DMX, the Legendary Yet Troubled Rap Icon, Has Died

Culture
The rapper, 50, had been on life support for the last week following a heart attack.
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DMXAwol Erizku, GQ, October 2019

Earl Simmons, known as DMX over a legendary, influential rap career, has died. His family released this statement Friday morning: “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. Earl was a warrior who fought till the very end. He loved his family with all of his heart and we cherish the times we spent with him. Earl’s music inspired countless fans across the world and his iconic legacy will live on forever.”

Simmons burst onto the rap scene in 1998, when he released his first two albums, It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot and Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood, within mere months of each other. Both became huge hits—debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100—and established him as the grimy but charming contrast to the glitzy “shiny suit” rap that had become dominant. A year later, his third album And Then There Was X landed with even bigger commercial impact, cementing his run. He managed to garner both critical acclaim and widespread popularity, creating a body of work that endured, even as mounting battles with the law and addiction meant that he spent years out of the spotlight.

In recent years, he seemed to have finally settled into a healthy routine that prioritized work and kept him out of trouble, including returning to Def Jam. That work was celebrated last summer in his Verzuz match against Snoop Dogg, one of the first installments of the music event—and one that quickly eschewed any sense of competition. The mood instead was one of celebration. And it was universal: the feed was full of rap fans who count DMX’s music the soundtrack of their childhoods, but also industry peers likeSwizz Beatz, who sold his first beat to DMX all the way back in the ’90s. In the moment, the culture was excited to honor DMX for all he’d given, and sacrificed, in producing the mean-mugging hits and the soulful confessionals that gave a legion of listeners the language to communicate their pain.

At the time, Simmons and Swizz were said to be hard at work on a new album. As intriguing as that project sounded, the Verzuz reception made it clear: DMX didn’t need a comeback. The love was always present.

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