DMX’s career was intertwined with the grit of hip hop and religion. The rapper relied on his faith to guide him through his often troubled path. A recent Rolling Stone profile on the famed MC who passed away last April, reveals that he was working on a gospel-inspired double album.
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In the late 2000s, DMX was living in Arizona during a time when his career had slowed down. Earl Simmons attempted to help the rapper overcome his drug, legal, and marriage problems by working on a gospel record.
The double album was titled Walk With Me Now and You’ll Fly With Me Later, which contained one disc of heavy-hitting hip hop tracks and one disc of spiritual, faith-laden songs. Simmons strived to find room for tracks that were more faith-focused on his first three platinum recordings. At the time he reportedly said, “No songs about b**ches, no songs about robbing, just straight ‘Give God the glory.'”
While the recordings were finished, the double album was not released the way X had intended. Some of the tracks made it out into the public despite X’s desires, but the rest of the songs have been buried on hard drives since 2008.
X always made prayer a part of his live stage shows, so this record was a further exploration into the MC’s spiritual side. The gospel album was recorded in Arizona alongside producer, Divine Bars and local singer, Janyce. In the Rolling Stone profile, it’s explained that X met the local talent at a Nordstrom in Phoenix. Janyce’s co-workers encouraged her to sing for DMX, which ultimately lead to their collaboration.
Most of the songs for the gospel album were recorded in a single night in 2008, where the rapper was frequenting an upstairs studio loft to smoke crack and write all seven songs before sunrise.
Unfortunately, the album was hindered due to X’s run-in with the law and a series of run-ins with the infamous Arizona Sheriff, Joe Arpaio.
DMX was consistently arrested throughout the time period due to charges related to probations violations, traffic incidents, animal cruelty, drug possession, and identity theft. X’s legal troubles halted the album’s intended release and only allowed for a handful of public performances at the Morning Star Church in Gilbert, Arizona.
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Sadly, with no will left behind after X’s passing, the future of Walk With Me Now and You’ll Fly With Me Later is uncertain.
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