Rapper Earl Simmons, popularly known as DMX is dead. He lost the battle to a heart attack at age 50. He died at the White Plains Hospital where he had been on life support for a week. According to his family, he died with his loved ones and friends by his bed.
“We are deeply saddened to announce today that our loved one, DMX, birth name of Earl Simmons, passed away at 50-years-old at White Plains Hospital with his family by his side after being placed on life support for the past few days,” his family announced.
His family described him as a “warrior who fought till the very end.” Millions of fans across the world have taken to social media to lament his loss and many recount stories of how his songs have changed their lives and fashioned their outlook on things. Actor Chriss Redd among other fans said he grew up with DMX music and has all his albums and songs, and even followed any artiste he endorsed.
In 2019, DMX told GQ magazine that he was born to fulfill destiny. He said there was a purpose he must fulfill in life because he had been ordained to fulfill the destiny long before his birth. According to him, good comes with bad, and people must be ready to accept one and also appreciate the other. Many of his songs reflected his strong belief in God and his childhood struggles to become somebody in life.
“I just need to have a purpose,” he said. “And I don’t even know that purpose, because God has given me that purpose since before I was in the womb, so I’m going to fulfill that purpose … whether I want to or not, whether I know it or not, because the story has already been written. If you appreciate the good, then you have to accept the bad.”
He started to rap in the early 1990s but released his first album in 1998, it was titled “It’s Dark and Hell is Hot.” He became the king of rap following the deaths of Notorious BIG and Tupac Shakur and got signed in to Ruffhouse Records label where his single track Ruff Ryders Anthem broke the charts. Several other hit tracks over the years paved the way for his Grammy nominations for the best rap album category.
Some of his hit songs include Get At Me Dog in 1998, Party Up in 1999, and X Gon’ Give It to Ya in 2003. He also featured in several movies which included Romeo Must Die and Cradle 2 the Grave. DMX suffered from substance abuse and several troubles with law enforcement agents, and he was sentenced to one year in prison in 2017 for tax fraud.
Source: cnn.com