Historical Spotlight: DMX
Music is a living entity that can embody generations, commemorate legends, and shine a light on political issues of the time. Rappers, artists, and musicians not only make music for entertainment purposes, but also for activism and to push the needle forward on important societal issues. Most artists use their talent, love, and passion to search for fame and glory, but it’s not guaranteed that all will actually achieve unwavering support from fans. Join me as we shine a Historical Spotlight on DMX, the legendary entertainer who created his own distinct sound that continues to be cherished today.
DMX, formally known as Earl Simmons, was born on December 18, 1970 in Mount Vernon, New York to his parents Arnette Simmons and Joe Barker. He had an older sister named Bonita and a younger sister named Shayla and was primarily raised by his mom after his dad moved to Philadelphia to chase his painting career.
Earl had a rather difficult childhood that included being diagnosed with asthma and being physically abused by his mom from an early age. His living situation was rarely stable and he often had to fend for himself. When he was five years old, he was sent to live with relatives in Yonkers’ School Street housing apartments. After a while he returned to his mom, but the abuse didn’t stop. He was even expelled from middle school when he was ten years old and was sent to a group home.
He was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness, but rejected the religion after being injured in an accident by a driver. He lived in silence with his pain for multiple years before returning to Yonkers when he was 15. He didn’t have a support system to rely on and was forced to sleep in empty storage bins and befriend stray dogs. Fending for himself, he started carjacking and robbing students from his high school, Yonkers Middle High School, to find food and clothing.
DMX went to jail more than 30 times throughout his life for criminal possession of a weapon, robbery, assault, carjacking, animal cruelty, reckless driving, driving under the influence, unlicensed driving, drug possession, probation violation, failure to pay child support, pretending to be a federal agent, and tax evasion. His very first stint in prison was in a juvenile unit in 1986 after he stole a dog from a junkyard.
His musical career officially began in 1985 when he beatboxed for a local rapper named Ready Ron. The pair did small shows together and once Ron started growing in notoriety, Earl decided to start rapping himself with the moniker DMX, giving tribute to the Oberheim DMX drum machine. His stage name meant “Divine Master of the Unknown” and, in later years, “Darkman X”.
A two year prison sentence in which he actually successfully escaped but was forced by his mother to turn himself in and finish his sentence paused his progress. Shortly after his release, he started writing his own lyrics and performing at local recreation centers for younger children. During another stint in prison for carjacking in 1988, he started battling other inmates and developed the distinct style called “Spellbound” where he spelled each word out letter by letter.
After an introduction to Irv Gotti and Chad Elliot in 1988, the beat for DMX’s first music demo called Born Loser was created. A few years later in 1991, he was praised for his freestyle on The Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show by The Source in its Unsigned Hype column that highlighted unsigned hip-hop artists. This exposure helped propel him to sign his first management deal with the then-unknown record label Ruff Ryders Entertainment.
Later that same year, Columbia Records signed him to its subsidiary labels Chaos Records and Ruffhouse Records, which released his major debut single “Born Loser” in 1993. Unfortunately, DMX failed to meet commercial projections and was terminated from his contract with Ruffhouse, leaving him as an independent artist. Death Row Records attempted to sign the rapper in a joint contract with Ruff Ryders in 1994, but the deal fell through.
During the 1990s, DMX worked with multiple different up and coming rappers like Jay-Z, Ja Rule, Swizz Beatz, and many others. Unfortunately, all of the collaborations didn’t end amicably, and some dissolved into feuds lasting years. DMX fell out with Ja Rule after claiming the rapper was trying to steal his signature delivery and the two produced multiple diss tracks before settling the beef in 2009.
After two years of struggling in the industry, DMX was signed to Def Jam Recordings in 1997 after Irv Gotti became the president of A&R. Despite having signed to three different labels, DMX still hadn’t released an album yet. He recorded tracks from April 1997 to January 1998 and made multiple guest appearances on singles for Mase, The Lox, and LL Cool J to create a strong buzz for his upcoming album.
His first major-label single “Get at Me Dog” was released in February 1998 and received a gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). His debut album It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot released just a few months later in May, hit number one on the Billboard 200 chart, and sold over six million copies. His second album Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood released in December of the same year had similar success, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 and going multi-platinum.
At the time, DMX became the only rapper alive to produce two consecutive number-one Billboard 200 albums within a one-year period. The only other rapper to accomplish that feat before DMX was Tupac Shakur, but the record has since been broken by YoungBoy Never Broke Again in 2020.
In 1999, he married Tashera Simmons, his childhood friend, and had four children together. Unfortunately, Tashera announced their separation in 2010 due to his legal troubles and the divorce was finalized in 2014. He had an additional 11 children with 8 other women over the years and was sued multiple times for unpaid child support. Unfortunately, he didn’t have a will at the time of his death, which led to legal battles over his assets.
