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DMX on Whether or Not Rappers Should Be Role Models: ‘It’s Getting a Little Scary Now’

“I want to give them the fundamentals of life, and they can grow from there,” DMX said.

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People expect artists to be someone their kids can look up to. Once you take on the role of a public figure, you unknowingly adopt this responsibility of a role model. Perception is reality for people and everyone is watching celebrities. So every move is heavily scrutinized in order to be a model citizen. DMX was never really that typical role model. He struggled with his vices, grief, and trauma just like everyone else. But he did find it important to open up about those things and know people held onto every word he rapped.

In a 2000 interview with SPIN Magazine, X candidly opens up about the making of …And Then There Was X. There, he told the publication that the album is a reflection of him. In part, it became an unflinching look at the reality around us, something he felt responsible to tell.

“I’m not going to tell people everything is peaches and cream, because it’s not,” DMX explained. “I’m not going to tell them, ‘Go to school and do the right thing’ because that’s not for everybody. I want to give them the fundamentals of life, and they can grow from there. I give them the keys to the s**t.”

DMX Once Opened up About the Responsibility He Has to His Audience

Then, DMX explained how he felt compelled to “speak to people who you don’t necessarily think are your audience.” He honed in on being particular with the lyrics and how there’s a responsibility he had to atone for. Ultimately, DMX didn’t want the bad example to trace back to him.

“You wouldn’t think there’s a ghetto in the Midwest, but there is. You see a lot of potato-and-corn growin’ motherf*ckers, but they listen to your shit and feel the same thing you feel… I got to start telling them the right thing, because it’s getting a little scary now,” DMX admitted to SPIN. “I don’t want to have a bunch of motherf*ckers come up and say, ‘You said kill a cop, so we did it.’ You gotta be a little more specific in your rhymes.”

Then, the Mount Vernon legend recalled how a correctional officer once told him how his music helped turn his kid’s life around. Ever since he heard DMX, the child got into music and played with his turntable ever since. Consequently, X felt the weight that came with being a role model for the younger generations. “To have him turn around and do something positive on the strength of me puts an extra weight on my shoulders. I’m not going to drop it,” he stressed.

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