It’s been a while, but I’ve always thought of October as the best month for Through the Shattered Lens. The site has always leaned into sci‑fi and horror at its core—and in the early days, it was especially heavy on the horror side of things. That was really the big common thread between Lisa Marie and me when we first got started here.

So, as part of easing my way back into being a little more active on a site I’ve watched grow for over 16 years, I wanted to spotlight something that’s stuck with me for decades: “Damien,” the ninth track off DMX’s 1998 debut album It’s Dark and Hell is Hot. That record catapulted DMX—Earl Simmons—into instant superstardom.

“Damien” has always been the track I kept coming back to, even years after the album first dropped. The album itself was pure fire: a mix of chest‑thumping, hyper‑aggressive tracks laced with one of the rawest and most distinctive voices hip‑hop had seen since the losses of Biggie and Tupac. At the time, some even saw DMX as their natural successor.

But “Damien” stood apart. The song oozes dark energy, hitting like lyrical possession from start to finish. Built around a haunting sample from Stanley Clarke’s “Slow Dance,” the beat sets the stage for DMX to pour out a narrative of bad breaks, self‑inflicted wounds, and a desperate search for a guardian angel—only to meet something else entirely. Instead of an angel, he finds Damien, a voice offering help but radiating malevolence.

When “D” first enters the track, he plays almost like a mischievous accomplice, a shadowy partner in crime. But as the verses build, that “help” morphs into something more toxic, more sinister—a presence that feeds off the chaos it creates.

DMX’s debut wasn’t just a hit album; it pushed horrorcore rap into the mainstream in a way few had managed before. With “Damien,” he delivered one of the most chilling, unforgettable examples of horror woven directly into hip‑hop—a track that feels just as unsettling now as it did back in ’98.

Damien

Uh, Def Jam
Uh, Ruff Ryders
Uh, my nigga TP, creep with me

Why is it every move I make turns out to be a bad one?
Where’s my guardian angel? Need one, wish I had one
I’m right here, shorty, and I’ma hold you down
You trying to fuck all these bitches? I’ma show you how
But who-? (Name’s D, like you, but my friends call me Damien)
And I’ma put you hip to something (uh-huh) about this game we in
You and me could take it there, and you’ll be
The hottest nigga ever living (that’s a given?) You’ll see
Hmm, that’s what I’ve been wanting all my life
Thinkin’ about my little man, so I call my wife
Well, your dada is about to make it happen
(What you mean, my nigga?) I’m about to make it rapping
Today I met this cat, he said his name was Damien
He thinks that we’re a lot alike and wants to be my friend
(You mean like Chuckie?) Ha ha, yeah, just like Chuckie
(Dada, looks like we both lucky) Yeah

The snake, the rat, the cat, the dog
How you gon’ see him if you living in the fog?
The snake, the rat, the cat, the dog
How you gon’ see him if you living in the fog?
The snake, the rat, the cat, the dog
How you gon’ see him if you living in the fog?
The snake, the rat, the cat, the dog
How you gon’ see him if you living in the fog?

Ay-yo, D (What up, D?) You’s a smooth nigga
I seen you when nobody knew who pulled the trigger
Yeah, you know, it’s always over dough
You sure? I could have swore it was over a hoe
Nah, nah, that ain’t my style (igga, you stay fronting)
But you’re still my man, and I ain’t gonna say nothin’
Got some weed? Go ‘head, smoke it (what?) Go ‘head, drink it (what?)
Go ‘head and fuck shorty, you know I can keep a secret (aight)
I’m about to have you driving, probably a Benz
But we gotta stay friends, blood out, blood in
Sounds good to me, fuck it, what I got to lose?
Hmm, nothin’ I can think of, any nigga would choose
Got me pushing the whips, takin’ trips across seas
Pockets stay laced, nigga, I floss Gs
For that nigga I would bleed, give him my right hand
Now that I think about it, yo, that’s my man!

The snake, the rat, the cat, the dog
How you gon’ see him if you living in the fog?
The snake, the rat, the cat, the dog
How you gon’ see him if you living in the fog?
The snake, the rat, the cat, the dog
How you gon’ see him if you living in the fog?
The snake, the rat, the cat, the dog
How you gon’ see him if you living in the fog?

You like how everything is going? You like what I gave ya?
You know if you was going down, I’d be the one to save ya
But yo, I need a favor, these cats across town hate me
Plus their behavior hasn’t been too good lately
What? Anything for you, dog, where them niggas at?
38th from Broadway (aight, let me get the gat)
Run up on ’em strapped, bust off caps in four niggas
Laid low for ’bout a month then killed two more niggas
Now I’m ready to chill, but you still want me to kill
Look at what I did for you! Dog, come on, keep it real!
Aight, fuck it, I’ma do it, who is it this time?
Ayy-yo, remember that kid Sean you used to be with in ’89?
Nah, that’s my man! (I thought I was your man?)
But yo, that’s my nigga (hey, who’s your biggest fan?)
Either do it or give me your right hand, that’s what you said
I see now, it ain’t nothing but trouble ahead (uh-huh)

The snake, the rat, the cat, the dog
How you gon’ see him if you living in the fog?
The snake, the rat, the cat, the dog
How you gon’ see him if you living in the fog?
The snake, the rat, the cat, the dog
How you gon’ see him if you living in the fog?
The snake, the rat, the cat, the dog
How you gon’ see him if you living in the fog?

In the fog, the fog, living in the fog
How you gon’ see him if you living in the fog?
How you gon’ see him if you living in the fog?
The snake, the rat, the cat, the dog
To be continued, motherfuckers
Ah-hahahahaha