DMX Died Today and My Youth Keeps Going Further Into the Rearview
The first concert I ever attended was Southern University’s 1998 Homecoming show and DMX was the headliner. “It’s Dark and Hell is Hot” had come out that year and took the rap game by storm. X made my first concert experience electrifying, as he was a performer that never half-stepped. I remember his set ending with one of his legendary prayers. I knew I was watching a once-in-a-generation talent.
By the time X’s album debuted in 1998, New York had already regained a strong foothold in hip hop after years of West Coast domination. Biggie, Jay Z, Nas and Wu-Tang had been instrumental in bringing the birthplace of rap music back to the forefront, but something was still missing before X emerged. Big and Jay were the lyrical hustlers, Nas was the street poet and the Wu was a gritty, yet novelty act with a cult following but when X came he brought a below-the-sewer griminess to NYC hip hop that was similar to the earlier music of Das EFX.
X would eventually skyrocket, showcasing a wide range of moods musically, each of which screamed authenticity. From “Party Up” to “Who We Be” to “What’s My Name” and beyond, Earl Simmons gave rap fans his full uncompromising self his entire career.
His death due to drug overdose is a cruel ending to an addiction he could not escape. X began experimenting with crack as a teenager and fought the demons of addiction his whole adult life, as he entertained and prayed for millions of people around the world.
He survived 50 years, but it still feels like the culture was robbed. I hope he has found peace. It’s been a long time coming.