While the death of DMX last week sparked a wave of heartfelt posts from admirers and peers on social media, some of the most touching posts came from those who were closest to the late rapper. DMX’s daughter Sasha was among them, paying a touching tribute to him with a poignant post on Twitter.
“Nothing will ever explain how i feel, how this all feels,” she wrote. ” “My twin, i love you. there’s always been so many misconceptions about who the f*ck you were but that didn’t matter because i knew who the f*ck you were. eternally greatful to have had you. i love you forever dad.”
nothing will ever explain how i feel, how this all feels. my twin, i love you. there’s always been so many misconceptions about who the fuck you were but that didn’t matter because i knew who the fuck you were. eternally greatful to have had you. i love you forever dad. pic.twitter.com/P1TUMePvJB
However, not all the tributes to X were accepted as they were intended by the artist’s fans. Def Jam, X’s label home throughout his dominant run at the end of the 90s and beginning of the aughts, received a backlash after releasing a pair of compilations on streaming before the rapper’s death was officially announced.
He was reportedly working on a new album for Def Jam at the time of his death, so we’ll see how fans react if and when it’s completed and released. Until then, you can read Uproxx’s reflection on X’s career and legacy here.
Early Friday morning, DMX’s family put out a statement confirming what the entertainment world would hope to be false. The legendary rapper sadly passed away at 50 following a reported drug overdose and heart attack. Tributes from all over, including the music and sports world, came pouring in and as the days go on, many are still finding their own ways to honor him with the latest being Saturday Night Live.
The first mention of DMX came during the late-night show’s cold open segment. The sketch was led by Kenan Thompson, Ego Nwodim, Kate McKinnon, and Alex Moffat who altogether played four Minnesota anchors that were initially discussing the murder of George Floyd but switch the topic after a disagreement.
“We lost royalty yesterday,” McKinnon said, in reference to Prince Phillip’s death on Friday. “Yes, the rapper DMX died,” Nwodim replied which was met by an applause from he audience. McKinnon tried to correct Nwodim saying, “I was talking about the prince,” but her attempt failed as Nwodim retorted, “Girl, Prince been dead!”
DMX’s came on a pair of occasions later in the show. The first came with a photo SNL put onscreen of the rapper and his stage name following a commercial break, the image from when he himself performed on the show back in 2000 where he performed “What’s My Name” from his 1999 album, … And Then There Was X.. Lastly, after host Carey Mulligan delivered her thank yous to the audience and viewers, Chris Redd held up a handwritten sign that read “R.I.P. DMX” in black lettering.
You can watch the cold open segment as well as view a screenshot of show’s closing moments above.
DMX’s death has hurt a lot of people all throughout the entertainment world, with many taking to social media to show the late rapper love and send their condolences. His passing may hurt few more than his ex-wife Tashera Simmons, however, as it came just a day before her 50th birthday. The two got married in 1998 and filed for divorce in 2012. Together they had four children: Xavier, Tacoma, Praise Mary Ella, and Sean.
On Saturday, Simmons took to Instagram to honor DMX and celebrate her milestone birthday with a heartfelt message.
“Happy 50th birthday to me. With much prayer, pulling. Crying and a roller coaster of emotions,” she wrote. “I couldn’t bring myself to just celebrate and close the last 50yrs of my life with out celebrating the life of one of thee most important person in the world to me, my Ex-husband. I know today is my day. But I also understand that God is love. So When God allowed me to open up my eyes and granted me the gift of life, I realize more than ever, that was my true gift today. Glory be to God!!”
She added, “I am so grateful to God and Honored from the bottom of my heart, For the opportunity while on this Journey called life to join hands in marriage with a true disciple and Angel of God to do life with when we did. Everything we went through was necessary. It made me the women I am today. ”
DMX’s tragic death is still a fresh cut for many across the music and entertainment world. After a reported drug overdose last week, the rapper was admitted to a White Plains, NY hospital, where it was revealed that he also suffered a heart attack. On Friday morning, after nearly a week in the facility, DMX’s death was confirmed by his family. There were countless consolations, and now the mayor of Yonkers, where DMX was born, is reportedly looking to honor him with an undetermined memorial that will be a “lasting gesture,” which may take the form of a street name, a statue, or a mural.
But that’s not all. According to TMZ, Mayor Mike Spano is also recommending Yonkers Raceway as a potential venue for DMX’s family to hold a public funeral. The outdoor venue is the city’s largest event space, with a seating capacity of 7,500. Unfortunately, because of coronavirus restrictions, only 20% of the seats will be available for use. Spano believes the venue will be an appropriate setting for one of the city’s most famous residents to be remembered.
Today our city mourns the loss of a musical icon and someone who always gave back to Yonkers — the city he loved.
