вЂњвЂHold Me DownвЂ™ is one of my favorite records, not only because of my wife on it, but because the way that DMX opens up about his life. The beat reminded me of 'Stop Being Greedy' a little bit when I was doing it. The song is called 'Money Money Money,' so I felt like Moneybagg Yo was perfect for it, and I actually like him as an artist. Pop Smoke was like, 'I want something that sound like X.' And then I think by mistake or whatever, the verses got out, and they was put on different songs, so we had to change it at the last minute. I wanted it-and he wanted it-to be energy from today, which is why Pop Smoke originally had this slot. вЂњI didn't want the album just to be artists from when X first came out. His concert I was at, he did a whole tribute about X. If you go and you look at YouTube, you see Wayne bringing out X at LIV. вЂњWayne always spoke highly of X-when he was living and when he passed. With Hov and Nas, people know what they getting, you know what IвЂ™m saying?вЂќ вЂњOut the gate, we just wanted to put pressure on everybody-and then take them on this journey at the same time. The first rapper you hear on the album is Jadakiss, so that's letting you know the tone right there for where we going. This is a real curated body of work, and me and X hadn't been in the studio like this for 12 years. And it should be uncut, like Dog did on this record.вЂќ Below, Swizz talks us through-track by track-the last musical testament of friend and icon DMX. He was comfortable, and I think that every artist should get to that level one day, to where theyвЂ™re not capping and theyвЂ™re saying real things that are happening in their life and that theyвЂ™re going through. вЂњHe gave you a front-row seat into his life, because he loved his fans, he loved his people, and it's where he was at.

Otherwise, though, Exodus is exactly how X designed it-one of hip-hopвЂ™s most impactful MCs making space for the voices he revered, while staying true to a career-long practice of baring his soul on record. Pop Smoke was initially slated to appear on вЂњMoney Money Money,вЂќ but a leak forced Swizz to switch up the plan and bring on Moneybagg Yo. I know theyвЂ™re saying вЂthe album after he's gone,вЂ™ but really he did the album before he was gone.вЂќ вЂњThis album was done while he was living. вЂњAll of the songs was finished,вЂќ longtime friend, collaborator, and executive producer of his Exodus album Swizz Beatz tells Apple Music. In the case of dearly departed hip-hop legend DMX, however, the Dog-loving faithful had nothing to worry about. If nothing else, it can be hard for fans to ascertain whatвЂ™s really representative of an artistвЂ™s vision versus what was completed after death to the sometimes less than exacting specifications of the stewards of said estate. The posthumous album is a tough thing to get right.

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