The memory of the late Earl “DMX” Simmons will be celebrated Saturday, December 18 in his Yonkers, New York hometown on what would have been his 51st birthday. New York State has declared Saturday “DMX Day,” and members of the Simmons family will attend, according to YonkersTimes.com
Five local artists will perform at the “DMX Throw Down” for a panel of celebrity judges, and the winner will receive a $500 gift card from Def Jam.
In addition to DMX, Mary J. Blige and The Lox are among the stars who grew up in Yonkers.
“I was not a fan of hip hop growing up, but I came to appreciate Hip Hop after DMX passed away earlier this year,’’ says Wilson Kimball, President and CEO of the Municipal Housing Authority for the City of Yonkers. “First, I realized he was around my age. Then, I realized he grew up in MHACY housing. Lastly, I realized his music came from a dark, real, and honest place. I may not have had the same challenging childhood in the same place, but I understood what he was going through because his lyrics are so compelling.”
Simmons was profiled in the HBO documentary, DMX: Don’t Try to Understand, which premiered Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 25. The “X Gon’ Give It To Ya” rapper never won a Grammy, however, he’s nominated posthumously for Best Rap Song for “Bath Salts” with Jay-Z and Nas.
DMX passed away April 9, 2021 from a heart attack. The iconic rapper/actor was 50 years old.
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