DMX has been a household name since the '90s when he was launched into rap superstardom,
but even though you certainly know his name, there are still some things about the late,
legendary rapper that may have flown under your radar.
DMX came from a troubled home, which resulted in him leaving his mother when he was a young
boy.
He spent his adolescence living in group homes and supporting himself by any means necessary.
As he recounted during an appearance on People's Party with Talib Kweli, it was during this
time that he honed his craft, writing music and performing for his friends, who encouraged
him to keep going.
He eventually began DJ-ing and beatboxing, soon attracting the attention of Ready Ron,
a rapper who would become his mentor.
He needed a stage name, so he reportedly took the name DMX from the Oberheim DMX digital
drum machine that he used to create beats while he was producing and performing his
early music.
A 2006 book by author Gavin Edwards about music's most enduring mysteries quotes DMX
as saying,
"Since I felt I was nice by the beats, I took that.
It was strong, powerful.
I liked the three letters and thought that it would be cool to make them stand for different
things…
I was no longer Earl Simmons or even Crazy Earl.
I was DMX.
DMX The Beat Box Enforcer.”
Despite this relatively clear-cut origin story, the DMX name has been reinterpreted by the
rapper's fans over the years to mean either Dark Man X or Dog Man X.
X stated that he was just 14 years old when he met Ready Ron.
He called that part of his life as being both a blessing and a curse.
It was a blessing because Ready Ron opened up a lot of doors for him in the underground
hip-hop scene.
However, this relationship with Ready Ron also led him to his lifelong struggle with
addiction to crack cocaine.
In his interview with Kweli, DMX shared that he had his first taste of the drug when he
was just 14 years old — and it was given to him in a shady way.
He said they were celebrating a friend's birthday and were passing around a joint.
Although he initially refused — not smoking anything because of his asthma condition — when
Ready Ron handed it to him, he took a hit.
Unbeknownst to him, the joint was laced with crack and X became addicted, something that
has shaped his life ever since.
"The monster was born."
"Mm."
"The monster was born."
As a result of his childhood, DMX developed a hard street persona, one steeped in violence
and anger, which shaped his whole career.
His drug use, he said, was a result of him attempting to block out the traumatic memories
of his difficult childhood.
"Drugs were never a problem.
Drugs were a symptom of a bigger problem."
DMX then told Kweli that dealing with his past helped him with his addiction and sobriety.
He also addressed how talking about problems can be viewed as a weakness, but in spite
of that perception, it's actually one of the bravest things you can do.
Although DMX created a name for himself as a talented hip-hop artist, he didn't always
want to be a musician.
In fact, he told Talib Kweli on People's Party that he wanted to be a firefighter when he
was a little boy.
As it turns out, the rapper spent his life afflicted with bronchial asthma.
When he would have asthma attacks as a child, he remembered, firefighters would often be
called in to help calm him down.
He said he liked firefighters in particular because they were just there to save your
life, not cause you any legal troubles.
As he put it, quote, "They're not concerned with what other crimes may or may not be happening
or anything of that nature."
He even said that he had once wanted to become a firefighter himself as an adult, but said
that he wasn't able to because of his asthma.
DMX also wanted to be a pastor and became a certified deacon.
He reportedly first gave a public indication of his interest during a 2009 jailhouse interview.
As he told Fox 10 News at the time, he revealed that being a pastor was his true calling in
life and that being in prison helped him actualize his true calling.
He said that when he left that three-month bid in prison, he wanted to give his first
sermon in a church.
"I'm in my bible every day.
You know they got me on 23-hour lock-in — why, I don't know."
"Is that for your own protection?"
"That's what they say, but it's really just to be a pain in the ass."
Even though DMX was one of the most popular rappers of the last 25 years and had multiple
platinum-certified albums, at the time of his death, DMX's net worth was reportedly
negative $1 million.
Much of his money was said to have been spent to deal with his legal troubles.
He had been in and out of prison since the early 2000s and had to pay for legal fees
as a result of his incarcerations.
If that's not all, DMX fathered a lot of children and had to pay their mothers child support.
Notably, when his first extramarital affair was discovered, he was ordered to pay her
$1.5 million.
He filed a declaration of bankruptcy in 2013, claiming he had only $50,000 in assets.
At the same time, he was in debt to the tune of millions of dollars, reportedly owing $1.24
million in child support.
In 2017, his financial troubles persisted.
He was charged with tax fraud and served one year in prison, before being released in January
2019.
He still owed more than two million dollars to the IRS at the time of his release.
DMX might have been known for his hardcore rap, but he had a sweet side, too.
DMX told Talib Kweli during his interview for People's Party that one of his favorite
songs is Bobby Caldwell's "What You Won't Do For Love" — and he serenaded Kweli with
the song when they first met.
