DMX is a well-known alias for popular American rapper and actor Earl Simmons who ventured into the American entertainment scene as a rapper in the early 90s. His debut album ”It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot” was released in 1998 and the rap album turned out to be a huge success commercially. The award-winning rapper now has a total of seven studio albums to his credit. Dark Man X is also associated with acting despite being better known as a rapper. He has featured in several films and television series. Below is a list of all DMX movies in no particular order.
List of Movies that Feature DMX
1. Belly – 1998
Belly was a commercial success back in the late 90s grossing nearly $10 million on a budget of $3 million. The American drama which was directed by Hype Williams starred DMX as Tommy “Buns” Bundy alongside the likes of Nasir “Nas” Jones, Taral Hicks, Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins, and Clifford “Method Man” Smith.
However, Belly falls among the list of DMX movies that did not do so well. Popular film review aggregator website, Rotten Tomatoes gave the movie an approval rating of 13% citing the plot as weak. Despite this, it had a sequel Belly 2: Millionaire Boyz Club (2006).
2. Romeo Must Die – 2000
This classical movie featured Andrzej Bartkowiak in the directorial role and starred the likes of Jet Li, Aaliyah, Isaiah Washington, Russel Wong, Delroy Lindo, and DMX. Warner Bros. Pictures began distributing the film across the United States of America on March 22, 2000. Romeo Must Die falls in the category of outstanding DMX movies as it did well at the Box office grossing over $90 million globally against a budget of $25 million. However, critical review differed significantly from the movie’s earnings as Rotten Tomatoes gave the film an approval rating of 33% based on 91 critical reviews which ranked below average.
3. Backstage- 2000
This documentary film was directed and produced by Chris Fore and Damon Dash respectively. The cast members of Backstage included Jay-Z, Method Man, Redman, Beanie Sigel, Memphis Bleek, Ja Rule, Amil, and DMX. The film was released by Dimension Films on September 8, 2000.
4. Exit Wounds -2001
This 2001 action film had DMX and the movie icon Steven Seagal as its lead cast. Andrezj Bartkowiak took up the directorial role for the project which was primarily set in Detroit. Exit Wounds is largely based on John Westermann’s book of the same name. This film which was distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures grossed almost $80 million globally on a budget of $33 million making rank among the best DMX movies of all time.
5. Cradle 2 the Grave – 2003
Cradle 2 the Grave featured both DMX and Jet Li as the lead actors. The action thriller was directed by award-winning film director Andrzej Bartkowiak. The 2003 film performed fairly at the Box office grossing $56 million on a budget of $25 million.
The widely acclaimed film also received a low approval rating of 25% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 122 critical reviews. Another film review site Metacritic scored the film 36/100 based on 26 critical reviews.
6. Top Five – 2014
This popular comedy movie was released by Paramount Pictures in the United States on December 12, 2014. Top Five starred American celebrity actors and comedians like Chris Rock, Rosario Dawson, Kevin Hart, Gabrielle Union, Taraji P. Henson, Charlie Rose, and a host of others. The film was a critical success as it was given an approval rating of 86% by Rotten Tomatoes based on 173 reviews. Metacritic scored it an overwhelming 81/100 based on 37 reviews. It currently falls among the top DMX movies.
7. Pimp – 2018
DMX appeared in Pimp as Midnight John alongside the likes of Keke Palmer, Vanessa Morgan, Edi Gathegi, Haley Ramm, Aunjanue Ellis, and Lyrica Okano. Pimp was written, directed and produced by Christine Crokos. The film received an approval rating of 50% on Rotten Tomatoes giving it an average ranking on the list of DMX movies.
8. The Bleeding – 2009
This 2009 horror movie starred the likes of Michael Mattias, Michael Madsen, Vinnie Jones, and DMX who appeared as Tagg in the action film which was directed and produced by Charlie Picerni and Michael Tadross Jr.
9. Lords of the Street – 2008
This action movie was also known by fans as Jump Out and it featured Kris Kristofferson as its star actor. The film was directed and produced by celebrity brothers David and Daniel Garcia. Lords of the Street was released in the United States of America on January 18, 2008.
Some other notable films that the star rapper include the 2001 Angel: One More Road to Cross, Never Die Alone which was released in 2004, Father of Lies in 2006, and the next year DMX played the role of The Dog in the movie Death Toll. In 2008 he was featured in Last Hour and he can be seen in the 2009 film, Lockjaw: Rise of the Kulev Serpent as Nick. The 2013 films King Dog and Blame It on the Hustle also fall among DMX movies.