DMX

Earl Simmons (December 18, 1970 – April 9, 2021), known professionally as DMX, was an American rapper and actor.

Earl Simmons was born on December 18, 1970, in Mount Vernon, New York.

He was the son of 19-year-old Arnett Simmons and 18-year-old Joe Barker.

Simmons was the middle child of the family; his mother had given birth to a daughter, Bonita, two years prior, and later gave birth to one daughter, Shayla, and two stillborn sons.

His father, Barker, painted watercolor paintings of street scenes to sell at local fairs, having moved to Philadelphia to fulfill his career.

In his childhood years, Simmons first suffered from physical violence at the hands of his mother and was diagnosed with bronchial asthma.

He was raised as a Jehovah's Witness.

He disassociated himself from the spirituality after he was injured in an accident by a driver.

At the age of five, his mother sent him to live with relatives in Yonkers' School Street housing apartments.

After suffering from his mother's abuse, he was expelled from a middle school at the age of ten, having been sent to a group home.

He then returned to Yonkers at age fifteen, sleeping in empty storage bins and befriending stray dogs.

Due to poor grades at Yonkers Middle High School, Simmons was unable to finish his track and field team schedule.

Broke, he robbed several students to find food and clothing for himself, as well as a leather collar and harness for his pet dog.

He began carjacking.

His career began in 1985, when he beatboxed for a local rapper named Ready Ron.

They would do small shows together where Ron would perform as a rapper, and DMX would beatbox and provide adlibs.

After some time, he realized Ron was becoming more prominent on the scene, so he decided to start rapping himself under the name "DMX"—an acronym for "Divine Master Of the Unknown" and later "Darkman X".

After serving a two-year prison sentence, he began writing his own lyrics and performing at the local recreation center for younger children.

In 1988, while in prison for carjacking, he began dedicating more of his free time to writing lyrics and battling other inmates.

During this time, he had created a style called "Spellbound" where he spelled each word out letter by letter.

He and future rival, K-Solo, engaged in battles.

Regarded as an influential figure in late 1990s and early 2000s hip hop, his music is characterized by his "aggressive" rapping style, with lyrical content varying from hardcore themes to prayers.

Often regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, he began rapping in the early 1990s and signed with Ruff Ryders Entertainment and Def Jam to release his debut studio album It's Dark and Hell Is Hot (1998), which received both critical acclaim and commercial success—selling 251,000 units its first week.

He later made an appearance on The Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show in January 1991, where he provided a freestyle.

The Source praised DMX in its Unsigned Hype column that highlighted unsigned hip-hop artists.

In 1991, DMX signed a management deal with the then-unknown record label Ruff Ryders Entertainment.

Later that year, Columbia Records signed DMX to its subsidiary labels Chaos Records and Ruffhouse Records, which released his major debut single "Born Loser" in 1993.

Failing to meet commercial projections and not reaching any music charts, he was then terminated from his contract with Ruffhouse and became an independent artist.

In January 1994, Death Row Records attempted to sign the rapper in a joint venture with Ruff Ryders, although this never materialized.

After two years of struggling in the industry, his friend and associate, Irv Gotti, became the president of A&R at Def Jam Recordings.

After showcasing for then-president Lyor Cohen, DMX was signed to Def Jam Recordings in May 1997.

DMX recorded tracks from April 1997 to January 1998 for his debut album.

During this time, his guest appearances on Mase's singles "24 Hrs. to Live" and "Take What's Yours", The Lox's single "Money, Power & Respect", and Def Jam labelmate LL Cool J's single "4, 3, 2, 1" created a strong buzz for his upcoming album.

DMX was featured in films such as Belly (1998), Romeo Must Die (2000), Exit Wounds (2001), alongside Steven Seagal, Cradle 2 the Grave (2003), alongside Jet Li, and Last Hour (2008).

His third album, ... And Then There Was X was released in 1999 and remains his best-selling release, supported by his hit single "Party Up (Up in Here)".

The song, along with his 2003 singles "Where the Hood At?" and "X Gon' Give It to Ya" remain his most commercially successful to date.

He was the first artist to release a number one album five consecutive times on the Billboard 200, beginning with his debut and ending with Grand Champ (2003).

DMX has sold over 74 million records worldwide.

In 2003, he published a book of his memoirs titled E.A.R.L.: The Autobiography of DMX.

In 2006, he starred in the reality television series DMX: Soul of a Man, which was primarily aired on the BET cable television network.