; it’s a salute to a legend, a way to honor DMX’s memory.”

DMX had an extensive battle with drugs and had been open about his struggles with addiction. His drug use started when he was 14 when a supposed mentor introduced him to crack cocaine.

The popular yet oft-troubled rapper and actor died on April 9, 2021, at White Plains Hospital in New York, a week after suffering a heart attack. He was 50 years old.