“Y’all gon’ make me lose my mind
Up in here, up in here
Y’all gon’ make me go all out
Up in here, up in here
Y’all gon’ make me act a fool
Up in here, up in here
Y’all gon’ make me lose my cool
Up in here, up in here…”
-Party Up by DMX
DMX died on Friday, April 9, at 50 years old. Born Earl Simmons in Mount Vernon, New York, DMX dominated rap in the late nineties and early 2000s and continues to hold the record for most number one albums to top The Billboard chart upon release consecutively, at five. A rap artist and actor, DMX seemed to embody rap music’s id, its male ego and selfhood. His broken relationship with his mother and his father’s absence drove him to the streets where he lived a desperate life, sought the companionship of street dogs, and the escapism provided by drugs as a young, teenage rapper.
Simmons death resulted from an overdose on Sunday, April 5, that left him in a coma until his death on Friday. A hardscrabble childhood in group homes and multiple incarcerations from childhood through adulthood kept his life on the edge up to and through his meteoric rise to pop stardom. Nevertheless, DMX had a tender side along with his “Ruff ryder” persona which was reflected in his music. In an homage, “Ayo Kato,” to a friend, Latin Kings gangster Rudy “Kato” Rangel, murdered in June 2003, DMX describes a cross cultural friendship, street honor and respect:
“Started off, two dogs with the same goals (uh)
Nothing but two dogs walkin’ the same road (uh)
Two different cultures, but had the same heart (yeah)
Enjoyed seeing the light, but lived in the dark
Fifth album, bumped heads in the parking lot (aight)
Was a quiet brother, didn’t like to bark a lot
Came direct (uh), when he came, gained respect
So I gave respect, (uh) we shared the same respect
To name regret, in our own circles (what)
Two brothers with good hearts, but if you start
Two brothers that’ll hurt you (yeah)…”
DMX’s growl of a voice and powerful lyrics stood out among rap artists and contemporary music in his heyday and remains a cornerstone of the rap canon. To those who might have encountered DMX in professional settings, as this author did, he was kind, charming and respectful. The type of person who even when his star shone brightest continued to acknowledge and speak to regular folks. There was another side to him when night fell and he partied. Stories of over-indulgence, outrageous transgressions, gutter behavior became lore.
He rapped about being a better man for his children, he was a father of eighteen, but even in the best of times in those early days, there was heavy foreboding around his struggle with substance abuse, and while many rooted for this gifted soul to overcome his demons, the hell he survived and the inner turmoil that plagued him seemed to have no foreseeable off ramp, and then there would be another incarceration.
In his cut Slippin’, he raps:
“If I’m strong enough I’ll live long enough to see my kids
Doing something more constructive with they time
Than bids I know because I been there now I’m in there
Sit back and look at what it took for me to get there
First came the, the drama with my mama
She got on some fly shit till I split
And said that I’ma be that seed
That doesn’t need much to succeed”
DMX was known to have been working on an impressive comeback album. While his career never peaked as high in recent years as it did in the late nineties and the early years of the millennium, one is still hard pressed to find a rap voice more stirring and guttural in its power than DMX’s. Otto Von Biz Markie tweeted after news of DMX’s death:
“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.”
Survivors include his ex-wife Tashera Simmons and sons Xavier and Exodus. A private funeral is being arranged. May his soul rest in peace.
