DMX, RAP’S TORTURED STAR, DIES AT 50
DMX, the hardcore hip-hop star whose ominous, snarling raps chronicled the violence and struggles of the American street, has died.
He was 50 years old.
The rapper’s longtime lawyer confirmed DMX’s death to Agence France-Presse (AFP), after a statement from his family widely shared on social media said the artist, born Earl Simmons, died after nearly a week on life support following a heart attack.
“Earl was a warrior who fought till the very end,” the statement read, saying the rapper died at White Plains Hospital north of New York City, with his loved ones by his side.
“He loved his family with all of his heart, and we cherish the times we spent with him,” the statement read.
The family said information on a memorial service was forthcoming.
Darkest stars
The agitated rapper— who reigned over the late 1990s and early 2000s with hits including “X Gon’ Give It To Ya” and “Party Up”—was among hip-hop’s darkest stars, laying his inner demons out for the masses in gritty, hard-driving anthems that gained him commercial and critical acclaim.
Raised in the New York suburb of Yonkers, the artist endured a grim childhood, growing up in the projects with his mother and siblings where he suffered abuse.
At 14, he entered a cycle of incarceration that would persist throughout his life, committing robberies that regularly landed him in jail.
Gaining a reputation as a problem child prone to rage-fueled outbursts, Simmons was in and out of homes for troubled boys for much of his youth.
Even after he achieved celebrity for his artistry, DMX continued to have run-ins with the penal system, with charges including drug possession, animal cruelty, reckless driving, failure to pay child support and tax evasion.
DMX suffered from addiction to drugs including crack, which he said began as early as age 14.
“I didn’t really have anybody to talk to,” he said in late 2020 in an emotional interview on Talib Kweli’s weekly podcast.
“In the hood, nobody wants to hear that ... Talking about your problems is viewed as a sign of weakness, when actually it’s one of the bravest things you can do. One of the bravest things you can do is put it on the table, chop it up and just let it out.”
Tributes poured in to the late rapper from fans and fellow artists, including his peer Missy Elliott, who called the loss “heavy for the hip-hop family.”
“Even though you had battles, you TOUCHED so many through your MUSIC, and when you would PRAY, so many people FELT THAT!” she wrote on Twitter, adding “your LEGACY LIVES
ON.”