DMX was ultimate Ruff Ryder
In late September 2003, DMX headlined the KISS- FM End of Summer Jam at the then- Post- Gazette Pavilion in Burgettstown, where he hit the stage like a hungry pit bull in a butcher shop. The MC deemed “the king of hardcore rap” and “the hiphop Johnny Cash” was so intense, so focused or so something, he didn’t even bother to take note of where he was. With five minutes left in his all- killer- no- filler 45- minute set, the chiseled rapper, who had stripped off his shirt on a chilly night, stopped and said, “What?! We outside?!” Then he laughed. “This whole time I didn’t know.” That’s how the Ruff Ryder rolled. DMX, born Earl Simmons on Dec. 18, 1970, and raised in the Yonkers district of New York, died Friday, putting an end to a wild, tumultuous life and career. “Earl was a warrior who fought till the very end,” his family said in a statement. “He loved his family with all of his heart, and we cherish the times we spent with him. Earl’s music inspired countless fans across the world, and his iconic legacy will live on forever. We appreciate all of the love and support during this incredibly difficult time.” For some insight into what made Mr. Simmons DMX, in his autobiography, “E. A. R. L.,” he detailed the brutality he experienced from his mother and her boyfriends, driving him to group homes, juvenile centers and thug life. “I was used to sleeping on hard surfaces, used to eating rotten food,” he wrote. By the time he hit puberty he was snatching purses and stealing cars. He did his first stint in a juvenile center in 1986 for stealing a dog from a junkyard, and two years later he was back in for carjacking. Turning from robbing to rapping, he took his name from the DMX digital sound machine and threw himself with fury into freestyle battles. His debut single, “Born Loser,” was issued on Ruffhouse in 1993, followed a year later by “Make a Move,” which coincided with a conviction for drug possession. He re- entered the hip- hop world on DJ Clue’s underground mixtapes and then on cameos with LL Cool J, Mase, The Lox and Ice Cube that led to the big break: a deal with Ruff Ryders/ Def Jam, where he released “Get at Me Dog,” introducing a broader public to a dark, aggressive rap style from a dude who sounded like he gargled with razor blades. “He was different because of how vulnerable and authentic he was in his music,” says Pittsburgh rapper and 1Hood Media founder Jasiri X. “He was hot at a time in hiphop where it was so much about image, money and popping champagne. He came along with a rawness that was powerful because of his realness. His faith in the face of his demons inspired millions.”
In 2000 he turned up on the “... And Then There Was X” tour, facing a crowd as rabid as himself with hits like “Party Up ( Up in Here)” and “What’s My Name.”
“The screams of young women as DMX ascended to the stage in a cage were reminiscent of 1950s Elvis,” said the Post- Gazette review. “DMX, however, is not a lovemetender kind of guy, especially when he’s asking the musical question, ‘ What These B- s Want?’ He’s a roughneck, a self- proclaimed dog, whose audience is more than happy to growl and whoof along with him.”
DMX helped fill the vacuum left by the deaths of Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B. I. G., and that extended to Hollywood, where he appeared in such action films as 1998’ s “Belly,” 2000’ s “Romeo Must Die” and 2001’ s “Exit Wounds.”
All along, his brushes with the law were legendary, including a 1998 rape charge ( which was dismissed), animal cruelty charges for the treatment of his pit bulls, weapons charges, speeding and reckless driving multiple times. In 2013 alone, he was arrested four different times. His latest arrest was in 2017 for tax fraud, compounded by a drug violation, which put him in prison from March 2018 to January 2019.
Of his extensive rap sheet, he once told the paper, “It didn’t really bother me because I’ve always been one to not really give a [ expletive] about what people think or say about me. ... If anything, they helped me sell a few more records. It didn’t hurt me. As long as I know who I am, all that other stuff is irrelevant.”
Following his 2019 release, he jumped right back into touring, turning up for his final Pittsburgh appearance at the Foxtail on the South Side — an underplay — in May 2019. That same year, he appeared at one of Kanye West’s “Sunday Service” events, and he re- signed with Def Jam to make his first proper album since 2012’ s “Undisputed” and his first for the label since 2003.
At some point, some of that will see the light of day.
“He was a rare artist with an infectious spirit that could touch even the most casual fan of rap music,” says Jordan Montgomery, Pittsburgh rapper and founder of Driving While Black Records. “His music got many people through tough times. He went through a lot throughout his life, but he used that pain to make art that transcended genres and generations. He will never be forgotten.”