The entire hip-hop community has been following DMX’s hospitalization with bated breath, mobilizing behind the legendary rapper with thoughts, prayers, and memories. At this moment, his status remains unchanged. “He’s still in the same condition — in a vegetative state, with lung and brain failure and no brain activity,” explained his former manager Nakia Walker to BuzzFeed News. “We’re just praying and waiting. Praying and waiting.”
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As X’s children make their way to the hospital, many of his former collaborators have taken to social media to voice their support. It seems as if the entire rap game stands united in their respect for DMX, an emcee who reached genuine superstar status in the late nineties and early millennium. During that particularly fruitful time, X was an active member of the Ruff Ryders collective, a movement founded by Joaquin “Waah” Dean, Darin “Dee” Dean, and Chivon Dean in 1997. As an integral piece of the Double R puzzle, X built up no shortage of strong alliances with his fellow labelmates, a roster that included artists like The LOX, Drag-On, Swizz Beatz, Eve, Jin, and more.
Over the weekend, many of those former Ruff Ryders members took to social media to offer their own messages to DMX, as many held close relationships with the multi-platinum rapper. “Prayers up …. dog n**** what .!!!!!! Been an emotional few days,” writes Styles P. “But I know deep down. GOD got you covered. You have repped for him even in your darkest times.. nothing less than an admirable GODLY trait…”
MC Jin, who signed to the Ruff Ryders in 2002, offered an emotional post on his Twitter page. “Watching this video of how excited X was meeting Rakim got me in my feels,” writes Jin, sharing a video of a starstruck DMX meeting Rakim. “My 8 year old asked “daddy, why are you crying?” I told him “this is one of daddy’s favorite rappers and he’s not doing well”.
Drag-On made it clear that he’s not necessarily about social media perceptions, handling most of his prayers behind-the-scenes. “Prayers over Pictures- ..,I’m praying to God,, NOT to the gram,,, so excuse me,” he captions. Still, he made sure to voice his support for X, with whom he collaborated on It’s Dark & Hell Is Hot, Flesh Of My Flesh Blood Of My Blood, And Then There Was X, and various Ruff Ryders volumes.
Swizz Beatz, easily one of DMX’s most prolific and loyal collaborators, opted to let a picture speak volumes. Prior to X’s hospitalization, Swizz had been helping him put together his ninth studio album — one that featured guest appearances from Lil Wayne, Griselda, Pop Smoke, and more.
The Ruff Ryders IG page shared an invite to a “Prayer for DMX” event in front of the White Plains Hospital in New York, set to take place at 5:00 PM. “Keep praying for X,” writes the label.
Sheek Louch took to Instagram to share an image of DMX sporting the iconic Ruff Ryders chain, along with a concise but impactful message: “Prayers up CHAMP.”
Ruff Ryders CEO Darrin “Dee” Dean implored fans to keep the prayers coming, confirming that he and his people actually visited the hospital to check in on X. “Had the family at the hospital today seeing @dmx at hospital all prayers are appreciated,” he captions.
Eve, who worked with DMX on numerous occasions, kept the rapper in her thoughts with a post on her official Twitter page.
The Ruff Ryders bond continues to hold strong, even after all these years. Case in point, in addition to his fellow Double R alumni, the official Ruff Ryders biker gang recently visited the hospital to show their support. Please keep DMX in your thoughts as we await further updates on his health.
