For Black History Month this year, Rémy Martin teams up with XXL to celebrate 10 important moments in hip-hop history. Through the years, Rémy Martin has created a synonymous relationship between cognac and music culture by representing celebration and entertainment seamlessly. In honor of hip-hop’s nearly 50-year existence, host DJ Suss One, XXL Awards Board members Kendell "Sav" Freeman, Vice President/Co-Head of Urban Music at Arista Records; Sydney Margetson, Senior Vice President of Publicity at Atlantic Records; and Traci Adams, Executive Vice President of Promotion at Epic Records, revisit DMX releasing two No. 1 albums in the same year in 1998, as a monumental milestone in the genre.

DMX had a bite to match his bark, and the success of both his debut album, It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot, and sophomore LP, Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood, proved he would be one of the most unique forces in hip-hop for years to come. As one of the most anticipated albums of the 1990s, It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot, released on May 19, 1998, moved 251,000 copies in its first week off the strength of high-energy singles like “Get at Me Dog” and “Ruff Ryders’ Anthem.”

After seeing the success of their abrasive new talent, Def Jam made the unorthodox decision to drop the Yonkers, N.Y. rapper’s second LP before the end of the year. Released on Dec. 22, 1998, Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood outmatched it predecessor, pushing 670,000 units in its first seven days on shelves, cementing the enigmatic rapper in the history books. Tupac is actually the first rapper to have two albums reach No. 1 in a calendar year, All Eyes on Me and The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory, in 1996. However, the latter was released posthumously and under a different name. That makes DMX the first living rapper at the time to achieve the feat.

X’s next three albums would all debut at No. 1 as well, marking one of the most decorated bodies of work in hip-hop history. His achievement is still a unique one. In 2020, YoungBoy Never Broke Again became the latest rapper to drop two projects in the same calendar year that debuted at No. 1 in Top and 38 Baby 2—a mixtape.

Important milestones in hip-hop like this deserve recognition for years to come. As part of Black History Month, Rémy Martin and XXL will be making a donation to Black Music Action Coalition, an advocacy organization that was formed to addresses systemic racism within the music industry and reaches racial justice throughout society at large. Rémy Martin and XXL will match every additional dollar donated to BMAC during Black History Month.*

Watch DJ Suss One, Kendell "Sav" Freeman, Sydney Margetson and Traci Adams discuss DMX's accomplishment of two No. 1 albums in a year below.

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*Rémy Martin to match donations up to $50K, XXL to match donations up to $10K.

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