Vinyl Release Of DMX’s Debut Album Brings It Back To The Billboard Charts

'It's Dark and Hell Is Hot' was first released in 1998.

It’s been 26 years since the late rapper DMX released his debut album, It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot. But loyal fans are helping it see new success on the Billboard charts.

According to Forbes, a recent vinyl release of DMX’s platinum-selling rap album through the Vinyl Me, Please platform has brought the album back onto the Billboard charts this week. In the past tracking week, the album sold an impressive 3,400 copies across the U.S., a significant jump from its usual 50 sales per week.

However, with its recent release on vinyl, It’s Dark And Hell Is Hot has experienced a 6,446% increase in pure purchases, bringing its total sales to 4.856 million copies, according to Luminate. Most of the sales took place during the album’s original release three decades ago in 1998. It was the first of DMX’s five-album run that reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

But with loyal DMX fans celebrating his debut album’s official vinyl release, the hip-hop classic secured the No. 27 spot on Billboard’s purchase-only roster. If it holds the spot for one more week, it brings It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot to 104 weeks, or two full years, on the chart.

It’s the latest success for the late rapper, who died in April 2021 at age 50. Among his No. 1 albums include 1998’s It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot and Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood, 1999’s …And Then There Was X, 2001’s The Great Depression, and 2003’s Grand Champ. His sixth album Year of the Dog . . . Again debuted at the No. 2 spot in 2006.

DMX also enjoyed a flourishing acting career with lead roles in films like 1998’s Belly, 2000’s Romeo Must Die, 2001’s Exit Wounds, 2003’s Cradle 2 the Grave, and 2004’s Never Die Alone. His musical reach expanded beyond the hip-hop genre with gospel releases that showed off his spiritual side in singles like 2006’s “Lord Give Me a Sign” and 2008’s “Jesus Loves Me.”

Despite selling more than 74 million albums and finding success in music and film, DMX left behind an estate estimated to be in debt. In May, the rapper’s estate struck a deal with the artist estate management company Artist Legacy Group (ALG) to preserve his legacy.