The first song is an intro called "My Niggas". DMX talks with his rough voice about his people and then a beat comes in... Instead of a freestyle-like rhyme in the debut album, this one is JUST a chorus where he says  "My Niggas... Always in the back to get ill... My Niggas.. Take you in the back for the kill" I must say... it's a dope intro but it's way too short. It would be a great full length song! The beat's slamming, Dmx's lyrics and voice are cool because of the contrast. (He changes it from high and rough to low and smooth). It's tight... but ends quick.

The second song "Bring Your Whole Crew" has a guest doing the chorus named Anthony "PK" Fields...??? This is a upper-mid tempo song where DMX gets nasty in the begining: "I got blood on my hands, and there's no remorse I got blood on my dick , cuz I fucked the corpse" ... okay.... To each is own.. The chorus is pretty cool with this new voice doing rapping/singing the hook: "I just love when a nigga bring his whole crew -its just a bigger piece of cake for me to chew a hole through (4X) " His voice sounds somewhat southern but I don't think he's from the south.This is no "Rough Ryder's Anthem" but it's a cool way to kick the album off.

"Pac Man" is a skit which comes too soon and is practically unneeded. It's nothing new and breaks no new ground on rap albums. This "Pac Man" claims that he was born & raised in the streets and he does not care what they do to him because he won't fall and he won't give up and all that.... of course... gun shots...

"Ain't No Way" is a slow song where DMX sings the hook. "Ain't no way you're gonna stop my flow..." I do like the sentiments of the song.. With his new popularity, many people want to stop him. This is a good song for anyone who feels the pressure of people trying to stop your success. It's a long song (clocks just under 5 minutes) for a rap song but has a nice mellow feel without losing it's hardcore sentiments.

"We Don't Give A F*ck" is a more mid- upper tempo song where Jadakiss from The Lox doing the chorus: "Use to be my dog, you were in my left titty, Scream Ride or Die, thought you would die with me, Now you're just a b*tch, you can't even ride with me..."  The whole "left titty" line just sounds wack... Guys (well most guys) don't have titties!!! I'm sure they could of thought of something better. I don't know why.. for some reason that line bugs me. The fact that it's part of the chorus makes it worse! Styles from The Lox kicks a verse too. The song's alright and has the universal sentiment of betrayal... We've all been betrayed! The title doesn't seem to fit... By writing a song about the anger of his "b*tch" dog who betrayed him shows that he does care! By having a title "We Don't Give A F*ck" makes the song seem out of place.

The next song, "Keep Your Sh*t The Hardest" is the "Get At Me Dog" of this album. It's upbeat and has a unique beat and call-response chorus. "What you want me to do? Keep your sh*t the hardest It's about to go down...." Swizz made a dope beat and filled it with tons of scratches... This is one of the dopest songs on the album. Some people think that the begining sounds somewhat like Noreaga's "Banned From T.V." but there's a definite difference. I love this song not only because of it's hardcore feel but it's true to the roots of "Get At Me Dog"... pure rough east coast hardcore hip-hop!

"Coming From" is a much more commercial joint on the album because Mary J. Blige does the chorus: "If I don't know where I'm coming from.. Where will I go?" Ever since "I'll Be There For You/All I Need" by Method Man and Ms. Blige, I have gained a respect for her doing hooks on rap songs... Ussualy.. I hate R&B hooks on rap songs but Mary's voice (like Lauren Hill's) is much more soulful and wise than just some lame R&B singer's noise. I was even surprised to find that I like this song..  The beat is cool too! It starts out with a repetitive thump which is very quick like a hammering heart beat. Then, there's a simple/cool yet spooky piano loop. The repetitive hammering thump is used in the song a couple of times which brings it a more hip-hop feel. Mary does not get annoying.. This song has the potential to be a major single which will probably maintain his street credibility. The philosophy of the song's sentiments are deep. The fact that DMX tells his tale and does not sound condescending gives the listener a chance to make up their own minds... I have to admit that I like the song...

"It's All Good" uses an old school beat {From "Heartbeat".. also used better by Black Moon in "2 Turntables & A Mic"}. DMX claims in the chours: "Love my niggaz, but wheres my bitches? I love my niggaz, but wheres my bitches? It's all good -It's alright -Fuck all day -Fuck all night -Call my bitches, cause wherever I go, y'all my bitches -East to the west coast, all my bitches" I believe that DMX used this on Ice Cube's "We Be Clubbin' Remix". The cool beat has nothing added to it but DMX's vocals. They could have added some instrumentation or vocal slices from other records but they didn't. Swizz is a dope DJ but they could have made this song much better. If you can get past all the "B*tch" lingo being repeated over and over again, it's a fun party song.  He claims that he had sex with women of all kinds: "I've done it all -From mackin' 2 hoes, on a three way -Dominican hoes on B day -Country hoes in V-A -And they all say -The same about my game -It's tight -Thats why every night -A different group of bitches start a fightt -Over some dick that they don't even own -All I'm givin' them is the bone " This is a completely sexist song but he's not beating any women... The word "b*tch" used over and over does get actually annoying but still.. it represents the frame of mind of men in the nineties.. Where in the 80's, De La Soul called em' Buddy... DMX calls em' "B*tch".

