Year of the Dog... Again

Year of the Dog... Again is the sixth studio album by American rapper DMX. It was released on August 1, 2006 by Ruff Ryders Entertainment, Sony Urban Music and Columbia Records. The album was mostly produced by Swizz Beatz, Scott Storch, with additional production by others. It features guest appearances from Busta Rhymes, Styles P, Amerie, and Jadakiss.

Year of the Dog... Again
Studio album by DMX
Released	August 1, 2006
Recorded	January–May 2006
Genre	Hardcore hip hop East Coast hip hop gangsta rap gospel rap
Length	54:26
Label	Ruff Ryders Sony Urban Columbia
Producer	Swizz Beatz Chad Elliott Eddie "Shy Boogs" Timmons Dame Grease Scott Storch Shok Teflon Elite Sean Garrett
DMX chronology
Grand Champ (2003) Year of the Dog... Again (2006) The Definition of X: The Pick of the Litter (2007)
Singles from Year of the Dog... Again
"We in Here" Released: April 11, 2006 "Lord Give Me a Sign" Released: September 3, 2006[1]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	60/100[2]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
The A.V. Club	B−[4]
Entertainment Weekly	B[5]
The Guardian	[6]
Now	[7]
RapReviews	6/10[8]
Rolling Stone	[9]
Spin	[10]
Stylus Magazine	B+[11]
XXL	L (3/5)[12]

Year of the Dog... Again was supported by two singles: "We in Here" and "Lord Give Me a Sign". The album received generally positive to mixed reviews from music critics but was a moderate commercial success. It debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 and number one on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts, selling 125,000 copies in its first week.^[13] It became DMX's first album to not debut at number one on the Billboard 200.

Critical reception

At Metacritic, the album got a score of 60 out of 100 based on "mixed or average reviews".^[2] XXL gave it an "L" score equivalent to three stars out of five and stated, "Clearly, X's poetic touch remains intact. But Year of the Dog relies too heavily on nostalgia, ignoring how hip-hop and DMX himself have changed over the years. Lyrically, the project sounds as if the Dog has been living in isolation for years, rarely shifting from his trademark style. Sadly, if X doesn't learn a few new tricks, things might never be the same…again."^[12] HipHopDX gave it a score of 2.5 out of 5 and said, "The album fairly consistent of what DMX has become - lost. Much like his outlandish antics and brushes with the law, X is all over the place on wax, battling incoherence and sane thinking."^[14] AllHipHop gave it a score of three-and-a-half out of five stars and said, "DMX is flawless as DMX. He has carved his own niche, perfecting his brand of unfiltered aggression. Legions of DMX loyalist will not be disappointed."^[15] About.com also gave it a score of three-and-a-half out of five stars and said, "Despite all the crises occurring in X's personal life, he still finds a way to preserve the breadth and depth of his powerful voice; his voice alone is capable of propelling the album. While the canine theme is hard to mistake, forgiveness, redemption and, ultimately, the presence of a supreme being present themselves as a subtext in X's canine mind. It seems like the dog has found his way home, finally."^[16]

Commercial performance

Year of the Dog... Again debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 126,000 copies in first week, debuting behind NOW 22.^[17] This became DMX's sixth US top-ten album and his first album to not debut at number one.^[17] In its second week, the album dropped to number nine on the chart, selling an additional 47,000 copies.^[18] As of September 2012, the album has sold 346,000 copies in the United States.^[19]

Track listing

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.^[20]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Intro"	Earl Simmons Damon Blackman	Dame Grease	1:32
2.	"We in Here" (featuring Swizz Beatz)	Simmons Kasseem Dean Joaquin Dean	Swizz Beatz	3:54
3.	"I Run Shit" (featuring Big Stan)	Simmons K. Dean Dennis Joyner	Swizz Beatz	3:56
4.	"Come Thru (Move)" (featuring Busta Rhymes)	Simmons K. Dean Trevor Smith	Swizz Beatz	3:42
5.	"It's Personal" (featuring Jadakiss and Styles P)	Simmons Jason Phillips David Styles Eriberio Serrano Franklin Crum	The Tuneheadz	3:44
6.	"Baby Motha" (featuring Janyce)	Simmons K. Dean Felton Pilate	Swizz Beatz	4:41
7.	"Dog Love" (featuring Amerie and Janyce)	Simmons Chad Elliott Eddie Timmons Amerie Rogers Siedah Garrett Clif Magness	Chad "Dr. Ceuss" Elliott Eddie "Shy Boogs" Timmons	3:42
8.	"Wrong or Right? (I'm Tired)" (featuring Bazaar Royale)	Simmons Christopher Sanford Hanan Rubinstein Anthony Parrino	Elite	5:24
9.	"Give 'Em What They Want"	Simmons Scott Storch	Scott Storch	2:46
10.	"Walk These Dogs" (featuring Kashmir)	Simmons Blackman Ellen Lomax LeRoy Bell Casey James	Dame Grease	2:56
11.	"Blown Away" (featuring Jinx and Janyce)	Simmons Stonewall Odom Patrick Gallo Steve McDonald	Divine Bars	4:02
12.	"Goodbye"	Simmons Brian Palmer Sergio Moore Lesette Wilson	Da Gutta Fam	4:50
13.	"Life Be My Song"	Simmons Blackman	Dame Grease	4:02
14.	"The Prayer VI"	Simmons	DMX	1:30
15.	"Lord Give Me a Sign"	Simmons Storch	Scott Storch	3:28

