Few two-year stretches in hip-hop history match what Ruff Ryders accomplished in 1998 and 1999. In 1998 alone, DMX released two studio albums — It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot and Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood — and both reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200, a rare feat for any artist in a single calendar year.
The label didn’t slow down. In 1999, the flagship Ryde or Die Vol. 1 compilation showcased the full Ruff Ryders roster and topped the Billboard 200, while Eve’s debut album, Let There Be Eve… Ruff Ryders’ First Lady, did the same — announcing her as one of the genre’s defining new voices.
Behind the scenes, in-house producer Swizz Beatz and a roster that included The LOX and Drag-On gave the label a sound that was unmistakably its own. That run of releases remains the foundation the rest of the Ruff Ryders story — in music, media, lifestyle and beyond — is built on.
The full story is on the Legacy timeline, and the roster and catalog are on the Entertainment page.
