DMX Music Streams Increase 928% Following His Death

Streams of DMX’s catalog of songs increased 928% in the United States in the days following his death, according to initial reports to MRC Data. Collectively, his tracks garnered 75.7 million on-demand streams (audio and video combined) on April 9 and 10 – up 928% compared to the 7.36 million they earned on April 7 and 8.

DMX passed on April 9 after experiencing a heart attack triggered by a reported drug overdose. He was 50 years old.

DMX’s top five most-streamed songs on April 9-10 according to Billboard were “Ruff Ryders Anthem” (9.59 million; up 973%), “X Gon’ Give It To Ya” (5.79 million; up 900%), “Slippin’” (5.52 million; up 853%), “Party Up (In Here)” (5.20 million; up 941%) and “How It’s Goin’ Down,” featuring Faith Evans (3.52 million; up 691%).

Streams of DMX’s music had increased leading up to his passing, following his hospitalization on April 2. In the days before April 2, his songs were streamed between 700,000 and 1 million times a day. Between April 3 and April 8, they rose to between 3 and 4 million per day.

In terms of music sales, DMX’s collected songs and albums sold 101,000 copies on April 9-11 – up 1,036% compared to the 9,000 they sold on April 6-8.During DMX’s lifetime, he notched 31 hits on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and 15 entries on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100. His first five albums – It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot (1998), Flesh of My Flesh Blood of My Blood (1999), …And Then There Was X (2000), The Great Depression (2001) and Grand Champ (2003) – all debuted at No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart, making him the first artist to see his first five efforts all begin directly in the top slot.

On the latest Billboard 200 chart (dated April 17, reflecting sales and streaming data in the week ending April 8), DMX’s compilation The Best Of re-enters the chart at No. 73. The set earned 12,000 equivalent album units for the week (up 224%), with the bulk of that sum driven by streaming activity for the album’s songs.