Sample credits^[20]

• "We in Here" contains samples of "Nobody But You Babe," written by Willie Clarke and Clarence Reid, as performed by Clarence Reid.
• "Baby Motha" contains a sample of "(Let Me Put) Love On Your Mind", written by Felton Pilate, as performed by Con Funk Shun.
• "Walk These Dogs" contains samples of "Set Me Free", written by LeRoy Bell and Casey James, as performed by Teddy Pendergrass.
• "Blown Away" contains samples from "Light From A Distant Shore" and "Fallen Flowers", written by Steve McDonald, as performed by Hollie Smith.

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2006) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[21] 70 Australian Urban Albums (ARIA)[22] 8 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[23] 23 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[24] 39 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[25] 67 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[26] 4 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[27] 70 French Albums (SNEP)[28] 43 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[29] 7 Irish Albums (IRMA)[30] 15 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[31] 37 Scottish Albums (OCC)[32] 31 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[33] 7 UK Albums (OCC)[34] 22 UK R&B Albums (OCC)[35] 4 US Billboard 200[36] 2 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[37] 1 US Top Rap Albums (Billboard)[38] 1

Year-end charts Chart (2006) Position US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[39] 70

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Russia (NFPF)[40]	Gold	10,000*
* Sales figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Lord Give Me a Sign". Apple.
2. "Critic Reviews for Year Of The Dog... Again". Metacritic. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
3. Andy Kellman (August 1, 2006). "Year of the Dog...Again - DMX | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
4. Rabin, Nathan (August 9, 2006). "Year Of The Dog Again · DMX · Music Review DMX: Year Of The Dog Again". The A.V. Club. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
5. Fiore, Raymond (August 4, 2006). "Year of the Dog... Again Review". Entertainment Weekly. p. 68. Archived from the original on October 28, 2016. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
6. Batey, Angus (August 4, 2006). "CD: DMX, Year of the Dog...Again". The Guardian. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
7. Richards, Jason (August 3–9, 2006). "DMX – Year Of The Dog... Again". Now. Vol. 25, no. 49. Archived from the original on August 23, 2006. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
8. Juon, Steve 'Flash' (August 2, 2006). "DMX's "Year of the Dog... Again"". RapReviews. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
9. Relic, Peter (August 10, 2006). "DMX: Year Of The Dog...Again (Explicit) : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. No. 1006. p. 98. Archived from the original on December 14, 2008. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
10. Anderson, Kyle (September 2006). "Dog Days". Spin. New York. p. 100. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
11. Inskeep, Thomas (August 11, 2006). "DMX - Year of the Dog…Again - Review". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
12. Frederick, Brendan (September 2006). "Critical Beatdown: DMX – Year of the Dog... Again". XXL. No. 84. New York: Harris Publications. p. 173. Archived from the original on November 10, 2006. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
13. "'NOW 22' Edges Out DMX's 'Dog' At No. 1". Billboard. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
14. "DMX - The Year of the Dog Again". HipHopDX. August 4, 2006. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
15. "Year Of The Dog, Again". AllHipHop. August 7, 2006. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
16. "DMX - Year of the Dog...Again - Review of DMX's Year of the Dog...Again". Rap.about.com. Archived from the original on May 25, 2011. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
17. "'NOW 22' Edges Out DMX's 'Dog' At No. 1". Billboard. August 9, 2006. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
18. "Rick Ross' 'Hustle' Pays Off With No. 1 Debut". Billboard. August 16, 2006. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
19. "Upcoming Releases 2013". Hits Daily Double. September 6, 2012. Archived from the original on September 6, 2012. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
20. Year of the Dog... Again (booklet). Ruff Ryders, Sony Urban, Columbia. 2006.
21. "The ARIA Report: 21 August 2006" (PDF). Australian Web Archive. September 20, 2006. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 19, 2006. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
22. "ARIA Urban Albums Chart – Week Commencing 21st August 2006" (PDF). The ARIA Report (859). August 21, 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 23, 2008. Retrieved April 20, 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
23. "Austriancharts.at – DMX – Year of the Dog Again" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
24. "Ultratop.be – DMX – Year of the Dog Again" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
25. "Ultratop.be – DMX – Year of the Dog Again" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
26. "DMX Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
27. "Dutchcharts.nl – DMX – Year of the Dog Again" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
28. "Lescharts.com – DMX – Year of the Dog Again". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
29. "Officialcharts.de – DMX – Year of the Dog Again". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
30. "Irish-charts.com – Discography DMX". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
31. "Charts.nz – DMX – Year of the Dog Again". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
32. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
33. "Swisscharts.com – DMX – Year of the Dog Again". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
34. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
35. "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
36. "DMX Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
37. "DMX Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
38. "DMX Chart History (Top Rap Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
39. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2006". Billboard. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
40. "Russian album certifications – DMX – Year of the Dog... Again" (in Russian). National Federation of Phonogram Producers (NFPF). Retrieved June 5, 2019.

External links

• Year of the Dog... Again at Metacritic