Powerful Truth About DMX: Earl Simmons

On 9th April 2021, the world lost one of the greatest artistes in hip-hop music industry. His name was Earl Simmons, aka DMX. To some, DMX was simply a hip-hop artiste. But the truth about DMX is that he was more than a hip-hop artiste. DMX was also a thespian, poet, and prophet.

Powerful truth about DMX

DMX’s legendary impact in Rap Music

DMX was one of the most energetic and creative artistes that ever lived. In 1998, he released 2 albums that went triple platinum in the same year under Defjam record label. The albums were namely ‘It’s Dark and Hell is Hot’ & ‘Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood’.

DMX was affiliated with the ‘ruff ryders’, a clique quite notorious for using and performing various stunts with motorbikes. The second track in ‘It’s Dark and Hell is Hot’, titled ‘ruff ryders anthem’ was a big hit among many other tracks in the album. Ruff ryders anthem was so popular at the time the album was released that it subsequently became a worldwide anthem of many hip hop music fans.

DMX fame didn’t end after the release of the said albums that achieved multiple platinum. The following year, he released another album titled ‘And Then There Was X’ and the album was even a bigger hit than the previous ones. Many of the tracks in the album became ‘club bangers’ at the time and even till now.

DMX was a great actor

In 1998, the same year he released the said 2 albums, DMX played the lead role in a movie titled Belly. He acted alongside other popular actors such as Nas and Method Man. Then again in the year 2000, he appeared alongside Jet Li in a movie titled Romeo Must Die. Thereafter, DMX continued to appear in several movies and his role as an actor was equally as exceptional as his role as a music artiste.

Poetic aspect of DMX’s lyrics

DMX’s lyrics, particularly in his first two albums, are usually so powerful that you could read the lyrics without listening to the music and still find a powerful message therein. In fact, if you weren’t aware that the lyrics were taken from rap music, you would think you’re reading poems from literature classics. Some of the most poetic lyrics in his first two albums could be found in the following tracks:

DMX was a prophet

First, let’s look at the meaning of prophet:

[A] person sent by God to teach the people and give them messages from God

https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/american_english/prophet

If we agree, with the above definition of a prophet, then I think it is correct to say that DMX was a prophet for the following reasons:

1. DMX rose from rags to riches. He rose from being a petty thief and a drug addict to become one of the most famous people on earth. DMX himself could not believe his fortune and he said this at one point in one of the tracks in his album:

His existence alone was a powerful message from God that you could make it in life regardless of your background.

2. Though a rapper, who often rapped about violence, the truth about DMX is that he fervently believed in God. He often reflected this in his signature ‘prayer’ tracks in his albums.