Just a day prior to his April 9 passing following a “catastrophic cardiac arrest,” legendary hip-hop artist DMX, released a new single called “X Moves”. It’s a full-fledged rock/hip-hop hybrid that recruits not one but three Rock And Roll Hall Of Famers: DEEP PURPLE drummer Ian Paice, who provides the track’s stampeding groove, and YES and ASIA guitarist Steve Howe, who throws down a riff for DMX to ride. In addition, “X Moves” finds DMX trading verses with the great PARLIAMENT-FUNKADELIC maestro Bootsy Collins who also provides a bit of extraterrestrial magic with his signature Space Bass. And finally, bringing an international flavor to the mix, German producer/artist Jürgen Engler of DIE KRUPPS produced and mixed the track alongside Cleopatra Records founder Brian Perera, who co-produced.
In a new video explaining his involvement with “X Moves”, Paice clarified that he never actually met DMX, and he admitted that he wasn’t familiar with the rapper’s music. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “It’s true — hip-hop and rap is not a genre of music that I have any great love for. Then again, it is not targeted at me. Why should I understand it? There’s lots of sorts of music I don’t really have an affinity with, and that’s okay; we all like different stuff. And over the years, I’ve played different styles of music — I’ve played with orchestras, I’ve played with jazz guys, I’ve played with big bands, I’ve done novelty records. It’s not unusual for me to step outside my normal sphere of rock music; this is just another instance where I’ve done it.
“When I do these things, I don’t think for one minute that I can do it as well as the people who do it all the time,” Ian continued. “If I step in with a big band, I have fun, and I do it the best I can, but I know, compared to the guys who do it day in and day out, it’s a different thing; they will always have the advantage, ’cause they do it all the time. And it doesn’t matter what sort of music you play; that’s just the way it is.
“It might be a silly thing to say, but for 13 months now, we haven’t been able to do anything in the way of live shows, so studio stuff is about all we can realistically do to keep playing.
“A friend asked me to do this track, and for him, I did it. I never thought I’d get a chance to play that sort of thing, but the shot came along, so I did the best I could.”
Paice also shot down speculation that he played on the DMX song because he needed the money. “I received no fee for this track,” he revealed. “I did it for a friend. The only money that changed hands was for studio time; studio equipment needs to be rented; and the engineering. I can’t do everything. So there are costs involved, but I took no fee for that.”