Earl Simmons, aka @DMX, was a man of exceptional talent. His spirit will live on in the power of his music and leave a lasting impact on his tremendous following. pic.twitter.com/WziTRWpTdz
After hearing of DMX’s unfortunate passing, Mayor Spano shared a message on Twitter. “Today our city mourns the loss of a musical icon, someone who wore their heart on their sleeve and at every opportunity gave back to Yonkers — the city he loved,” he wrote. “Earl Simmons, or as we know him, DMX, was a man of exceptional talent. His spirit will live on in the power of his music and leave a lasting impact on his tremendous following.”
The death of rapper DMX at age 50 on Friday was a sad day for music fans who loved his work. As musicians and fans mourned his loss and the legacy he leaves behind, many fans pointed to one of the more unique parts of his work outside of the recording studio. Namely, his legendary role in 2003 video game Def Jam Vendetta.
The game, an EA Sports BIG classic, was gratuitous and absurd — a wrestling/fighting game hybrid that used street fighting as a vehicle for Def Jam artists to get their own video game. But the voiceovers from the actual artists, and the very violent gameplay, made it a fan favorite among fighting game enthusiasts. It even spawned a sequel the next year: Def Jam: Fight For NY.
His special move — an absurd combination of flips, kicks and using his feet to snap an opponent’s neck — was a favorite among players. Which is why many shared clips of the fighting game along with well wishes and sad nostalgia for his work on social media.
Every person who had a PS2 and Def Jam Vendetta know how raw DMX was on there and he was just as raw in life. The energy and postivity he preached later in life despite all the hardships he was dealing with is something to admire. RIP to the Ruff Ryder who sold out a continent pic.twitter.com/vtOmpPDPg9
— Todoroki: Glacier Flame (@KillaCJ93) April 9, 2021
It may sound like a cliche, but it’s true; DMX shocked the world when he first arrived on the scene in 1995, appearing with Ja Rule, Jay-Z, and Mic Geronimo on the posse cut “Time To Build” and then utterly destroying his standout verse on LL Cool J’s “4, 3, 2, 1” with Canibus, Method Man, and Redman in 1997. By the time he released his debut major-label album, It’s Dark And Hell Is Hot, anticipation was just as high as the temperature in The Bad Place, leading to a No. 1 debut on the Billboard 200. When he followed up later that year with Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood, he became the first rapper to debut at No. 1 back-to-back in the same year.
From there, he had a string of successive hit albums and singles, including … And Then There Was X, The Great Depression, and Grand Champ. Songs like “Party Up,” “What These B*tches Want,” “Who We Be,” “Where Tha Hood At,” and “X Gon’ Give It to Ya” became pop culture fixtures and have remained popular to this day, with many forming the foundation of memes and samples used in hip-hop by top rappers like ASAP Rocky and Drake.
Unfortunately, a lifelong addiction to cocaine, which started at just 14 years old after he was given a laced blunt by an acquaintance, derailed his career multiple times. Legal issues led to multiple stints in prison, including a 2017 conviction for tax fraud prompting his most recent one. After his release in 2019, he seemed to be on the road to a comeback after completing rehab, plotting out a new album featuring Griselda Records and Pop Smoke, and appearing on Verzuz alongside Snoop Dogg.
X was open about his struggles, often making them the center of dark, sometimes menacing, sometimes vulnerable rhymes on his projects. However, no matter how sinister the subject matter, he always came back to his faith; his penchant for adding prayers to his albums and live shows is well-noted. Meanwhile, his vocal pyrotechnics, ranging from a threatening growl to the explosive barks he used as ad-libs (and reportedly trained one of his actual dogs to add to his live freestyles), were made all the more impressive by his lifelong struggle with asthma — which never stopped him from performing without a hype man, pacing the stage like a caged tiger.
He often stole the show; on posse cuts like Mase’s “24 Hours To Live,” he regularly out-rapped, outboasted, or out-performed his collaborators. For a time, he had a reasonable claim to the coveted “King of New York” title in the wake of Biggie’s death, alongside Ja Rule and Jay-Z, with whom he had an alternately friendly and contentious relationship. Although they came into the game at the same time and even plotted on a group project titled “Murder Inc.,” divisions between led to the dissolution of this idea, while fans pitted them against one another in top rapper debates.
Just check out the freestyle snippet from the Def Jam tour documentary, Backstage, where you can see DMX and Jay-Z trading bars during what was likely one of mania impromptu ciphers during their 1999 Hard Knock Life Tour. Jay-Z is cool, collected, and measured as always, but DMX is downright magnetic, speeding and slowing his cadence, one moment just as disaffected as his friend/rival, the next, agitated, belligerent, showing his teeth — just like one of his beloved pets might when a stranger gets a little too close.
