DMX Quotes

Music is my main goal, but I'm not going to rush a record out. There are so many actors who have come out with albums these days. I don't want to do it because it's the thing to do. I want to wait until the time is right.

What I was going for in the first two albums I didn't necessarily achieve. Because I was young and because it was my first time out. And the second album was such a 'quickie' sort of 'Let's just get it over with!' But the kind of music I make, there's a lot of subtlety in it. And I think it takes a couple of listens to actually really get it.

I'm just really waiting for the music to get cooked the right way, and once it's cooked, I'm going to serve that meal that everybody's been waiting for.

You always hope for the best when you put something out and try to make the best music you can make, but you can't control what happens after that.

'Just What I Am' took me all of 10 minutes to make. 'Immortal' maybe took 30 minutes. It's not hard for me. 'Indicud' is almost what my first album should have sounded like, had I really been able to channel all of the ideas I had into music.

You know, I've released some great records and I've released some dogs. But frankly, the fun is in creating the thing.

I don't believe in making a record and rushing it.

But I think it's hard for me to only put out one record a year. Because I get too antsy. But it's good I'm learning to do that, because each record counts. And you should make it count.

I'm going to put music out when I feel like it's ready.

I have only so many songs to choose from when I'm deciding on the album. So I learned that I'm a little slow as far as dishing out music, but I learned to be patient with myself and not rush anything.

I would say that I don't make music quickly; like, my process has been very slow, and my bar is very high, and I don't really rush to make music just to get something out there.

Every time I make a new album, I get better and better.

With 'Words, Words, Words,' that show was me experimenting with something, and then there was a clear direction for me.

For me, the more time you can take and the more care you can take with songs, the better off you're going to be.

The importance of art is in the process of doing it, in the learning experience where the artist interacts with whatever is being made.

Sometimes I go in and try to write beats, but I just trash 'em, and then the next time I go in, I'll make like six beats - six legit, nice beats. I'm really particular with how it needs to sound.

The Internet tempts us to think that because an email or a new website can be accessed in seconds that everything works at the same instant speed. Art is more like the growth of a plant. It needs time and space.

I don't like to rush my music.

I've tended to look at my albums as research and development. I was just trying to get someplace new on each one.

I'm not the type of person who makes a lot of songs in a day just to see which one is the best.

I'm doing super quality control. I'll have five tunes that I think are all good - before I would've put out all five tunes but now I'm just putting out that one out of the five that I think is the banger.

With my own stuff, I've always held to the belief that it should take as long as it takes until it feels right.

'Tongue' is literally just one piece of the puzzle. This album is something I've worked on over the course of my entire career and something I've been discovering myself in it.

I try to stay true to my style, and I understand the foundation of my style and where it came from. But at the same time, you take that experience and learn different ways to write, different ways to turn on that creative energy.

To listen to my first record, it doesn't sound like me.