Where the Hood At?

"Where the Hood At?"
Single by DMX
from the album Grand Champ
Released	August 5, 2003[1]
Genre	Hip hop gangsta rap
Length	4:46
Label	Ruff Ryders Def Jam
Songwriter(s)	E. Simmons
Producer(s)	Tuneheadz
DMX singles chronology
"X Gon' Give It to Ya" (2003) "Where the Hood At?" (2003) "Get It on the Floor" (2003)

"Where the Hood At?" is a song by American rapper DMX, released as the lead single from his 2003 studio album Grand Champ. AllMusic stated "The anthemic lead single, 'Where the Hood At,' is precisely modeled after previous DMX rallying calls like 'Ruff Ryders' Anthem', 'What's My Name?', and 'Who We Be.'"

"Where the Hood At?" peaked at #68 on the Billboard Hot 100, and would become the last DMX song to chart on it with DMX as the lead artist, before his death in 2021.

Release

Production

The song was recorded in a studio in Chicago. DMX's close friend Rudy "Kato" Rangel was also there while DMX was recording it. When DMX first heard the beat, he immediately came up with the lyrics for what would later be the first line of the chorus for the song, which also became the title of the song.[2] The song's first verse criticizes homosexuals, with lyrics including "Last I heard ya niggas was havin' sex/With the same sex/I show no love/To homo thugs".[3] Ironically, DMX later says in the same song, "You hold my dick while he's sucking it".

The clean version does not have the third verse, unlike the explicit version. The producers for the song were the production group Tuneheadz. Recorded in 2003, it was one of the first singles to be available as a digital download via Amazon.com.

The song samples "I'll Play the Blues for You" by Albert King. That song was originally sampled by Big Daddy Kane for the song "Young, Gifted and Black". DMX stated that he was "in love with that beat when Kane did it".[2]

Music video

The music video is set in DMX's neighborhood in Yonkers, New York. There are appearances from rappers Drag-On, Swizz Beatz (who performs the intro for the clean and music video version of the song), Fat Joe and Busta Rhymes. In the second half of the video, a song entitled "A'Yo Kato", produced by Swizz Beatz, was added to pay tribute to his fallen friend Rudy "Kato" Rangel. Rangel's widow Valerie, who appears on the outro of the song, appears at the end of the video.

Critical reception

Rolling Stone described the song as "an exhilarating dose of fight music."[4] In a review for PopMatters, critic Matt Cibula took issue with the song's first verse, inquiring "What year is it that we have to hear shit like this? 1987 on an Ice-T record? 1939 in Germany? The Middle fucking Ages?"[3]

Track listing

US version

1. "Where the Hood At?"
2. "Where the Hood At?" (Instrumental)
3. "Ruff Ryders' Anthem"

UK version

1. "Where the Hood At?"
2. "Ruff Ryders' Anthem"
3. "Who We Be"
4. "Where the Hood At?" (Video CD-ROM)

Charts

Chart (2003-2005)	Position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[5]	68
U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks (Billboard)[6]	1
U.S. Hot Rap Singles (Billboard)[7]	1
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[8]	16
UK R&B (Official Charts Company)[9]	1
German Singles (Media Control Charts)[10]	1
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)	1

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[11]	Silver	200,000^‡
United States (RIAA)[12]	Platinum	1,000,000^‡
^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Where That Hood at [US 12"] - DMX | Release Credits". AllMusic.
2. DMX Breaks Down His Most Iconic Tracks | GQ
3. Cibula, Matt (November 21, 2003). "Review: DMX: Grand Champ". PopMatters. Archived from the original on November 23, 2003. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
4. Sanneh, Kelefa (October 16, 2003). "Recordings: DMX - Grand Champ". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 8, 2003. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
5. "DMX – Chart History: Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
6. "DMX – Chart History: Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
7. "DMX – Chart History: Rap Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
8. "DMX – Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
9. "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40 | Official Charts Company". OfficialCharts.com.
10. "Chartverfolgung / DMX / Singles". German Charts. Media Control Charts. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
11. "British single certifications – DMX – Where The Hood At". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
12. "American single certifications – DMX – Where the Hood At". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved May 30, 2021.