Credit: Spotify

DMX was a man of contradictions. He was drawn to both the dark and the light in life, and that dynamic played out in his music, too. Nowhere was that more evident than in his ‘Damien’ trilogy of songs.

The figure of Damien was present in X’s work from the beginning, appearing for the first time in a song from his first album It’s Dark And Hell Is Hot, released in May 1998. This track, actually titled ‘Damien,’ tells a very vivid tale, in which X voices a version of himself and the character of Damien in the verses.

Damien, it becomes clear, is the Devil, and he has taken it upon himself to tempt DMX into committing terrible sins for material gain. Pretending to be his “guardian angel,” Damien promises X material wealth and women, but it will come at a cost.

Damien manipulates X into committing murder and betraying his own loved ones, all in exchange for the things that X covets most. The story ends without a neat resolution, but, as he X notes at the end of the song, “To be continued, mothafuckas.” This track is just the beginning.

There wasn’t long to wait. The next installation came in the form of ‘The Omen,’ which featured on X’s second album Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood, released in the same year as his first. Only seven months separated X’s first and second albums.

‘The Omen (Damien II)’ features Marilyn Manson, and narratively it begins with X recovering from a fresh bullet wound. As he recovers his health, X is reluctant to return to doing Damien’s bidding and he proclaims that he is rejecting his evil ways.

X’s resolve doesn’t last. After being informed by Damien that his cousin has been killed by the police, X is driven to seek vengeance. He accepts Damien’s offer of help, but he knows it will come back to haunt him. Invariably, Damien later demands ownership of X’s soul.

X regrets what he has done, and, by the end of the song, he is praying to God and seeking forgiveness. He proclaims that with God’s help, he knows that “the Devil won’t win.”

‘Damien III’ actually arrived quite late, skipping X’s third album, … And Then There Was X, and appearing instead on his fourth album The Great Depression, released in 2001. Damien shows up again, and he immediately expresses his displeasure with X that he wasn’t included on the third album.

Damien again tries to entice DMX into darkness, but this time he resists. He has learned his lesson, and, while he cannot take back the bad he previously did on Damien’s behalf, he at least seems to be resisting his temptations now. He is on a better path at last.