Producer Joel Silver signed X to a three-film deal worth $15 million because he was so impressed, calling X a natural. He starred in Romeo Must Die in 2000 alongside Aaliyah and Jet Li. He made his debut in the 1998 hip hop classic Belly, which his producer Irv Gotti begged the director, Hype Williams, to put X in. His transition to acting proved that he was a true renaissance artist. Music wasn’t X’s only form of storytelling. The late-rapper also had a prolific acting career 1 on the Rap Charts, with 125,000 copies sold. Though it didn’t make take the number one spot, the album debuted at No. He asked Jay to be released from his contract and signed to Sony where he released the sixth album, Year of the Dog. Born Earl Simmons, 18 December 1970, Mount Vernon, New York, USA, raised in Yonkers.
X always believed that his projects were shelved due to Jay viewing him as competition. DMX is a shortened stagename for Dark Man X. At the time, his colleague and rival, Jay-Z, was the new president of Def Jam. The streak ended with the release of his sixth studio album. 1 on the Billboard 200 makes X the first and only rapper to achieve such a feat. X’s next three albums, And Then There Was X, The Great Depression, and Grand Champ also made the top spot on the chart. 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.Related: DMX Had Major Issues With the Music Industry
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. 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. 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. 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. A year later, his third album And Then There Was X landed with even bigger commercial impact, cementing his run. 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. hes released a total of seven studio albums, including Its Dark and Hell is Hot, (1998). DMXs estate is estimated to be worth less than 1 million with some projections valuing the estate at around 50,000. DMX - What They Really Want (Official Music Video) ft. 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. DMX’s Alleged 15th Child Joins Battle Over His Estate. Earl’s music inspired countless fans across the world and his iconic legacy will live on forever." He loved his family with all of his heart and we cherish the times we spent with him. appeared on ‘I Am Athlete,’ where he said he was the ‘hottest rapper in the world’ in 1998, the same year Jay-Z, Big Pun, and DMX dropped albums. Earl was a warrior who fought till the very end. 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 Simmons, known as DMX over a legendary, influential rap career, has died.