Earlier this week, we learned that DMX's eighth studio album Redemption of the Beast was dropping on January 13th. We also got a look at the track list and the cover art.
We hadn't heard anything about it before, and we chalked that up to the kind of "surprise" marketing that J. Cole and Beyonce used to great success. However, it seems like DMX was just as surprised as we were by the anouncement.
Not long after the album's details leaked , Redemption of the Beast's purported producer Swizz Beatz let it be known that he had nothing to do with the album. Then DMX reposted that message, which suggested the news about the album was a hoax.
But according to a statement issued by DMX's publicist, it's more complicated than that.
“I spoke to DMX today and he was unaware of the upcoming announcement of the Redemption Of The Beast album. When I read him the projected track list of songs to be released X said, ‘that’s all stolen music’. DMX and myself are highly disappointed that trust was broken and that these songs may be released and sold without X’s knowledge or consent. DMX and Swizz Beatz are working on an album together and fans should look to their official social media accounts for accurate information.”So Redemption of the Beast exists. In fact you can preorder it on Amazon. But the music on it hasn't been authorized by DMX. We'll see how this ends.