He also faced an animal cruelty charge in 1999 after a dozen pitbulls were found in poor shape at his home in New Jersey. He was on tour at the time his house was raided and hired a caretaker to watch the dogs. DMX was distraught after learning of the condition his beloved animals were in. The charge was dismissed after he agreed to accept responsibility and record public service announcements for an animal rights group.
His third album … And Then There Was X was released on December 21, 1999 and also debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. The album went on to be certified six-times platinum and was even nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Award at the 2001 Grammy Awards. The most iconic single, “Party Up (Up In Here)”, became his first top ten hit on the R&B Charts and was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance.
His fourth album, The Great Depression, was released on October 23, 2001 and followed his previous releases by debuting at number one and going triple platinum. His fifth album, Grand Champ, was released in September 2003, topping the charts again at number one and selling over four million copies. Immediately after its release, he announced his plan to retire.
Over the next few years, he bounced between Dej Jam and Columbia Records, massively delaying his sixth album Year of the Dog…Again until August 1, 2006. He won an American Music Award, a Billboard Music Award, and was nominated for a total of six Grammy Awards. He also started dabbling in acting and had roles in Belly in 1998, Romeo Must Die in 2000, Exit Wounds in 2001, and Cradle 2 the Grave in 2003. He worked alongside noteworthy people like Jet Li, Nas, Steven Seagal, and Aaliyah in the successful films.
In 2009, he took a step back from rapping to pursue preaching. He considered himself a born-again Christian and read his Bible every day. He even completed a Gospel album while battling his legal trouble. He kept his morale up while in jail with the belief that he had a purpose of meeting someone there and sharing the love of Jesus. Many years later in 2016, he even gave a sermon at a church in Phoenix, Arizona.
DMX filed for bankruptcy in 2009, 2013, and 2016 due to his outlandish child support obligations and debt. It was estimated that he owed $2 million to various creditors, over $300,000 in back child support, $1.4 million in family support, and $950,000 to Compass Bank. At the time, he was trying to prevent his home from being foreclosed on, which was also the only asset he had since he didn’t own the masters, copyrights, or trademarks to his music.
On October 11, 2011, DMX performed at the BET Hip Hop Awards and announced his seventh album Undisputed. Unfortunately, due to multiple delays, it wasn’t released until almost a year later on September 11, 2012. DMX’s catalog was purchased by Seven Arts Pictures in February 2012 and signed him to a two-album deal.
In 2013, he started working on his eighth album, Redemption of the Beast, and collaborated with producers Swizz Beatz and Dame Grease. The album wasn’t finished, but Seven Arts Music released it without authorization or a valid legal artist contract, forcing DMX to split from and sue the label. He recorded a few singles in 2016 and 2017 before signing a new record deal with Def Jam Recordings on September 20, 2019. His last album Exodus was released on May 28, 2021.
In July 2017, he was charged with 14 federal counts of tax fraud after failing to file income tax returns from 2010 to 2015. He pleaded guilty to a single count and was originally free pending sentencing, but was remanded to jail after leaving a drug treatment program and relapsing. He was sentenced to one year in jail followed by three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $2.29 million in restitution to the government. He was released on January 25, 2019.
DMX said he became addicted to crack cocaine at the young age of 14 after being tricked by Ready Ron into smoking a marijuana cigarette laced with the drug. Ron has denied the allegation. Over the years, he was in and out of rehab for his drug problem and was forced to cancel concerts, further impacting his money.
He had a near death experience on February 10, 2016 after being found unresponsive in a parking lot of a hotel. He was resuscitated by first responders and given an opioid-reversal drug that helped bring him back. Police didn’t find any illegal substances on the property, and DMX brushed it off as an asthma attack.
On April 2, 2021, he was rushed to the hospital after suffering a heart attack possibly induced by a drug overdose. Paramedics tried to resuscitate him for 30 minutes, but his brain suffered from lack of oxygen and his vital organs failed. He was pronounced dead on April 9, 2021 at only 50 years old.
After learning of his death, many celebrities paid tribute to his legacy and a procession of hundreds of motorcyclists paid homage by riding from his birthplace of Yonkers all the way to Brooklyn. His funeral was held at the Christian Cultural Center in Brooklyn on April 25, 2021. 2,000 people attended but many others watched the proceedings since they were livestreamed on BET Network and its YouTube channel.
DMX left behind a legacy that lives on today. He had a significant impact on hip hop music and is regarded as one of the most prolific rappers of his era. Despite having a harsh childhood that undoubtedly influenced his adult life and led him down a path of drug abuse, he drew upon his life struggles to help him produce relatable music and break records.
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Signed,
Jessica Marie
