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<\/p>\nLegendary rapper DMX, who made music about a life of trouble and crime that he also lived, passed away Friday following an April 2 drug overdose that left him in a \u201cvegetative state.\u201d He was 50.<\/p>\n
The death of the Westchester County native, born Earl Simmons, was confirmed by his family.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are deeply saddened to announce today that our loved one, DMX, birth name of Earl Simmons, passed away at 50 years old at White Plains Hospital with his family by his side after being placed on life support for the past few days,\u201d his family said in a statement to Page Six.\u201d<\/p>\n
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A father of 15, DMX grew up in Yonkers and long struggled with drug addiction and legal problems.<\/p>\n
His career famously began when he catapulted to the top of the charts with his 1998 debut album, \u201cIt\u2019s Dark and Hell Is Hot.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nThe album featured a bravado telling of gritty urban tales, rendered in DMX\u2019s distinctive gruff delivery, and it accelerated the mainstream popularity of hardcore New York City-based rap.<\/p>\n
The debut record went platinum nearly five times over and peaked at No. 1 on the US charts.<\/p>\n
DMX\u2019s next two albums, \u201cFlesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood\u201d and \u201c\u2026And Then There Was X,\u201d were released within the span of a year on Ruff Ryders\/Def Jam records, and sold a combined total of more than 8 million units.<\/p>\n
\nThe strength of singles like \u201cRuff Ryders\u2019 Anthem,\u201d \u201cWhat\u2019s My Name\u201d and \u201cWhat These Bitches Want,\u201d and their accompanying gritty videos, contributed to the rapper\u2019s rapid and influential ascent, securing his place as a pop-culture cornerstone.<\/p>\n
DMX also started to dip his toes into Hollywood around the end of the century, starting a long acting career with important roles in movies like \u201cBelly\u201d and \u201cRomeo Must Die.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was nominated for two Grammys and four MTV Music Video Awards between 1999 and 2002.<\/p>\n
His prolific recording output slowed down in the later 2000s. He released five records in a 14-year span and continued to act in dozens of films and television shows, but his career was often derailed by legal, financial and drug problems.<\/p>\n
In 2020, DMX gave an emotional interview on rapper Talib Kweli\u2019s \u201cPeople\u2019s Party\u201d podcast, where he talked about being given crack for the first time at age 14 by his mentor, after the two had committed a robbery in Yonkers.<\/p>\n
\nIn 2019, after serving almost a year in prison for tax evasion, he told a Los Angeles radio show that he wished rap no longer glamorized drugs.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re all promoting drug use,\u201d he told \u201cBig Boy\u2019s Neighborhood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf that\u2019s what you wanna do, that\u2019s your business, but you ain\u2019t gotta promote it like it\u2019s cool and make it cool, know what I\u2019m saying? Kids walk around like, \u2018I\u2019m popping molly, I\u2019m popping Percs.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n
The rapper nearly died after overdosing on a \u201cpowdered substance\u201d in the parking lot of a Westchester County hotel in 2016.<\/p>\n
In the wake of the incident, DMX checked himself into rehab in 2017 and 2019.<\/p>\n
The icon had been on the wrong side of the law numerous times over the years. He had been convicted of multiple felonies and served prison and jail sentences after arrests for unpaid child support, DWI, animal cruelty, reckless driving, drug possession, driving without a license and probation violations.<\/p>\n
His first brush with the law was in 1986, when he was arrested for stealing a dog from a junkyard, according to an overview of his rap sheet on Medium.<\/p>\n
The then-15-year-old reportedly broke out of a juvenile correctional facility, later turning himself back in at his mother\u2019s insistence.<\/p>\n
DMX rapped about his early experience behind bars during his troubled teenage years in the poignant track \u201cSlippin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
The rapper became a devoted Christian who said he read the Bible every day and that tragedy brought him closer to God.<\/p>\n
\nIn a park-bench sermon streamed live on Instagram during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, DMX told his followers about his faith, according to the Christian Post.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo now I embrace difficult situations. I praise God for difficult situations because through these situations I see what He\u2019s willing to do for me,\u201d the rapper said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn a daily basis, if it gets rough, I praise God; it goes wrong, I praise God; it goes left, I praise God.<\/p>\n
\u201cI praise God because there\u2019s nothing that He can\u2019t get me through. So I thank Him for every opportunity that is presented for me to see what He\u2019s willing to do for me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Legendary rapper DMX, who made music about a life of trouble and crime that he also lived, passed away Friday following an April 2 drug overdose that left him in a \u201cvegetative state.\u201d He was 50. The death of the Westchester County native, born Earl Simmons, was confirmed by his family. \u201cWe are deeply saddened …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":68229,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11185],"tags":[71290,71292,71294],"yoast_head":"\n