DMX

American actor and rapper Earl Simmons was born December 18 1970 and passed away April 9 2021. The rapper began rapping in early 1990s , and released the album debut It's Dark and Hell is Hot in 1998, which received both critical acclaim as well as commercial success, selling 251,000 copies within its first week of release. [5][65][6] DMX released his best-selling album, ... And Then There Was X, in 1999. The album included the hit track "Party Up (Up in Here)". The singles he released in 2003, "Where is the Hood At?" The 2003 singles, "Where the Hood at?" and "X Gon to Make It To Ya", were also commercially profitable. He was the first artist to release an album that reached No.1 five times in a row on the Billboard 200 charts. 7 Overall, DMX sold over 74 million records worldwide. 8 DMX was featured in films such as Belly, Romeo Must Die, Exit Wounds, Cradle 2 the Grave as well as Last Hour. He was a part of the reality TV series DMX. Soul of a Man. It was shown on the BET cable channel Never Die Alone. He published E.A.R.L., his memoirs in 2003. : The Autobiography of DMX. 9 DMX started in the business of music at 14 as a beatboxer for Ready Ron. After serving time in prison He began writing lyrics of his own and performed at the recreation center in town that was for children older than he was. While in prison for carjacking, he began dedicating a large portion of his time to creating lyrics. He also had a meeting and performed with K-Solo. After being released the following summer after which he started making and selling mixtapes of his own where he rapped over music from other songs. He also sold them on street corners and helped build an audience of locals across New York. Percee P as well as DMX performed on The Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show 1991, where they improvised. [1515 DMX would release the demo tape later in the year that featured "Spellbound" and "Critical Condition", three Little Pigs "The Original Author of Spellbound" as well as "Unstoppable force". The design was like Big Daddy Kane's and Rakim's but distinct from his later work. [3] In 1991, The Source magazine praised DMX in its Unsigned Hype section that featured unsigned hip-hop artists. [16] Columbia Records signed DMX in 1991 to its subsidiary label Ruffhouse Records. This single was the first of his songs, "Born Loser". "17" His second single, "Make A Move" was released in 1994. He performed alongside Jay-Z, Ja Rule, and Mic Geronimo on the iconic underground song "Time to build" on Mic Geronimo's debut album 1995.DMX passed away on April 9 2021 following a heart attack caused by cocaine.