DMX's music legacy has always eclipsed his achievements in acting but he's been part of some memorable films and a few unknowns you should check out.

For the last few months, the hip-hop community has mourned the loss of one of the genre's most prolific icons, the incomparable DMX. Born Earl Simmons, the Yonkers native blazed a massive trail at the intersection of hip-hop and culture. His art was a blended Molotov cocktail of jagged edges and solemn introspections on faith and morality. This radical duality was unprecedented in rap and served as the driving force behind his tenacious musical style.

DMX's influence is tangibly felt through the music he leaves behind, though it often overshadowed his legacy as a performer in movies. His raw magnetism translated well on the big screen and despite his lack of accolades, many of his films are remembered fondly as enjoyable crime thrillers. Not all of them have aged particularly well, but each role explored the many spectrums of his enigmatic persona.

10 Best: Romeo Must Die (2000)

Still basking in the afterglow of The Matrix, larger-than-life producer Joel Silver returned to martial arts the following year with Romeo Must Die starring Jet Li and Aaliyah. Loosely interpreted as 'Shakespeare meets kung-fu', this modern retwist of the ageless forbidden love story blends kinetic stunt choreography with blunt racial conflict.

DMX portrays Silk, a well-respected nightclub owner in Oakland, California. His scene-stealing introduction in the film's opening fight scene establishes Silk's intensity, with a machine gun monologue spoken like a prophetic sermon. Though Silk's powerful presence is leveraged rather sparingly, each of his scenes are distinguished by X's uncanny ability to invoke fear and respect in equal measures.

9 Unheard Of: Lords Of The Street (2008)

He's out for blood in Lords Of The Street, a 2008 action-thriller starring Sheldon Robins and Kris Kristofferson. The film follows two cops in hot pursuit of a cartel kingpin through the dark underbelly of New Orleans. DMX stands out as the movie's walk-on centerpiece despite its clunky narrative, cheesy dialogue, and straight-to-video release strategy.

The rapper brings life to Thorn, a soft-spoken hitman who vows to avenge his sister's death at the hands of the Mexican cartel. His rigid principles echo shades of Omar in The Wire, with a habit for quoting scripture before punching someone's clock, like Jules from Pulp Fiction. Though his role is somewhat minimal, his commanding onscreen presence bears weight like the shark from Jaws—sometimes less is more.

8 Best: Exit Wounds (2001)

Coupled with mythical action star Steven Seagal, DMX co-headlines his biggest budget feature Exit Wounds, a rousing compilation of gunshots and broken limbs. The swiveling premise follows a belligerent detective and powerful crime lord who team up to thwart a deadly conspiracy at the heart of Detroit's roughest precinct.

With a surprisingly deep bench of co-stars like Michael Jai White, Eva Mendes, Bill Duke, and Anthony Anderson, Exit Wounds is a fairly formulaic crime story that fondly captures the carefree amusement of pre-9/11 action movies. This offshoot noir blueprint helped solidify X's legacy as a generational archetype in the crime movie genre.

7 Unheard Of: Fast And Fierce: Death Race (2020)

As the old adage goes, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. When it comes to imitations, no one does it quite like The Asylum, a production company that makes straight-to-video copycats of well-known blockbuster franchises. Fast & Fierce: Death Race is their makeshift Fast & Furious movie featuring DMX as a villainous figure named Davie.

While it retains almost no redemptive qualities when compared to a Fast & Furious film, there's a distinct self-actualization in all of The Asylum's work. Their tongue-in-cheek commitment to off-brand entertainment is transparently shameless, maybe best exemplified by their notorious cult hit Sharknado. In this respect, DMX's comically hard-edged demeanor was perfectly suited for Fast & Fierce's unapologetic nerve.

6 Best: Never Die Alone (2004)

Ernest Dickerson's gritty urban neo-noir Never Die Alone is a character-driven crime-thriller with powder keg tension. The narrative follows Paul (David Arquette), a writer who struggles to piece together the circumstances surrounding the death of notorious drug dealer King David (DMX) after their chance encounter.

