The last few years have been a whirlwind for DMX. On one hand, X is a multi-platinum rapper and one of the foremost rapper-turned-actors in the business; On the other, he’s one of the most disturbed and unstable figures in entertainment. The once iconic pillar of Yonkers grime has seen a fall from grace that took the form of the classic triple-threat: Sex, Drugs, and Rock&Roll (and by that I mean music and animal abuse). That unfortunate career side note acknowledged, we are left at a place that we have not been in years: discussing DMX.

A quick trip down memory lane brings up names that were active during 1998, the year of Mr. Simmons’s debut album. Names like Juvenile, Silkk the Shocker, C-Murder, MC Ren, Jayo Felony, Big Pun (R.I.P.), and the unforgettable Dru Hill were all the rage when he hit the scene but none of them have been on our minds of late as much as Michael Vick’s cellmate. Somehow, this gangster-rapping, dog-loving, chart-topping degenerate has crawled back into our collective consciousness and it seems as though hip-hop might be open to hearing what he’s got to say. It would be pretty difficult to find a person who doesn’t think that he’s absolutely bat-shit crazy.

However, if he dropped an album today, I know for a fact that it would sit on the top 10 for five weeks because he has the formula for success: Yesterday and Today. We knew him yesterday based on his “gangsta/party” singles and “gangsta/spiritual” albums. We know him today for his run-ins with the law and spiritual demeanor. He has figured out a way (I mean, stumbled onto a way) to stay on people’s minds for over 10 years. Now he sits at a crossroads. Mainstream America sees a man who is poised for his run on The Surreal Life, but it may be possible for DMX to rise again through the most unlikely of methods: Rap.

If any active rapper was able to distort reality enough to put together the biography that Simmons has haphazardly mismanaged his life into becoming, and were able to deliver that story on a well-produced and up-to-date sounding album, they would solidify a position in rap’s history books. But if this washed-up, has-been of a rapper who actually lived that life was able to summon all of his lyrical prowess and presence of mind to create such a project, he would change the game forever. He would deliver a deadly blow to the dog eat dog culture that exists in hip-hop where the young, up and comers euthanize their forbearers to establish their footing in the game. He would then join the ranks of honored names like Public Enemy, KRS-One, Jay-Z, Nas, Q-tip, Rakim, and others who have fought to maintain that elusive quality that seems to go further today than skill or talent: relevance. The legend of DMX rides on his next move.