From the late-1990s through the early 2010s, DMX was the heavyweight champion of
hardcore rap, combining gangsta lyrics and a gruff vocal delivery into six
chart-topping studio albums. He was born as Earl Simmons in Mount Vernon, NY, on
December 18, 1970. A teenager with a troubled past that included gang activity,
he began building an audience in New York thanks to his self-produced mixtapes.
Signed by Columbia in 1992, he released his debut single, "Born Loser," the
following year, yet failed to make much of an impression in a hip-hop scene
dominated by acts like 2Pac and Notor...