10 Cool Things DMX And Justin Timberlake Have In Common

This week, Justin Timberlake's The 20/20 Experience Part 2 Of 2 will be the No. 1 album in the country, making it his second No. 1 record of the year following the success of the initial 20/20 Experience. This type of success—two No. 1 albums in the same calendar year, both going (likely) platinum—is almost unparalleled in the history of pop music. Key word: almost. You see, someone has had that type of runaway success before, and that someone goes by the name of DMX.

Yep, that's right. In case you somehow forgot, in 1998, DMX was the king of the charts. With It's Dark And Hell Is Hot, which was released in May of 1998, the rapper born Earl Simmons made his debut on the charts by selling 251,000 in its first week. The record would go 4x platinum and spawn four hit singles, along with creating a wider commercial lane for the type of raw, uncompromising hip-hop that DMX trafficked in. He followed up the record's runaway success with Flesh Of My Flesh, Blood Of My Blood in December, the album's blood-soaked cover filling Christmas stockings all over the country. As the 1990s came to a close, DMX was unstoppable.

As you probably know, DMX's star hasn't stayed quite as high since then. Recently he's become more known for his legal run-ins, erratic behavior and Dr. Phil appearances than his music. Meanwhile, Justin Timberlake has remained pop music's golden boy, racking up awards and accolades, starring in big-screen movies and scoring lucrative endorsement deals. At this point in their careers, DMX and Justin Timberlake don't seem to have much in common, but looks can be deceiving. In celebration of Timberlake's chart-topping feat and DMX's continued commitment to excellence, we've found 10 things that DMX and Justin Timberlake have in common.

Both had debut albums that premiered at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 charts.
But only one had a cool red tint to its cover.

And they're making similar facial expressions on those album covers.
Seriously. Take a look. Even the facial hair is similar.

Both have worked with Scott Storch.
Storch produced "Give 'Em What They Want" and "Lord Give Me A Sign" off 2006's Year Of The Dog... Again and "(And She Said) Take Me Now" off Justified.

Both have worked with LL Cool J.
DMX is featured on "4, 3, 2, 1," LL Cool J's Canibus-dissing single off his seventh album, Phenomenon, while Timberlake made his film debut with J in the forgettable 2005 thriller Edison Force.

Speaking of movies, both parlayed music into successful film careers.
And you know Belly is better than any movie Timberlake has ever appeared in. Admit it.

In the movie The Social Network Justin Timberlake played Facebook investor Sean Parker... In real life DMX has a Facebook page.
Hey, it's a nice Facebook page.

Both collaborated with Jay Z.
I'll take the intensity of "Blackout" over the opulence of "Holy Grail" any day.

Both appeared on SNL.
Justin Timberlake is one of the long-running sketch comedy show's most beloved guests, but only DMX got the chance to be the musical guest for Julianna Margulies. Take that, Timberlake.

Both made contributions to ridiculous countdown songs.
In the battle of "4 Minutes" vs. "24 Hours To Live," the one with Ma$e on it is obviously the winner.

Both have a tendency to end up shirtless.
Only Timberlake went shirtless for his Rolling Stone cover. DMX went with a classier approach.