That growl comes through the speakers and the whole room knows who it is. DMX Bring Out the Worst, featuring Joyner Lucas, just came through on Hoodz Radio, and it hits the way a DMX record is supposed to: raw, urgent and unmistakable.

This is the posthumous single a lot of people are searching for. Here is the story behind it, who is on it, where the verse came from and where it sits in the DMX catalog.

DMX Bring Out the Worst: The Story Behind the Song

“Bring Out the Worst” by DMX featuring Joyner Lucas dropped on Friday, May 30, 2025. It is the first single from DMX Features, a posthumous project.

The record opens with DMX’s classic growl asking where his dogs are, a sound that has been a calling card for generations of heads. The song runs 3:31, and the title points at a theme of choice and consequence, of what a person or a moment pulls out of you. That reading is the station’s take, but it fits the man.

Who Made It and How It Was Released

DMX is the lead voice and Joyner Lucas is the featured guest. The digital single carries SYB Entertainment, Twenty Nine Music Group and DNA Music in its label fields, and the song was distributed by DNA Music Group and Hitmaker Distro.

An official video exists as well. DMX’s official YouTube channel posted the song, and Apple Music carries a music video that runs 3:32.

Is Bring Out the Worst on Exodus? No.

This is the question that trips people up. Exodus arrived in 2021, and this record is not part of it. “Bring Out the Worst” is a standalone lead single for DMX Features, a different project entirely.

Vado announced DMX Features on May 28, 2025, and a press release confirmed it. That release described the project as “a posthumous collection of never-before-heard collaborations” featuring “some of the biggest names in Hip Hop.” Wiz Khalifa and Kevin Gates are among the guests. The press release also said the project “will celebrate the life, legacy and influence of one of rap’s most enduring voices.”

The 2012 Verse Behind the Record

Here is the vault story. DMX’s verse first appeared on “Where My Dogs At,” a track from his 2012 mixtape The Weigh-In. For “Bring Out the Worst,” that verse was brought forward with fresh, tighter production and a new feature from Joyner Lucas.

That is the heart of the record: a voice from 2012 meeting a modern guest in 2025.

It is also a window into how posthumous music gets made. Existing performances are revisited, framed with new sound and paired with new voices, all aimed at keeping the legacy in motion.

How It Landed and Why People Are Searching

The timing carried weight. The single arrived days after the 27th anniversary of DMX’s debut album It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot, released May 19, 1998. That album is certified 4x Platinum by the RIAA, and it debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 251,000 copies in its first week, DMX’s first No. 1 debut on that chart.

That is why a posthumous single still pulls this much attention. When the name on the record carries that kind of history, and the Ruff Ryders legacy behind it, people show up to listen.

Where It Sits in the DMX Catalog

DMX died in April 2021 at age 50 after a heart attack. Exodus followed on May 28, 2021, through Def Jam, with Swizz Beatz as executive producer. It debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 and No. 4 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, DMX’s 10th top 10 on that chart.

DMX Features is the third posthumous DMX project, following Exodus and 2024’s Let Us Pray: Chapter X. “Bring Out the Worst” is the lead single for that third chapter.

About Joyner Lucas

Joyner Lucas brings his own résumé to the record. His studio albums include ADHD, released March 27, 2020, which went RIAA Gold and peaked at No. 10 on the US chart, and ADHD 2, released July 18, 2025, via Twenty Nine Music Group.

Why It Stays in Rotation on Hoodz Radio

Here is the station’s take. DMX never sounded like anybody else, and this record proves the voice still cuts through. The growl, the weight and the urgency all land, and Joyner Lucas steps in with respect for the man whose verse he is standing next to.

We spin it because it honors the legacy without turning it into a museum piece. It connects the golden era to the current movement, and that is exactly what Hoodz Radio is built to do.

Sources

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