The second side starts of with "The Omen" that features Marilyn Manson doing the chorus. The song kicks off with a skit of a mother crying over her child in the hospital saying "He's going to take my baby!" Then, flatline... This song begins where "Damien" left off. DMX uses both voices... His normal voice to represent himself and the high picthed distorted voice for the devil. This time, the beat is extremely slow and Manson creates a very creepy atmosphere as he sings "The snake, the rat, the cat and the dog.. How you gonna live if you're in a fog?" Here, DMX realizes this guys is no good and ends up praying for God's forgiveness at the end even though he sold his soul to the devil. The beat is almost too slow and it does not grab you like the previous "Damien". Manson is very spooky. You can hear him whining on the overdub. Manson takes the song out as he sings: "Here we are on our way to hell -We're gonna do it, and we do it well" The song becomes really cool at the end because it gets very distorted and all crazy with backwards satantic messaging and crap like that.

The next song was produced by DJ Shok, "Slippin'" is a very self-confessing tale of how DMX has been led astray off the right path and into a life of crime. "I'm slippin', fallin', I can't get up." Here, DMX tells his story of his youth and how he's been in jail and done his share of crime. It gives the listener a much more grittier and realistic image of him. The beat's cool too along with the sad orchestra-melody. He's not perfect! He's not claiming to be the smoothest cat in the world! He's actually telling us that he had problems! He made mistakes! He needed help! It's refreshing to hear this is hip-hop... there's no doubt he can rip the mic, but it appears that DMX needs some consuling in his home life...

"No Love 4 Me" is an upbeat song where DMX does the hook: "Ain't nobody got love for me!...but my dogs who'll bust slugs for me!" The beat is very flashy and commercial sounding... almost like Puffy did it.. This is not a terrible song it's not the greatest on the album. Swizz Beats and Drag-On kick rhymes on the track. No one shines brighter than D... Drag-On actually sounds like Cam'ron. "Dogs For Life" has DMX doing the very slow hook with his voice really low. The beat and tempo is slow too. This song is kind of boring as he rhymes about his faithful dogs.."Blackout" is one of the best songs on the album and features The Lox and Jay-Z. There is no chorus and the beat is slow but very filled with thick noises and sounds. Though I'm not a fan of The Lox, they do aiight but Jay-Z does an excellent job. Dmx does a dope job too but his rhyme is anti-climactic towards the end. They rely on a car crashing sound effect to end the song.

"Flesh Of My Flesh, Blood Of My Blood" is an upbeat song which features D doing the hook by himself again: "Flesh Of My Flesh, Blood Of My Blood, all my n*ggaz get down like whut!" This has Dmx not breaking any new ground as he rhymes about shedding blood! This is one of the best songs on the album in my opinion.. Though the chorus is simple, there is a bass guitar and lead guitar performed on the track. It's got a dope beat and dope instrumentation in the end... It's one of the songs that make this album look slightly better than the last..

"Heat" has someone else doing the hook: "The heat is on! Are ya' n*ggaz ready to fly? The heat is on! Are ya' n*ggaz ready to die? The heat is on! Get your mother ready to cry...." Like Dmx's song "ATF", this song is about the struggle of inner-city criminals who have to live under the threat of police. It's realistic though the beat is slow and the chorus may seem somewhat corny to some... I kind of like it though. It's not the best song on the album but not the worst.

The last song "Ready To Meat Him" begins with Dmx praying to God. Though this prayer is not as passionate as the one on his debut album, it kicks the song off in a cool way. The chorus actually has Dmx kicking some racially thought provoking lyrics: "I'm ready to meet him,We're I'm living ain't right -Black hate white -White hate black -It's right back -To the same fight -They got us suspecting a war -But the real war is to follow the law of the lord " Here, Dmx gets too religious for his hardcore street image. This religious theme was pounded into us on the first album and is done again on this one... In my opinion, it brings the hardcore level down. As he has his conversation with God, he claims that he was alone and that God was not watching over him... I'd rather have this song about him dying and meeting God than him whining about how God was not there for him. This is a long song too and without a dope beat... it's destined to be a downer... Throughout the album, he claims to "bust slugs" and be with thugs, and sell drugs and now, God asked him "What have you learned?" and he says "Violence isn't always the key " Once again, Dmx is caught between his evil ways and heaven... We're all a mixture of both good and bad but his religion is pounded at us and not shown to us to make our own minds. The fact that he does doubt displays a nice realistic feel to the song...

Overall, I think that the album ends on a weak note.. you never know.. this could be one of those songs that grow on you after a while... Overall, the album is similar to his first one but does not have any new ground breaking stuff. When he first came out, he was new and ground breaking but this album seems like he plugged his variables into his formula. The majority of the beats are very weak. If they are not too slow, they are not thick enough. Though I do think Swizz is a very good DJ, the beats are nothing special at all... There are actually lame beats on the album. Take a lame beat and use it for four minutes and some change and you have a boring song...It's a shame... Lyrically, Dmx is cool but does not break any new ground. He took rap to the next level when he first came out but he just stayed at that level for this album. It is cool that he uses heart-felt lyrics in "Slippin'" and the philosophical lyrics on "Coming From" but his intellect is questioned on songs like "It's All Good" which probably did not take that much thought to make... beat wise and lyric-wise. Religious songs like "The Omen" and "Ready To Meat Him" try to scare the listener into believing in God and rejecting Satan. It's just hard to believe a person who has sex with a corpse on one song and tells you to listen to the word of the Lord on another. One thing I do like about this album is that it does not have blatent lyrical sell-out appeal... For example, on his first album, Dmx had to make his lyrics hit hard and be easy to remember because this was his chance. Now, he made it big already.. he's more relaxed and the songs are less listener-aware. On "It's Dark...", every song seemed like a potential single where the songs on this album go more with the flow of the album. .. Production wise, Swizz Beats has come up a little short. Though he does show his skills on "Ain't No Way" and "Keep Your Sh*t The Hardest", there are no lyric slices or scratches from songs. It would give a better hip-hop feeling to the album if they were used... just a little bit... The slow and weak beats truly bring the album down and make some of it boring. Samples are only used for the beat and "It's All Good" is blatent... High exposure guests like Mary J. Blige, Jay-Z and Marilyn Manson give the album a much more well produced and expensive feel while the slow and weak beats seriously make the filler boring instead of spooky or creepy. The album does flow nice with the more upbeat songs  intertwined with the slow songs. Overall, the album has a dark and creepy atmosphere that focuses more on trust, betrayal, violence, Hell, and heaven. The street is intertwined within the setting. Like I wrote before, Dmx did not break any new ground so he has not been too creative on this album since it's just a continuation of his last one. He is original...  Rappers like Ja Rule seem to be riding the wave of rough street thug emcees getting major exposure with gritty and rough voices. The only problem is that Dmx should have taken his imagination higher... instead... he relies on his fanbase. If you liked "It's Dark...", you have to like "Flesh..." because they are very similar. Dmx is a thug who knows about the dangers of street life and drugs and violence. It's evident in his rhymes. The religious themes weaken his hardcore appeal. One on song he's blasting people and doing ill stuff while on another he's praying to God and preaching. He really should make up his mind on what he is... Moobb Deep are straight up thugs who you never want to piss off while Dmx seems to have a forgiving side to him because he's so religious. Therefore, the hardcore level of his album is decreased due to his preaching. Overall, "Flesh Of My Flesh, Blood Of My Blood" is not a bad album. Though it depends on the success of the debut album, there is a less commercial feel even though there are high brow guests. Some songs are less catchy and more hardcore. There is no "I Feel It" and more of a street feel. I'm not sure which one I like better overall. I do and always will love "Get At Me Dog" as the best Dmx track but there is something cool about this joint... maybe it's because I did not hear any of it on the radio before I got it... Maybe that so many people are still obsessed with "It's Dark..." that this one can be overlooked. I do hear singles like "How's It Goin Down" and "Ruff Ryder's Anthem" on the radio and not any of these joints. That's a reason for me to like this album more....Still, if you are a die hard Dmx fan who loved or even just liked the first album, you'll enjoy this one too because it's the same formula. If you are looking for new hip-hop which breaks new ground, check out Pete Rock's album or Redman's joint. But Dmx makes entertaining albums and he has a cool voice and a cool flow. He has a mind too... He could be one of the great rappers of our time but he needs to stay focused more on the street and less on religion while making his beats much more thicker... Still, he is a damn' cool guy... Share his flesh and his blood because it sheds and drips all over...
Beats: 6/10,
Lyrics: 6/10,
Production: 6/10,
Originality/Creativity: 7/10,
Album Flow: 7/10,
Hardcore Rating: 8.5/10,
[ Overall Rating: 6.8/10 ]