It's been three years since the world lost one of Hip-Hop's most revered voices DMX.
On April 9, 2021, the seasoned rap artist, born Earl Simmons, passed away at 50. Simmons had been on life support for a week following a brutal heart attack that was reportedly triggered by a drug overdose. He remained in the intensive care unit where he suffered from cerebral hypoxia. According to his former manager Nakia Walker, he also had "lung and brain failure and no current brain activity." DMX was comatose in a vegetative state for a few days before he ultimately lost functionality in multiple organs. He was pronounced dead on April 9.
DMX left behind a historic legacy that fans still talk about to this day. After spending over a decade building his name in the music industry, DMX was finally signed to Def Jam Recordings in 1997 and immediately prepared recording for his debut album It's Dark and Hell Is Hot. The LP was led by three main singles ahead of its release, "Get at Me Dog," "Stop Being Greedy," "Ruff Ryders' Anthem." All of those songs helped X's first album reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. A few months later in December 1998, DMX dropped his second LP Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood, which also went No. 1 the same year. He became the first rap artist to have two albums hit the No. 1 spot since 2Pac.
The Yonkers, N.Y. native went on to drop six more albums throughout his career including X's final album Exodus. DMX worked on the album prior to his death. It was named after his young son and the cover was shot by famed photographer Jonathan Mannion. A month after he passed, the cover art and release date for Exodus was posted to his Instagram account followed by the album's lead single "Hood Blues" featuring Westside Gunn, Benny the Butcher, and Conway the Machine.
In honor of the third anniversary of his passing, his Ruff Ryders crew paid a visit to his resting place in Yonkers. See their tribute and listen to his final final album below. Rest in peace, DMX.