"Where the Hood At?" is a song by American rapper DMX, released as the lead single from his 2003 studio album ''

Grand Champ ''Grand Champ'' is the fifth studio album by American rapper DMX. It was released on September 16, 2003 by The Island Def Jam Music Group, Def Jam Recordings, and Ruff Ryders Entertainment. The album was produced by multiple producers, includin ...

''.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

stated "The anthemic lead single, 'Where the Hood At,' is precisely modeled after previous DMX rallying calls like '

Ruff Ryders' Anthem "Ruff Ryders' Anthem" is a song by American rapper DMX, released on May 5, 1998, as the third single from his debut studio album '' It's Dark and Hell Is Hot'' (1998). In 2008, the song was ranked at number 79 on ''VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of ...

', ' What's My Name?', and ' Who We Be.'" "Where the Hood At?" peaked at #68 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and would become the last DMX song to chart on it with DMX as the lead artist, before his death in April 2021.

Release

Production

The song was recorded in a studio in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. DMX's close friend Rudy "Kato" Rangel was also there while DMX was recording it. When DMX first heard the beat, he immediately came up with the lyrics for what would later be the first line of the chorus for the song, which also became the title of the song.DMX Breaks Down His Most Iconic Tracks , GQ
/ref> The song's first verse criticizes

homosexuals Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" exc ...

, with lyrics including "Last I heard ya niggas was havin' sex/With the same sex/I show no love/To homo thugs". Ironically, DMX later says in the same song, "You hold my dick while ''he's'' sucking it". The clean version does not have the third verse, unlike the explicit version. The producers for the song were the production group Tuneheadz. Recorded in 2003, it was one of the first singles to be available as a digital download via

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc., doing business as Amazon, is an American multinational technology company engaged in e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos in Bellevu ...

. The song samples " I'll Play the Blues for You" by

Albert King Albert King ( Nelson; April 25, 1923 – December 21, 1992), was an American guitarist and singer who is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential blues guitarists of all time. He is perhaps best known for his popular and ...

. That song was originally sampled by

Big Daddy Kane Antonio Hardy (born September 10, 1968), better known by his stage name Big Daddy Kane, is an American Rapping, rapper, producer and actor who began his career in 1986 as a member of the Juice Crew. He is widely regarded as one of the most influe ...

for the song "Young, Gifted and Black". DMX stated that he was "in love with that beat when Kane did it".

Music video

The music video is set in DMX's neighborhood in

Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is the List of municipalities in New York, third-most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the most-populous City (New York), city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County. A centrally locate ...

. There are appearances from rappers

Drag-On Melvin Jason Smalls (born January 4, 1980), known professionally as Drag-On, is an American rapper. He is best known for his time on Ruff Ryders, through whom he released his debut album, '' Opposite of H2O'' (2000). The album was successful, ...

Swizz Beatz Kasseem Daoud Dean (born September 13, 1978), known professionally as Swizz Beatz, is an American rapper and record producer. Born and raised in the Bronx borough of New York City, Dean embarked on his musical career as a DJ in 1994. At the age ...

(who performs the intro for the clean and music video version of the song),

Fat Joe Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper. He began recording as a member of Hip-hop, hip hop group D.I.T.C., Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.) in 1992, and pursued a sol ...

and

Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after National Football League, NFL and Canadian Football Lea ...

, as well as deceased Ruff Ryders affiliate William 'Tiny' Jacobs. In the second half of the video, a song entitled "A'Yo Kato", produced by Swizz Beatz, was added to pay tribute to his fallen friend Rudy "Kato" Rangel. Rangel's widow Valerie, who appears on the outro of the song, appears at the end of the video.

Critical reception

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' described the song as "an exhilarating dose of fight music." In a review for ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

'', critic Matt Cibula took issue with the song's first verse, inquiring "What year is it that we have to hear shit like this? 1987 on an

Ice-T Tracy Lauren Marrow (born February 16, 1958), known professionally as Ice-T (or Ice T), is an American rapper and actor. He is active in both hip hop music, hip hop and heavy metal music, heavy metal. Ice-T began his career as an underground r ...

record?

1939 in Germany Events in the year 1939 in Germany. Incumbents National level Head of State and Chancellor of Germany, Chancellor * Adolf Hitler (the Führer) (Nazi Party) Events * 23 January – "Dutch War Scare": Admiral Wilhelm Canaris of the ''Abwehr'' l ...

? The Middle fucking Ages?"

Track listing

US version

#"Where the Hood At?" #"Where the Hood At?" (Instrumental) #"

UK version

#"Where the Hood At?" #"Ruff Ryders' Anthem" #" Who We Be" #"Where the Hood At?" (Video CD-ROM)

Charts

Certifications

References

{{DMX 2003 singles DMX songs Def Jam Recordings singles Ruff Ryders Entertainment singles Diss tracks Gangsta rap songs 2003 songs Songs written by DMX