DMX Helps Ruff Ryders Get Ready to Hit the Trail

Looking for the next major force in hip-hop? It may be a crew that fans have been hearing about from the current major force in hip-hop.

The Ruff Ryders are repeatedly saluted on DMX’s two hit albums, “It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot” and “Flesh of My Flesh Blood of My Blood,” which have sold nearly 5 million copies combined. DMX’s allegiance is so strong that he even has a song called “Ruff Ryders’ Anthem,” which serves as the organization’s unofficial theme song.

With that kind of boost, you can expect the Ruff Ryders’ “Ryde or Die” compilation album to become a hip-hop mainstay upon its April 27 release.

The Ruff Ryders are two rappers (Eve and Drag-On), an R&B; trio (Parle) and three producers (Swizz Beats, PK and Shok). DMX is signed to Ruff Ryders Entertainment, a production company that has produced most of his recordings. The firm is affiliated with Def Jam Recordings, but the other Ruff Ryders artists are signed to Ruff Ryders Records, an imprint of Interscope Records, which will release the compilation, as well as the forthcoming solo albums from the artists signed to the New York-based company.

Even though DMX is among hip-hop’s hottest artists, the Ruff Ryders album features him on only a few of the 15 songs.

“This compilation wasn’t focused on DMX,” Swizz says. “We feel that we’ve got enough skills and enough ideas to do our stuff the right way so that we can all shine and do our own thing.”

“Ryde or Die” does, however, follow a recent rap trend by featuring big-name artists such as Jay-Z, Jermaine Dupri and Juvenile, in solo turns and on duets with the Ruff Ryders acts. It’s a sure-fire way to entice listeners and expose the new artists, but ultimately it’s the production work of Swizz Beats, PK and Shok--a relentless aural assault of searing keyboards and aggressive drum tracks--that will have the biggest impact on listeners.

“Everybody may not be too familiar [with] the artist, so the beats have to be the backbone of the artist,” says Swizz. “The beat is a plan to keep people listening to you.”

DMX has introduced people to the Ruff Ryders’ name, but there are other jump-starts working to the Ruff Ryders’ advantage--most notably Eve. The rapper was once signed to Dr. Dre’s Aftermath label, and she is featured on the Roots’ popular “You Got Me” single.

Eve, a Philadelphia native who was brought to Ruff Ryders after DMX heard some of her older songs, makes the strongest impression of the lesser-known artists on “Ryde or Die.”

She performs on the pulsating title track as well as the Latin-flavored “What Ya Want.” Her debut album, scheduled for a July release, will incorporate reggae, hard-core hip-hop and soul and will feature a more diverse lyrical range than she displays on this boast-heavy compilation.

“As a female, we have issues, whether it be domestic values or talking to a guy,” Eve says. “My being in the light, that gives me a voice, and I need to teach the young girls things.”

But for now, Eve and the other artists featured on “Ryde or Die” will continue the in-your-face style that has catapulted DMX into the limelight.

“He loves what he does, and he has a real passion for his music,” Eve says of DMX’s appeal. “He’ll sacrifice anything to get his point across on stage or in his music. He’s telling it like he sees it, and that’s why so many people can relate to him. He’s a real person. He made people love Ruff Ryders, want to be a Ruff Ryder.”

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NAUGHTY NAUGHTY: While the Ruff Ryders are potentially among hip-hop’s hottest crews, veteran Naughty by Nature faces a harder time with its fourth album, “Naughty: Nature’s Fury,” also due in stores April 27. Even though its first three albums--1991’s self-titled debut, 1993’s “19 Naughty III” and 1995’s “Poverty’s Paradise”--sold nearly 3.6 million units collectively and featured anthem-like tunes such as “O.P.P.” and “Hip Hop Hooray,” a four-year hiatus from recording--an eternity in hip-hop time--is a serious obstacle.

But the New Jersey trio--producer KayGee and rappers Treach and Vinnie--have a plan to overcome their extended downtime. Unlike their earlier singles, which were radio-friendly party cuts, the first two songs from the new album--”Dirt All by My Lonely” and “Live or Die”--are aimed at fans who prefer music with a harder edge.

“It’s a combination of typical Naughty sounds and what’s going on today,” KayGee says of the new album. “Whether it’s a hard-core song or your typical fun record, we tried to have some tempo to it because we feel like tempo is always going to work.”

On the album, songs such as “Holiday” and “Jamboree” are in the tradition of their older singles and could easily become radio hits.

Once hip-hop fans are comfortable with a song’s production, lyrics become the focus. On “Nature’s Fury,” Naughty by Nature (which plays the House of Blues on April 26) sticks with braggadocio, good times and police brutality. These topics never seem to fall out of favor with rap fans as long as some fury is evident in the rapper’s voice.

“I’m taking this album as if we’ve never been out before,” Vinnie says. “Naughty by Nature has been scarce for a while, so I’m not making it seem like I’m fighting for the people who listened to us in ’91 or ’93 to listen to us now. It’s a brand-new millennium, new attitude, and we’re going in here straight from the heart like we always did.”

As potent as their new music may be, Naughty by Nature realizes that it’s competing with newer artists such as DMX, Jay-Z and others with a high profile.

“We know that we haven’t been out in a while and we definitely have some work to do,” KayGee says. “Our work is cut out for us, to reintroduce ourselves to these newer, younger fans. But it’s all good, because we’re up to the challenge.” *