Sharing likeness to the epilogue of The Godfather III, its central themes are meditations on loneliness, regret, and the ultimate consequences of life as a villain. Although Never Die Alone is hindered by some seriously problematic writing, X reaches his performative apex as the morally conflicted King David. The role conjures a deeper complexity in him that mirrors the philosophical breadth of his music.

5 Unheard Of: The Bleeding (2009)

The wildest acting venture of DMX's career features him and company squaring off against a legion of vampires in the aptly named The Bleeding. This straight-to-video grindhouse mashup co-stars Vinnie Jones and Michael Madsen. What it lacks in logic, it more than makes up for in comic absurdity.

Brash, campy, and guns a-blazing, The Bleeding is as unrestrained as a bat out of hell. It radiates with high-strung energy like From Dusk Till Dawn on bath salts but despite the eccentricity of its general execution, its devotion to gonzo earnestness is what ultimately stands out. Through it all, DMX's brutish intensity feels justified by its asinine premise.

4 Best: Cradle 2 The Grave (2003)

Cradle 2 The Grave is among the circle of action movies more known for its soundtrack than for its premise altogether. The second onscreen pairing between the rapper and martial arts sensation Jet Li follows Anthony Fait (DMX), a jewel thief who links up with a Taiwanese intelligence agent to rescue Fait's kidnapped daughter from a rogue ex-agent (Mark Dacascos).

Despite some poorly aged racial stereotyping, Cradle 2 The Grave is an exceedingly fun action movie that expends no brain function to be able to enjoy. Its iconic soundtrack featuring DMX's certified platinum hit "X Gon' Give It To Ya" sets the anthemically sprawling tone as Fait tears through Los Angeles on an ATV.

3 Unheard Of: Top Five (2014)

In general fan circles, it's not often Chris Rock's Top Five gets brought up with the kind of appreciation it so rightly deserves. This star-studded comedy follows Andre Allen (Chris Rock), a struggling funny man whose fateful interview with a journalist (Rosario Dawson) forces him to re-evaluate his career and life choices.

Filled to the brim with illustrious cameos including Jerry Seinfeld, Kevin Hart, Adam Sandler and Leslie Jones, Top Five's most surprising appearance is DMX playing an exaggerated version of himself. His unexpected walk-on finds Andre face-to-face with the rapper during a one-nighter in jail. His brief but outrageous appearance shows a supreme level of self-awareness and comedic line delivery that no one could have ever expected from such a famously stoic figure.

2 Best: Belly (1998)

Consciously indebted to Martin Scorsese's magnum opus Goodfellas, Hype Williams' late '90s crime thriller Belly was a socially significant moment that cemented the ongoing crossover between hip-hop and mainstream cultures. Co-starring legendary rap luminaries DMX, Nas, and Method Man, the film is a striking exploration of the moral costs of criminal aspiration.

Having only directed music videos prior, Hype Williams' keen eye for art direction appeared to glamorize a lawless lifestyle on Belly's surface. But just like Goodfellas, its depiction of reckoning establishes the film's deeper meaning as a cautionary tale. DMX's robust portrayal of Tommy "Buns" Bundy was an outstanding debut performance that coincided with the release of his acclaimed first album that very same year.

1 Unheard Of: Pimp (2018)

Pimp, produced by Lee Daniels and starring Keke Palmer is a labored fusion of social drama and blaxploitation tonalities that don't quite gel, despite some immaculate performances. The sordid premise follows Wednesday (Palmer), a Bronx pimp whose money-driven lifestyle erodes when she takes on a dangerous new rival (Edi Gathegi).

The film's prologue establishes Wednesday's tumultuous childhood. Under her late father Midnight John's (DMX) tutelage, she learns the inner workings of pimping and hooking. Through these illicit affairs, she learns to build emotional walls for the sake of handling business. While his role is minimally leveraged, X's aura permeates the film through Wednesday's inherited characteristics. In its own way, the film becomes a belatedly cathartic examination of the residual influence left behind by those who have passed—for better and for worse.

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