I’ve really enjoyed these old-school DMX leaks.

Hearing unreleased DMX recordings from 1995 feels like somebody discovered a locked room inside hip-hop history. DJ Superior has preserved a stash from those years, and “95 Flava” proves there is fire sitting inside that vault.

The track captures DMX before the world knew how dangerous he could become. He raps with ferocious hunger, attacks the beat like a freestyle battle, and sounds prepared to eliminate opponents placed in front of him. His wordplay stays sharp, the punchlines arrive violently, and his flow tears through production that nods to Craig Mack’s “Flava in Ya Ear.”

Two members of G.o.G. join him, including Q45. Instead of becoming background decoration, both MCs meet X’s competitive energy with intense verses. That is not an easy assignment when DMX sounds ready to gnaw a dude’s head off.

DJ Superior and Jonah Marc Levine produced the record, which was pulled from a cassette and remastered for streaming. However, you still get that rawness that makes you feel like you’re listening to some old-school mixtape era s**t.

Long Live X.

Quincy

Quincy is the creator of Ratings Game Music. He loves writing about music, taking long walks on beaches, and spaghetti that fights him back.