DMX (born Earl Simmons on December 18, 1970 in Yonkers, New York) is an African-American rapper/hip hop artist, most famous in the late-1990s. His dark, gothic subject matter, usually depicting a tortured soul torn between the sacred and the profane; and his gruff, pit bull-voiced rhymes were acclaimed by fans and critics alike.

The only child of a single mother, Simmons grew up in the inner city of Yonkers, a suburb of New York City. He began persuing a career in hip-hop in the early 1990s, a 1994 deal with Columbia Records fell through ... (read more )