Kweli told X that he was impressed by the rapper's ability to hit all the notes but
that he also made it fun, adding in his iconic ad-libs while he sang.
But that's not the only disarming left turn X took in the musical arena.
In 2012, he appeared on New York's Power 105.1 and his own rendition of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed
Reindeer."
"But do you recall / The most famous reindeer of all?
Come on!
Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer / Had a very shiny nose / Unh!"
When asked by Kweli if X wished people saw the positive, music-loving side of him more,
the rapper said that those who knew the actual him saw that he was a laid-back person who
enjoyed having a good time.
DMX blamed the media for the perception people might have had that he was serious all the
time.
As he concluded,
"Life is too short not to try and enjoy yourself."
Those who are fans of DMX know that he had more than just a surface-level connection
with dogs.
He claimed on Revolt TV's Drink Champs that he loves dogs more than people, adding that
he's been around dogs since he was a kid.
When asked to elaborate on why he feels such a connection with canines, X responded,
"A dog doesn't know how to lie to you."
He also said that dogs have "unconditional love" and will always stand up for their owner
in any circumstances.
He also shared a story with Talib Kweli on People's Party about the first dog he got:
a pitbull named Bully.
He spoke about how he spent a full night with Bully to gain his trust and then stole him,
using his belt as a leash to guide the dog over the fence and back home.
He then said when he got home, his mother told him the dog had to go, so X told her
if the dog had to go, he would go, too.
"There are two things that I'm aware of that exist that are capable of unconditional love
— dogs and God."
It's no secret that DMX had legal troubles throughout his life, but some might not know
just how many times he found himself on the wrong side of the law.
According to an interview the rapper gave to GQ, the rapper had actually been arrested
over two dozen times.
The charges that were pinned on X included drug possession, robbery, animal cruelty,
probation violation, and driving without a license.
Unfortunately, X's troubles with the law only grew alongside with his career.
The more popular he got, the more the law seemed to come after him.
Speaking with GQ, DMX shared that he was first arrested when he was 10 years old — once
for arson, and then again, later, for assault.
However, he didn't go to jail for the first time until 1986, when he was 16 years old.
He reportedly spent two years in a juvenile detention center for stealing a dog from a
junkyard — a bid which he initially escaped after a couple of weeks, before his mother
convinced him to return to finish the stay.
Two years later, the rapper was arrested again for carjacking.
DMX admitted to GQ that his stints behind bars only got harder for him over the years.
However, while he agreed that jailtime was absolutely disruptive, it was also a place
where you could, against the odds, find solace.
In 2003, ahead of the release of his fifth album, DMX announced that he was going to
retire from music.
Though he shared that he would continue to be a public figure, act, and work in the music
industry, he also stated that he planned to focus his priorities on his relationship with
God and his family.
As he put it at the time to MTV News,
"I'm going to go to church.
I wanna take some time off — you know, read my Bible and just get more into the word."
However, DMX's retirement was not long-lived, and in 2005, he released his sixth album.
Many fans were understandably confused about his new music, but MTV News discovered that
his return to the rap game was due to a conversation he had with fellow artist Mase.
When DMX expressed that he was fed up with the rap game, he said that Mase advised him
to stick around, telling him,
"As long as the Lord gives you the talent to do what you do, do it.
He'll call you when he's ready.'"
Mase's advice resonated with DMX, who decided to return to music, saying to MTV News in
a later interview,
"What gives me the right to say, 'I don't wanna do this no more' and walk away?
[...] I'm gonna do this as long as I can, and when [God] is ready for me, he'll call
me.
It wasn't my place to retire."
During DMX's appearance on People's Party, host Talib Kweli told DMX that he often thinks
of him as a "conscious rapper," despite the media perception of him as an artist whose
work was more aggressive than meaningful.
While Kweli said that many seem to regard socially conscious rappers as being condescending
or corny, he didn't think that was the case with DMX, whom he applauded for taking on
what he called the pathologies of the hood.
DMX said that he agreed that the emotional depth of his lyrics often went overlooked,
with fans paying more immediate attention to the beat, flow, and hook of a song than
its lyrical content.
As X explained it,
"My thing is, have substance, have substance, have substance.
That way, if it makes it to the point where they're still listening after liking those
three aspects of the song, you're still giving them another treat."
While DMX acknowledged that it was unfair that not every listener cared to pay attention
to what he was saying in his music, he still intended to keep imbuing his songs with meaning
for the listeners who did..
That combination of inimitable style and compelling substance was one of the many things that
made DMX a one-of-a-kind rapper who was undoubtedly one of the most talented artists of the last
few decades.
His distinctive style and personality will be remembered for years to come.
If you or someone you know is struggling with drug addiction be sure to reach out to the
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) at 1-800-662-HELP
(4357).