DMX

DMX has received a number of tributes from fans and celebrities — both in and outside the music world — from all corners since his unfortunate death on April 9. Some members of his family, including his daughter and ex-wife, have also shared individual messages and tributes to the late rapper and the latest one arrives from his fiancée Desiree Lindstorm. In a post on Instagram, she reflected on the first night they met and how their love grew from there.

“The first night we met and you held me close,” she said. “I knew I would never let go. I was lost in you and nothing else mattered. My best friend, my baby, my love…truly my everything.” She added, “Thank you for us. Thank you for Exodus. Thank you God for Earl Simmons…forever X.” DMX and Lindstorm had one child together, their 4-year-old son Exodus. The rapper proposed to her back in 2019 during their son’s third birthday party in what was an extremely sweet moment.

The news comes after the rapper’s family announced that a public memorial would be held at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on April 24. Unfortunately for those who hoped to attend the service, DMX’s family has chosen to limit the event to only close friends and family. Despite this, the memorial will be livestreamed for people to watch.

You can view the post from Lindstorm above.

It been a little over a week rapper DMX’s tragic death, but he will not be forgotten. His manager, Steve Rifkind, has announced plans to honor him, telling TMZ that a public memorial for DMX will be held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on April 24. However, it won’t be open to the public. The family has chosen to limit it to just close friends and family. The arena, which normally seats 19,000 people, will only allow 10% of its capacity. Despite this, TMZ reports that the memorial will be livestreamed for people to watch.

The announcement comes a week after Yonkers mayor Mike Spano offered his city’s massive raceway as a potential location for the public memorial. The outdoor venue, which resides in DMX’s hometown, carries 7,500 seats, nearly half the capacity of Barclays Center. But the late rapper’s family chose the bigger location for the service. Spano also promised to honor DMX in the city with a “lasting gesture” that may take the form of a street name, a statue, or a mural.

The news comes after a posthumous verse from the late rapper — on “Been To War,” his collaboration with Swizz Beatz and French Montana — was dropped. DMX’s music streams have also increased by nearly 1,000% since his death.

Whenever a beloved musician dies, fans have a tendency to cause that artist’s catalog sales to increase as they pay tribute and new fans catch on to artists they may not have paid much attention to before. DMX’s catalog was no exception — in fact, streams of his music increased by a huge amount according to Billboard, 928% since April 9, the date of DMX’s death.

Streams of DMX’s music increased to 75.7 million over the weekend following DMX’s death (audio and video combined) from 7.36 million, the two days before. The most streamed songs included “Ruff Ryders Anthem” (9.59 million; up 973%), “X Gon’ Give It To Ya” (5.79 million; up 900%), “Slippin’” (5.52 million; up 853%), “Party Up (In Here)” (5.20 million; up 941%) and “How It’s Goin’ Down” featuring Faith Evans (3.52 million; up 691%). Those streams had been going up for the week before DMX’s passing after he was hospitalized by a heart attack following a reported overdose that left him in a coma.

DMX’s autobiography also reached Amazon’s bestsellers list in nonfiction after he died, with the mayor of his hometown, Yonkers, New York planning to honor him with a memorial. Meanwhile, DMX’s label, Def Jam, received a backlash after releasing a pair of compilation albums when fans accused the label of exploiting his hospitalization.