X contained all of these emotions and more; his music was an expression of all things hip-hop, from the streetwise braggadocio typical of the biggest hits to the exposed, bloody trauma that he was never quite able to escape from. By putting it all into his music, he expanded the bounds of what rap could be capable of; he was fallible on “Slippin’,” fiery on “Who We Be,” triumphant on “Where The Hood At,” cautioning on “Stop Being Greedy,” and even played the lothario on “What These B*tches Want.” He could be a comedian, a horror film director, an action star, a drug kingpin, a stick-up kid, and a wounded child in need of comfort.
His albums created space and precedent for future rappers like Kanye West and Kid Cudi to address their own struggles with anxiety and depression. And even though X once professed to hate everything Drake stood for, he later softened his stance, understanding that Drake’s outlook was an extension of his own, with different traumas and worries, but the same vulnerability. Kendrick Lamar credits DMX as his favorite rapper for that quality, and he’s likely not the only one who does, as we’ll likely find out in the coming weeks.
DMX’s story could be tragic, but he never let the tragedies of his life solely define him. After all, this was a man who took the internet’s fascination with his gravelly rendition of “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer” and ran with it, releasing a studio version that showed his lighthearted side. He was someone who knew just how hot hell could be, but at the height of his success, got close enough to glimpse heaven. The rap world won’t be the same without him, but it already changed so much because of him. He showed us the soul of a man and hopefully, that soul is finally at peace.
The music world suffered a gigantic loss on Friday morning. After spending several days in the hospital in critical condition, Earl Simmons, known to millions as DMX, died at age 50. DMX suffered a heart attack as a result of an apparent drug overdose on April 2, and a few days later, his manager said that he was in a comatose state and on life support, with his team of doctors performing a series of tests in an attempt to determine what would be best.
As is oftentimes the case when someone as revered as DMX passes away, the news led to plenty of people on social media — including many from the world of music — issuing up prayers and tributes. This also included a number of NBA players, including LeBron James and Bradley Beal, some of whom made it a point to look back on his life and legacy.
Iconic artist DMX passed away at age 50;( sorry to hear that. Grow up listening his music. Had a chance to shake his hand once in Orlando after the game! Great person#rip
Eric Paschall of the Golden State Warriors posted a famous video of DMX at Woodstock ’99, where he performed “Ruff Ryders Anthem” in front of a packed, energetic crowd.
Hip-hop legend DMX put the Ruff Ryders on the map. The management company turned record label was one of the biggest brands in the music industry during the late-1990s and early-2000s, and DMX was the dog at the head of the pack. Upon the news of Earl Simmons’ death on Thursday, his former labelmates went […]
For the past few days, there have been reports about the status of DMX’s health, and none of them were promising. Now, sadly, the tragic day that fans were hoping to avoid has arrived: It was announced today that the legendary rapper has died at 50 years old. The news was confirmed in a statement from DMX’s family, which noted that he died while surrounded by loved ones in the hospital.
People in the music world had been sharing some tributes to DMX recently as news about his health was revealed, and now that his death is official, more tributes to the rapper are pouring in.
Biz Markie wrote, “RIP DMX. No one radiated more agony, pain, and atomic energy. The Cerberus from Yonkers, who suffered for all of our sins and his own. Maybe the rawest rapper of all-time, no pretense or frills, just pure adrenaline, lawless genius, and reckless abandon. The struggle incarnate.”
RIP DMX. No one radiated more agony, pain, and atomic energy. The Cerberus from Yonkers, who suffered for all of our sins and his own. Maybe the rawest rapper of all-time, no pretense or frills, just pure adrenaline, lawless genius, and reckless abandon. The struggle incarnate. pic.twitter.com/P80t1GQHEa
Missy Elliott also wrote, “Even though you had battles you TOUCHED so many through your MUSIC and when you would PRAY so many people FELT THAT! This is heavy for the HipHop family but your LEGACY LIVES ON & your SPIRIT. Continued Prayers for X family & friends for STRENGTH/HEALING.”
Even though you had battles you TOUCHED so many through your MUSIC and when you would PRAY so many people FELT THAT! This is heavy for the HipHop family but your LEGACY LIVES ON & your SPIRIT. Continued Prayers for X family & friends for STRENGTH/HEALINGpic.twitter.com/ZI9NI6Nslg
one of the coolest and most powerful voices ever, rewatching lots of his videos this week i could still remember the powerful feelings the first times i saw and heard these songs. RIP to DMX, so sorry to everyone feeling this loss https://t.co/C5fdkx4QwO
— speedy ortiz ÷ haunted painting (@sad13) April 9, 2021
I was a late bloomer to Hiphop and before Get At Me Dog came out I wasn’t even listening, X was my introduction into Hiphop and the reason I fell in love with it, Rest in Paradise Dark Man X pic.twitter.com/NPiFjNPBRn