Lets talk a little bit about the album, “Grand Champ”. The producers you’ve worked with. You’ve always found new people but there’s also some people you’ve worked with in the past. Who are they?

DMX- Ummm people that like, you know what I’m saying, that I work with are the same people I’ve always work with. Grease, P.K., Swiss. You know. I always pick up new cats. Whoever got a hot beat. I’m not dick riding. I’m not chasing down the same nigga everybody else chasing down in order to get one beat. It ain’t that serious. I’m not looking for a beat to sell my music.

Two heads is new “Where the Hood at”. How did u get hooked up with that?

DMX- D brought it to me in the studio. I was close to being done. I was pretty much like close to being done. I was planning on writing or coming with no new songs. But as soon as I heard the beat, it was like theres no way I can get away from this. I gotta blaze this one. Just like, there’s another one I just did a couple days ago. Have u heard it?

No

DMX- It’s about the blow. As soon as I heard the beat, I was like there’s no way I can walk away from this beat. There’s no way.

Do you find that when you’re near the end of the creative process, finishing the album, that’s when all these hot new beats come in.

DMX- No

So its just a continuous flow. Ummmm you worked in a lot of different cities: Arizona; Chicago;   L.A.

DMX- Phoenix

Is there some reason why you picked these cities?

DMX- Yea I pick them for different reasons. I pick each city for different reasons.

Arizona perhaps.

DMX-Arizona for instance is the desert. Its like peaceful. I can really get into the thought process out there. And I can ride the quads. You know. Ride all day, rap all night. You know. Arizona’s good for the soul.

What about the other cities?

DMX- I went to Chicago because Chicago was the hood. When I thought about ghetto, I though about Chicago. I hadn’t been there in a while. So I said, let me go out there. I met my man Kato out there, rest in peace. You know.

Lets talk a little about Kato because in the video, there’s quite a few people wearing Kato shirts. Who is Kato to you?

DMX- First, he was a friend to me. You know what I’m saying.  He was a friend to my family. His wife, my wife friends. He’s a husband, father and CEO of Denaro Records. Record label out of Chicago, got a couple artists just got signed. Just got a deal. That was my dawg. Dawgs for life. Kato rest in peace.

You have so many other things that you’re working on, Bloodline films for instance. You want to talk a little bit about “Never Die Alone” and what people can expect from it.

DMX-“Never Die Alone”….People can expect to see what they’ve never seen out of me in a movie, in a character. You know. Its not what I’ve been doing, you know, thus far. But its definitely something interesting, new. Something I think I carried. I carried better than my last two roles. Something I can relate to more. I read the books. It’s the first of the author’s, Donald Goines,  books to be made into a movie. I’m honored to be the first to be given permission by his estate to do that. Like I said, its not what my fans have seen from me in movies.

You’ve been in like 8 movies already. So how is this one any different. Besides your personal involvement,….

DMX- Because I think besides “Belly”, this is like the realest role I’ve ever done. Its real with an undeniable truth to it. Its wrong, with an undeniable right to it. That’s what it is. You know. That’s what truth is.

And your son is in the movie?

DMX-Yea my son, my 10 year old son, Xavier. He plays…He plays my son. He plays the younger version. Because the son is also younger in the movie. There’s a time lapse of 20 years, I think in the movie. You know, so I’m a young guy then I’m a older guy. So he plays the younger version of my son. And I bust him in the head with a bottle, like “Sit down, don’t you get up.” Talk greasy to him, all crazy. I asked him while he was doing it if he enjoyed doing it. Because just because I’m doing it doesn’t mean its something I’m going to push on my kids. “You’re going to do this and …..”. I want to let them pretty much be themselves and help them along the way. And he enjoyed doing it, wants to do more of it. So I’m going to be there for him.

You’re involved in quite a few charitable efforts: the Mary Ella foundation and your summer camp , Camp Ureka. But not a lot of people know that you’re involved.

DMX- You said a lot of people don’t know?

A lot of people are unaware that you have been very active in charity work and reaching out to the community.

DMX- I don’t really…I don’t really do what I do, for people to know about what I’m doing. You know what I’m  saying. Whoever I’m benefiting, they know. And that’s all that really matters. I don’t do it for “Call channel 7! Call channel 9! Call channel 11. Tell them I’m over here giving away “ It ain’t that serious. Im ah go, and I’m ah do it. And be out. Cause that’s what I came for, was to do it. I ain’t come around to do it and sit back and have u tell me how great I am for doing it. You know what I mean. Its like “Yea man, I see you needed it. I’m out” You know what I mean.

Tell us a little bit about what the Mary Ella Foundation does.

DMX- Umm, Well what it does and  what its going to eventually do are two different things. Right now what we’re doing is….uhhh we have an annual thanksgiving dinner. You know for the homeless or kids in group homes. Stuff like that. They can have family on Thanksgiving.  I’m there myself, you know what I’m saying, serving the food and all that. We give away the uh…we visited one of the homes I was in and ummm Tim Village. We’ve been there, I don’t know how many times in the past couple of years. Christmas time ..umm we give away stuff to the kids, donating computers. Stuff like that. Harlem hospital, Christmas. There’s a lot of stuff. Wherever there’s a need, you know. Whatever’s brought to my attention, we knock it out. And it helps.

UMM I just want to jump out the album, and talk about…Can you tell us what guests are on the album. 

DMX- We have…Cam is on there. Ummm… Chingy’s on there. B.S. is on there. Drag is on there. Who else is on there?

JadaKiss, Styles P. I heard you did a track with 50 Cent?

DMX- Well I did the track. I did do the track. You know what I’m saying. But umm…I don’t know if it’s gone be on the album.

There’s a lot of talk of you moving into the ministry. Do you have a course of action planned out?

DMX- No, I have…actually the only thing I have lined up is the first step. And that’s…you go somewhere quite for a couple of months and just, you know, read my bible. And I think in doing that, or while I’m doing that, it will come to me how its supposed to go.

I don’t know if you ever have the chance to read you fan mail on your web site.

DMX- No

There’s quite a few fans that have made some suggestions on how you can go about that. You might want to ask Andrew to print that out for you. A couple of your fans that emailed questions to me to ask you today. They want to know, “Why is this your last album?”

DMX- Cause I’m sick of the rap game. I’m sick of this fucking industry, you know what I’m saying. Its run by the devil and 99% of everybody you deal with is a snake. It gets tired after a while, you know what I’m saying. And I know the lord has a calling on my life, you know what I’m saying. I’m not going to do both.

If you could control your output and put your own music out, is that something you would be willing to do. People are mourning the loss of DMX. Just be aware, your fans. There would be other ways that you can share what you have to give them. Have you considered that?

DMX- Yea but I’m not talking to him. You know what I mean. I’m not talking to him.

Any final thoughts you want to share.

DMX- Final thought….ummm this is it. It’s the end of Dog world. When you fight your dog in the ring, each time he wins, he becomes a champ. One time champ, two time champ, three time champ. I’m a four time champ right now. When he gets five wins in the ring, under his belt, he becomes a Grand Champ. That’s why its called Grand Champ. Because this is going to be my fifth professional win. For me, I’ve done pretty much everything there was to be done with this. Its going somewhere…I’m not really downward. Feel me. You know. To my fans, its not like I’m a disappear off the face of the earth. If you fuck wit me yo, fuck wit me for real. Walk with me.

Interview By Theda