06/19/2007

A raw dog at Streeters

DMX stopping by Traverse City Wednesday

By GARRET ELLISON

gellison@record-eagle.com

Special to the Record-Eagle
DMX, a.k.a. Earl Simmons, brings is Dog Days of Summer tour to Streeters Wednesday.

TRAVERSE CITY — Let's just say that when you're in the middle of interviewing DMX and he barks at you, "How many more questions?” you'd better only have one or two.

He'll bring that same biting intensity to Traverse City with him for one stop at Streeters Ground Zero on his Dog Days of Summer tour Wednesday.

The hip-hop heavyweight said to expect his show to be a stripped-down, "straight dog,” raw unleashed kind of deal.

"I'm just doing my thing this time,” he said over the phone. "No incorporations, none of the bulls—t, you know?”

Four Michigan hip-hop acts will open the show, and a live band from Detroit will perform with X.

The rapper, born Earl Simmons in Maryland, is a multiplatinum-selling artist with a lengthy rap sheet and a canine disposition. His first four albums reached No. 1 on the charts, his debut and follow-up each in the same year, 1998.

His third release, "... And Then There Was X” sold over 6 million copies in the United States, featuring his highest charting single, "Party Up (Up in Here)” at No. 8 on the U.S. R&B /Hip-Hop charts.

Simmons has appeared in several feature films and had a brief reality television series in 2006 on Black Entertainment Television called "DMX: Soul of a Man,” during which he visited a doctor for pain, only to learn his ribs were broken in jail.

His rap sheet includes arrests for animal cruelty, weapons, drug possession, urinating on a crowd, impersonating a federal agent and attempted auto theft. With the help of a savvy legal team, his biggest conviction has been criminal drug possession.

He just returned stateside from a swing through Europe, where he said the fans are "energetic.” He dropped in on the Cannes Film Festival, though not long enough to catch the screening of his new movie, "The Last Hour.”

"I figured I'd go down there one day while I was on tour,” he said, "even though my movie wasn't playing that day, you know, meet up with people.”

His latest album, a greatest hits compilation called "Definition of X: The Pick of the Litter,” was released June 12 on Def Jam records.

"I haven't heard it yet,” he said. "No involvement on my part on that record.”

An admitted manic-depressive, Simmons said he's often misunderstood "in many ways.” He's been heralded online for his complex persona, called the reigning king of hardcore rap after the death of Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G.

"He could move from spiritual anguish one minute to a narrative about the sins of the streets the next, yet keep it all part of the same complex character, sort of like a hip-hop Johnny Cash,” reads his VH1 profile.

Simmons said he has had no problems reconciling those conflicting realms. He includes a prayer on each album — "I keep the word in my heart. God put it in me, I guess.

"I'm actually comfortable with two sides to my personality,” he said.

The future holds more of the same, by Simmons' account. He's talking with director John Singleton about a film project, and said "I'll do like I always do” on the music end.

"Everyone who reads this have a blessed day, and pass on the blessings,” he said. "Will you quote me on those last words?”

Opening for DMX will be four acts selected from the fourth installment of the Self Inflicted hip-hop competition held June 8. Fourteen acts from all over the state competed for the chance to open on June 20, and the winners were C-Note, Brotherhood, Riding Dirty and Maniacal. The live band Critical Bill from Detroit will also perform with DMX. MC Krutch and Delta Faded DJs hosted the Self Inflicted competition.

Doors open Wednesday at Streeters at 8 p.m., with tickets at $25 plus handling. The show is for 18 and older with ID. Call 932-1300 for information or visit www.streetersonline.com.