DMX - Who We Be (Explicit Letterbox Version)

2001

DMX - Who We Be (Explicit Letterbox Version) (2001) Director: Joseph Kahn Era: Post-Millennium Hardcore Hip-Hop (2001) - Released weeks before The Great Depression album drop (Oct 23, 2001) amid heightened post-9/11 social tension; letterbox format signals cinematic ambition within the MTV rap video canon High-tier archival significance. 'Who We Be' represents a convergence of peak-commercial DMX, Joseph Kahn's early-2000s directorial craft, and a rare moment of explicit political-historical documentation within mainstream hip-hop video production. The explicit letterbox version is the most cinematically complete form of the artifact. The video's integration of civil rights archival footage within a chart-topping rap vehicle makes it a primary research document for scholars of race, popular culture, and post-millennium media. Context: Released September 25, 2001, less than two weeks after the September 11 attacks, 'Who We Be' landed in a moment of profound national trauma and racial reckoning. The video's deliberate use of archival imagery depicting segregation-era violence and police brutality against Black Americans positioned DMX not merely as a rapper but as a social chronicler. The song appeared on The Great Depression, DMX's fourth consecutive Billboard 200 number-one album, cementing his status as the dominant MC of the Ruff Ryders era. The letterbox cinematic format signals an intentional push toward video-as-film, consistent with the early-2000s trend of high-budget hip-hop productions seeking legitimacy beyond the MTV format. The Grammy nomination for Best Rap Solo Performance further underscored the track's critical weight within the genre. Director notes: Confirmed directed by Joseph Kahn per IMDB (tt8154482), IMVDb, and Wikipedia. The video features DMX performing from inside a prison cell intercut with archival images of racial injustice and police violence in America. Song lyrics are superimposed over the imagery throughout. The explicit letterbox version is formatted in 2.35:1 widescreen, elevating the cinematic scope beyond a standard MTV broadcast cut. The video was produced by Lanette Phillips and Stefan Belafonte for Ruff Ryders / Def Jam Records. The 177 scene changes over 255 seconds (avg shot: 1.44s) are consistent with Kahn's high-tempo editorial style evident across his early-2000s output. The dark, low-brightness palette (57.3/255) and warm color temperature (2.07) reinforce the song's themes of systemic oppression and Black American struggle.