“There was Brenda, LaTisha, Linda, Felicia, Dawn, LeShaun, Ines and Alicia, Teresa, Monica, Sharron, Nicki, Lisa, Veronica, Karen, Vicky (damn), Cookie, well I met her in a ice cream parlor, Tonya, Diane, Lori and Carla, Marina, Selena, Katrina, Sabrina, about three Kims (WHAT?) LaToya and Tina, Shelley, Bridget, Cathy, Rasheeda, Kelly, Nicole, Angel, Juanita, Stacy, Tracie, Ronna and Ronda, Donna, Yolanda, Tawana and Wanda..”
Rapper DMX was ostensibly listing all of his conquests in 1999's “What These Bitches Want,” featuring Sisqo, but Black Twitter had other ideas when they co-opted the lyrics for a social media challenge that celebrates not the rapper’s body count, but the remarkable ingenuity and versatility of black beauty. Last weekend, the #DMXChallenge was launched to the delight and utter confusion of many.
What is the #DMXChallenge? In the hands of beauty-loving black women, it’s an opportunity to show off their many looks, synced up to DMX’s “roll call.”
Now, why “What These Bitches Want” won this honor instead of, say, “Mambo No. 5”or even “Da Butt,” we’ll never know. But the results are pretty impressive, and as Heavy notes, even caused some to wonder if DMX had a deeper intent in mind with his original lyrics (though the outlet also notes that the rapper has 15 children, so...maybe we shouldn’t read into it too deeply, since he clearly enjoys female company). As Heavy reports:
A few reactions took a new philosophical take on hearing all the women listed in “What They Really Want” after seeing all the quick cut videos. Perhaps, DMX wasn’t listed numerous women, but one lady and all her different personalities. What the #DMXChallenge can confirm, however, is that a lot people have a lot of selfie photos and videos saved on their phone.
I mean...guilty. But let’s just enjoy these lewks and wig changes, shall we?
But there is, of course, a potential dark side to all this black girl magic; as more than a few commenters pointed out, we are living in the age of facial recognition software. So, have fun out there, kids—but be careful!