Line #48 Music/DMX


1	[[quoteright:304:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1_4_1_1_1_dmx_wire.jpg]]
2
3	->''"Musicians often put on an exaggerated persona when on stage to make themselves seem more legitimate to the audience. Whether it's bragging about the number of women they lay or the fineness of the Maseratis they drive, this kind of casual exaggeration is perhaps most common in hip-hop artists.\
4	DMX, on the other hand, is not in any way exaggerating when he describes being a bad, bad man in his songs."''
5	-->-- '''Website/{{Cracked}}.com''', "[[http://www.cracked.com/article_18586_the-7-most-impossible-rock-stars-to-deal-with.html The 7 Most Impossible Rock Stars To Deal With]]"
6
7	Earl Simmons (December 18, 1970 - April 9, 2021), more widely known by his stage name DMX, was a rapper and actor from Yonkers, New York.
8
9	The name DMX was originally not an acronym, but simply part of a name taken from a popular drum machine of TheNineties, the Oberheim DMX. However, in some of his pre-Ruff Ryders recordings, it stood for "Divine Master of the [[LetXBeTheUnknown Unknown]]", as adapted from the [[https://genius.com/Nation-of-gods-and-earths-supreme-alphabet-annotated Supreme Alphabet]] of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five-Percent_Nation Five Percent Nation]], before Simmons eventually settled on what would become the most famous version of the acronym: "Dark Man {{X\|tremeKoolLetterz}}," with X retaining its "unknown" meaning.
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11	DMX was widely known for his harsh, gravelly voice, his frequent use of energetic call-and-response lyrics, and the extremely violent subject matter of his songs. His early life was extremely painful, with hardships including abusive parents and a drug addiction starting from age 14 that haunted him all his life, which began when he was tricked into smoking crack by his older musical mentor.
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13	He attracted controversy for his songs' constant uses of the words [[ClusterFBomb "fuck"]] and [[NWordPrivileges "nigga"]], their rampant sexism and homophobia[[note]]The latter of which did not prevent him from [[https://www.miaminewtimes.com/music/dmxs-concert-at-house-nightclub-was-every-bit-as-bizarre-as-youd-imagine-8459642 unknowingly performing at an LGBT nightclub]][[/note]], his extensive arrest record, and his tendencies to feud with or diss other rappers publicly, especially {{Music/Drake}}. He became famous for not hiding any of these controversies from the public, having no problem openly talking about them. He also fathered a record fifteen children from nine different women.
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15	Yet at the same time, DMX was revered as one of the greatest rappers in the genre's history for [[CreatorBreakdown his ability to put his personal pain into song]]. Him not hiding his "dark side" from the public led to many admiring him for his honesty and willingness to stand up to the media, and his intensely emotional songs won him millions of fans (including a [[EstrogenBrigade huge female fanbase]] due to his [[WalkingShirtlessScene frequent shirtlessness]]), many awards, and respect from famous musicians worldwide. He also performed regular charity work, and was celebrated for refusing to leave his New York street roots, always emphasizing them in song, and rarely surrounding himself with jewelry and fine clothes.
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17	Despite the gritty themes of his songs, DMX was a devout Christian all his life. He mixed spiritual themes of redemption, hope, and love into his songs as much as he did violence and hostility, and he could easily go from singing dark, hardcore pieces to gospels at the drop of a hat.
18
19	He also ''loved'' dogs, his levels of obsession ranging from owning a succession of beloved pets to [[{{UsefulNotes/Otherkin}} identifying as a dog himself]], frequently barking and growling in his songs, and even eating dog food.
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21	He additionally acted on occasion, with his most high-profile acting roles being in films including ''Film/Belly1998'' (opposite Music/{{Nas}}), ''Film/RomeoMustDie'', and ''Film/Cradle2TheGrave'' (opposite Creator/JetLi).
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23	On April 2, 2021, Simmons, who had been candid about his battles with drug addiction, relapsed and was hospitalized from an overdose-induced heart attack. He was reportedly in a vegetative state, and was placed on life support. After a week of his condition deteriorating, he died of multiple organ failure on April 9. He was 50 years old.
24
25	!Discography:
26	* ''It's Dark and Hell Is Hot'' (1998)
27	* ''Flesh of my Flesh, Blood of my Blood'' (1998) [[note]]with this, he became the second rap artist to release two #1 albums within a year[[/note]]
28	* ''...And Then There Was X'' (1999)
29	* ''The Great Depression'' (2001)
30	* ''Grand Champ'' (2003)
31	* ''Year of the Dog...Again'' (2006)
32	* ''Undisputed'' (2012)
33	* ''Redemption of the Beast'' (2015)
34	* ''Exodus'' (2021, posthumous release)
35	----
36	!!X gon' deliver these tropes to ya:
37
38	* AccidentalMisnaming: Used in ''Damien III''
39	-->'''Damien''': What happened to the right hand, ''Light Man?''
40	-->'''X''': Nah, that's ''Dark Man''
41	-->'''Damien''': Well, let's get it right, then.
42	* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: "Good Girls, Bad Guys" from ''...And Then There Was X'' provides a somewhat humorous take on this.
43	* AnimalMotifs: His obsession with dogs is prominent in his works, from the {{Angry Guard Dog}}s that appear in cover art to his audible barking and growling in songs.
