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Earl Simmons, otherwise known as DMX (Dark Man X) was an American rapper, songwriter, and actor who began his musical career in the early 1990s. At the height of his success, he presented one of the most high-profile expressions of vulnerability in hip-hop. Simmons was one of the very few rappers talented enough to cause Jay-Z to lose his flow, meanwhile, in an era run by the shiny suits of Puff Daddy and yuppy culture, DMX paved a path to the mainstream for a generation of rappers that would follow. Kendrick Lamar has repeatedly stated that DMX played a huge part in his rap education, with his dialogue in “Lucy” on his highly acclaimed album ‘To Pimp A Butterfly’ paying homage to the late hero.
Simmons’ upbringing was challenging, but proved to be the making of him. His biological father was never in the picture, whilst his mother and her various boyfriends would beat him so badly to the point where he lost multiple teeth and sustained numerous bruises and cuts to his face. Due to Simmons’ abusive upbringing, X would often sleep rough, befriending stray dogs, companions that would later come to define his life and musical style.
Shortly after X began sleeping rough, his mother sent him to a group home. During this stay, Simmons bonded with other students from New York, embracing with one another over their shared love of Hip-Hop. DMX got his break in the music industry aged 14, in 1984, when he beatboxed for Ready Ron, the man who gave him everything music-wise, but unfortunately, the same man who would expose X to a life fuelled with addictions. During this period, DMX was consistently in and out of prisons for offences such as stealing and carjacking, but it was this period in his life that developed him. His stints in prison ensured that he never wanted to pursue a life of crime and instead wished for a life in music.
After going to prison in 1988 for carjacking, X began to take rapping far more seriously, dedicating almost all of his free time to writing lyrics. When DMX was released that summer, he began producing and selling his own mixtapes where he rapped over instrumentals from other songs and selling them on street corners. The…
