S. Samuel
Former Ruff Ryders leader DMX and longtime pal/producer Swizz Beatz may be what the iconic late 1990's brand needs for a full-fledged reunion movement after recently hooking up.
A photo of Dark Man X and Swizzy together has started to sprout online courtesy of an Instagram post.
Swizz Beatz posted a photo of him and DMX together on Instagram earlier today. The caption reads, “It’s time for this to happen again got dammit!” with both artists wearing red and black “DMX” hats. Well, DMX is technically wearing a bucket hat, but that’s besides the point. Seeing these guys back together again can only mean one thing, and we’re loving the possibilities. (Complex)
Reflecting on the Ruff Ryders movement, Swizzy said reunion tour plans were in full effect last year.
“First and foremost, it’s great to start off with such an amazing brand as Ruff Ryders that people see as authentic. When we came out, we changed the culture of music at that time. It was just something about the timing of that that made sense to the people. And so to come back years later and have people missing that in their life, to perform with DMX at SOBs and it be sold out, people knowing every word of his songs, it’s just like, wow, we really built something. Ruff Ryders was a great starting point, and to tour with it again is a cool thing.” (The FADER)
Days prior, X and Swizzy reunited for a New York City concert.
“It don’t get no better than this,” DMX told the crowd near the end of his triumphant set at S.O.B.’s in New York on Thursday night (Feb. 23). The beleaguered New York native littered his first Manhattan show in years with a decade and a half of hits: after stomping onstage and launching into “We Right Here,” X tore through cuts like “What These B*tches Want,” “Get At Me Dog,” “Party Up” and “Ruff Ryders’ Anthem,” the latter of which featured special guest Swizz Beatz onstage. (Billboard)
In January 2012, Ruff Ryders CEO Joaquin “Wahh” Dean talked about a reunion run kicking off in the near future.
“Everybody’s on deck. It’s just that we’re making sure all of the schedules are intact,” RR co-CEO Joaquin “Waah” Dean told MTV News. Dates are still being finalized, but Dean confirmed that he expects the tour to start between March and April. The plan is for the crew to begin their run overseas and then come over to the U.S. “We gonna take it nice and slow. We ain’t gonna do like how we used to do, 30 or 40 cities; we not gonna go that far just yet,” he said. “We gonna take it slow. Do a nice little five to 10 joints overseas and then some dates on this side just to build the momentum and have some fun with it.” (MTV)
