Earl Simmons was born on March 4, 1970 in Maryland. After a few years, him moved with his mother to Yonkers, New York, where he would be raised. His father left him at a young age, leaving him forced to reside with an abusive mother. At 7, DMX was sent to a group home, where he would spend more than five years in several of them. Earl was a typical juvenille delinquent headed in the wrong direction from the start of his life and at one point was served seven years in prison for numerous charges. To add to this, DMX became accustomed to taking drugs and drinking alcohol on a daily basis. With the odds stacked up against his favor, DMX managed to turn his life around and make his life a success story that would touch many people in the world today.
He decided to rap, to help his lifelong battle with manic depression that he suffered from.
English: Mug shot of DMX.
Ruff Ryders Entertainment
DMX at the 79th Annual Academy Awards Children Uni...After years of hard work and dedication to making it in the music industry, he landed a record deal with Ruffhouse and came out with his first single, titled "Born Loser" in 1992. DMX did not get along with his record label because they were not promoting his name as much as he thought that they should, so he asked to be dropped from the label.
During the middle of the 1990s, DMX began to gain a lot of street credibility through rapping in clubs, street corners, and anywhere else his voice could be heard. In 1997, with the help of Ruff Ryders Entertainment, DMX signed a deal with Def Jam Records and finally struck gold.
His single released in 1998, "Get at Me Dog" put him on the map and helped his first album to sell over 250,000...