Earl Simmons, known in the Hip Hop industry as DMX, passed away last Friday (April 9) aged 50 in a New York hospital. Born in 1970 in Mount Vernon, New York, the rapper was raised by his mother.
His career in the music industry started in the late 1990s and he released his debut album “It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot” in 1998. He sold more than 200,000 copies within the first week and according to Celebrity Net Worth, the album has sold more than five million copies to date.
In 1999, he released another album titled “And Then There Was X”. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and was certified six-times Platinum. Before his death, DMX released seven audio albums with his most recent album being “Undisputed,” which he released in 2012. The album debuted at number 19 on the Billboard 200 after selling 17,000 copies in its first week. DMX was also into movies, starring in projects like “Exit Wounds”, “Romeo Must Die” and “Cradle 2 the Grave.”
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Despite his successful music career, DMX was entangled in multiple legal issues which negatively affected his finances. He was imprisoned several times for animal cruelty, reckless driving, unlicensed driving, and drug possession.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, DMX had a net worth of negative $1million in 2021. He filed for bankruptcy in 2013 in Manhattan court claiming to have $50,000 in assets and between $1 million and $10 million worth of debt to various creditors. In his filing, the rapper reportedly cited child support as his priority claim, totaling around $1.24 million. He has 15 children with different women, with his youngest child being five years old.
He was charged with tax fraud in 2017 amounting to $1.7 million and sentenced to one year imprisonment in 2018. When he was released in 2019, he owed the IRS $2.3 million. His income was subsequently garnished by the U.S. government until the debt is paid. DMX explained his brushes with the law in his 1998 song ‘Slippin in the courtroom.’ “They put me in a situation forcing me to be a man/ When I was just learning to stand without a helping hand,” he raps in the song.
DMX was brought up in a Jehovah’s Witness Community at Yonkers, New York; his family relocated there when he was only five years old. He had a difficult childhood as he became a subject of abuse by his mother and her boyfriends. In school, he often breached school rules which lead to his dismissals. While in fifth grade, he was sacked from school. He later spent one year at the Julia Dyckman Andrus Children’s Home for more than a year. Before long, he started writing his own songs and performing for his mates. He met a local rapper called Ready Ron and became partners.