44	* AsTheGoodBookSays: "Lord Give Me a Sign" begins with DMX quoting Isaiah 54:17.
45	* BadassPreacher: He always finds a way to insert a full-blown prayer track into his albums in between the gangster joints.
46	* BigWhat: Pretty much every [[VerbalTic second word]] in most of his songs.
47	* BornUnlucky: "Born Loser".
48	* ByronicHero: The very persona he cultivated was effectively this. He was deeply troubled and openly flawed, struggling with a constant and deadly addiction, yet sought to come to terms with it through his songs, and his more spiritual work showed a side that yearned for redemption and felt guilt for many sins.
49	* CallAndResponseSong: The ''Damien'' series, as well as ''Angel'' and a few other songs.
50	* CallBack: In ''Damien III''- "What happened to the right hand, Light Man?" is a CallBack to ''Damien'''s "For that nigga, I would bleed/ give him my right hand/ now that I think about it, yo, that's my man!"
51	* ChristmasSongs: ''He actually recorded a straight-faced cover of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer''. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJrbSzSj3bg We're not joking at all.]]
52	* ChronicVillainy: Referenced occasionally in his ''Prayer'' songs, as well as ''Ready To Meet Him.''
53	* CreatorThumbprint: DMX ''loved'' dogs. Specifically, pitbulls. Growing up, he'd befriend stray dogs while sleeping on the streets.
54	* DealWithTheDevil: "Damien" and its sequels.
55	* DownerEnding: The song "ATF" ends with DMX dying in a shootout with police.
56	** Actually insinuated it was all a dream.
57	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: "Born Loser", his very first single, sounds ''nothing'' like his signature gruff style, and closer to to Music/LLCoolJ or post-''Homebase'' Creator/WillSmith. His second single, an early version of "Make A Move", began showcasing an early version of the aggressive "Ruff Ryders" flow he'd become known for.
58	* EvenEvilHasStandards: In "The Professional," X tells the story of a hitman from a first-person perspective.
59	--> ''I could be the one driving the school bus that yo kid's in / Except that I don't like to involve women and children''
60	** Completely subverted in "X is Comin'". He kills an enemy's entire family except for the daughter, whom if she is older than 15, he will rape right in front of the enemy while taunting them. It's implied if the daughter was younger than 15, then she would have been executed like the rest of the family.
61	* EvilDetectingDog: In "Damien II", a dog is terrified of and barking at the mysterious man who is later revealed to be the Devil.
62	* EvilSoundsDeep: In the "Damien" series, the titular character usually has a strange yet not necessarily deep voice. However, should he get serious about something, this trope goes into full swing.
63	* GuiltComplex: "Slippin'" has him admit that he blames himself for his father abandoning him and his mother.
64	* {{Horrorcore}}: ''It's Dark and Hell Is Hot'' and ''Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood''.
65	* IAmTheTrope: He declares "I am the hood! I am the streets!" in "Where The Hood At."
66	* ILoveTheDead: This lyric from "Bring Your Whole Crew":
67	--> ''I got blood on my hands and there's no remorse / I got blood on my dick 'cause I '''fucked a corpse!'''''
68	* ListSong- "Who We Be" from ''The Great Depression'' and "What These B***ches Want" from ''...And Then There Was X''.
69	* LonersAreFreaks: "How many times do I have to tell you rap niggas I have no friends?!" (from "What's My Name?")
70	* LyricalTic: He made frequent use of dog-like growls, barking, "Uh!", "What?!" and "Come on!" in his songs, among other things. Given the association with dogs, he was also prone to using "cats" as short hand for "weak person."
71	** The barking even surfaced during his ''Behind the Music'' episode, while he was talking about his dead grandmother.
72	* MoodWhiplash: His video for "Where Da Hood At?" is his typical violent gangster rap (sprinkled with a little gay bashing), but then it goes into a clip of "Ayo Kato," a sweet, sad tribute to a deceased friend.
73	* MrFanservice: Had quite a number of female fans. Must be the [[ShirtlessScene allergy to shirts]].
74	** Any time he took his shirt off onstage, a wave of fangirl shrieks--more girls than you'd ever think would be at a hardcore rap concert--was sure to follow.
75	* MythArc: The "Damien" story crosses songs from three different albums.
76	* ProfessionalKiller: "The Professional" from ''...And Then There Was X'' has DMX portray a contract killer as opposed to simply a gangster.
77	* PunctuatedForEmphasis: Commonly used, but most evident in "What's My Name?", where he recites his name, the title, and numerous other phrases IN! THIS! MANNER!
78	* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: "Party Up (Up in Here)" is pretty much this in song form, along with hints of MurderBallad (such as the stanza "Listen, yo ass is about to be missing / You know who's gonna find ya? Some old man fishin' / Grandma's wishin' your soul was at rest / But it's hard to digest with the size of the hole in your chest.").
79	* ThreeChordsAndTheTruth: In comparison to most New York rappers at the time that relied on complex and multi-syllabic flows codified by Music/EricBAndRakim and Music/{{Nas}}, DMX preferred a simpler, rhythmic approach with frequent repetition and interjections as well as his iconic, growling voice.
80	* SopranoAndGravel: His duets with Aaliyah and Monica.
81	* VocalEvolution: Prior to 1994, DMX lacked his signature deep voice in his [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdE_js-6Y8A raps]].

Context Music / DMX