DMX music streams soared a whopping 928% in the U.S. following his death, initial data reports have confirmed.
While it’s unsurprising given that streams always go up after the passing of an artist, the level with which DMX’s rose is still huge. As per Billboard, initial reports collated by MRC Data found that his catalogue of songs had saw an increase of 928% in the immediate days following his death.
On April 9th and 10th, his songs gained 75.7 million on-demand streams collectively, for audio and video combined. This is in comparison to just 7.36 million on April 7th and April 8th.
The late rapper’s five most-streamed songs on the 9th and 10th included some of his biggest hits: ‘Ruff Ryders’ Anthem’ went up 973% (9.59 million), ‘X Gon’ Give It To Ya’ went up 900% (5.79 million), ‘Slippin’’ went up 853% (5.52 million), ‘Party Up (In Here)’ went up 941% (5.20 million), and ‘How It’s Goin’ Down’ featuring Faith Evans went up 691% (3.52 million).
A steady rise had also been noticeable in streams of his music in the lead-up to his untimely death, following his hospitalisation the week prior on April 2nd. In the days before April 2nd, DMX’s songs were streamed between 700,000 and 1 million times daily; from April 3rd until April 8th, this number rose to between three million and four million per day.
Away from streaming, DMX’s music sales also improved. His collected songs and albums cols 101,000 copies from April 9th until April 11th, up 1,036% on the 9,000 they sold from April 6th until April 8th. On the latest Billboard 200 chart, DMX’s compilation The Best Of saw a re-entry at number 73, sure to rise further in the coming days and weeks.
DMX died on April 9th from a heart attack triggered by a drug overdose. He was just 50 years old. He was one of the most successful rappers commercially in his heyday. 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 number one on the Billboard 200. This made him the first artist to see his first five efforts all start directly in the top slot.
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Check out ‘Ruff Ryders’ Anthem’ by DMX:
