Up next in 10
DMX: How a legend died with millions of debt
6K views
Feb 10, 2025
#DMX #EarlSimmons #AllHipHopTV The video recounts the life and struggles of iconic rapper DMX, who passed away on April 9, 2021, at the age of 50 due to a heart attack triggered by a cocaine overdose. Despite his early success in the late 90s and early 2000s, including multitudes of album sales, movie roles, and tours, DMX faced a tumultuous personal life characterized by substance abuse, multiple arrests, and significant financial difficulties. He fathered 15 children and was burdened with child support obligations, accumulating $2 million in debt by the time of his death. DMX had no will, but his estate contained potentially valuable assets. Following his passing, his estate was managed by his fiancée and daughter, who worked to clear his debts. The video serves as a reflection on the complexities of DMX's life and his lasting impact on the hip-hop community.
View Video Transcript
0:00
peace y'all it's your boy Johnny fazan
0:01
here with allhiphop.com so on April 9th
0:05
2021 at the age of 50 years old DMX
0:09
passed away this sent shock waves
0:11
through the hip-hop Community as he had
0:13
just reconciled with Def Jam and was
0:15
gearing up to drop a brand new album DMX
0:18
was back but the celebration didn't last
0:21
long when he suffered a heart attack
0:23
that was triggered by a cocaine overdose
0:25
DMX would lay unresponsive in a coma for
0:29
a week before before his family decided
0:31
to take him off of life support at the
0:33
time of DMX's passing he didn't have a
0:35
will and he was $2 million in debt but
0:39
what happened how was an artist that was
0:41
once on top of the world leave behind so
0:44
much debt what happened to his money
0:46
what happened to him in this video we're
0:49
going to explore the reasons why DMX
0:51
died broke let's talk Hip Hop
0:55
[Music]
1:05
in the late 90s DMX's voice alone had
1:08
local New York rappers afraid to face
1:10
him coupled that with stories of him and
1:13
his dogs being truly intimidating
1:15
figures in the New York city streets
1:17
DMX's reputation preceded itself he
1:20
gained the attention of bad boy rough
1:23
rers and Murder Inc ultimately deciding
1:26
to sign with DM's Rough Rider imprint
1:28
DMX was the first first rapper on the
1:30
label in 1998 DMX released two number
1:34
one albums under Ru Rus Death Jam
1:37
becoming the first rappid to have two
1:38
number ones in the same year in that
1:41
year DMX earned $144 million for de Jam
1:46
it's unclear how much money DMX actually
1:48
took home but he definitely wasn't
1:50
complaining about money in that same
1:53
year DMX starred alongside Method Man
1:56
and Nas in the movie Belly DMX was paid
1:59
a million Dallas for his role in that
2:01
film the following year in 1999 DMX
2:05
joined Jay-Z Method Man Ed renman on the
2:08
hardn not life tour earning itself $5
2:11
million in the year 2000 DMX co-starred
2:15
along with jet Le and Aaliyah in the
2:17
movie Romeo Must Die earning himself $2
2:19
million for that role he also attended
2:22
39 dates of LM Biscuit's anger
2:25
management tour earning himself $5
2:27
million for his presence with them
2:30
DMX released his fourth studio album The
2:33
Great Depression and he started
2:34
alongside Steven Seagal in exit WS at
2:37
this point in his career DMX was one of
2:40
the most sought after figures in
2:42
entertainment he had the world in his
2:44
palms but there was a darker side to
2:46
DMX's life something that he never Shi
2:49
away from in his music and that was his
2:51
addiction DMX had been very vocal about
2:54
his struggles with substance abuse he
2:56
started using at age 14 while living on
2:59
the streets of Yonkers this was
3:01
something that he would continue to
3:02
battle with in his adult life as well
3:04
despite his struggles DMX kept being
3:07
successful and kept climbing up the
3:09
ladder in 2003 DMX co-starred in the
3:13
movie Cradle to the Grave with Jet Lee
3:15
and released his fifth studio album
3:18
Grand champ Grand champ was DMX's fifth
3:21
number one album in a row but things
3:24
would soon change at this point DMX was
3:27
involved in a rap battle with his one
3:29
time friend J Rule and Ja Rule made
3:32
numerous tracks calling DMX a crackhead
3:35
at the same time DMX was released from
3:38
his contract with Def Jam so he became a
3:40
free agent throughout DMX's career he
3:44
had been arrested over 30 times for
3:46
various reasons some were simple
3:48
misunderstandings While others were more
3:50
severe in 2004 DMX was arrested at JFK
3:53
airport in New York for impersonating a
3:56
police officer cocaine possession
3:58
weapons possession and driving Under the
4:00
Influence he would later explain the
4:02
incident in an interview apparently DMX
4:05
was at the airport and he was stuck in
4:07
traffic he had lights and Sirens
4:09
installed in his vehicle like you know
4:12
police lights and sirens and he decided
4:14
to turn on the lights and Sirens so he
4:16
can get around traffic yes he did have a
4:19
gun on him and a little bit of drugs
4:20
when the police realized that it was DMX
4:23
and not a fellow officer he was then
4:26
arrested DMX ended up serving 70 days in
4:29
jail for this incident and he was
4:31
released early for good behavior in 2006
4:35
DMX released his six studio album year
4:38
of the dog again this was not a death
4:41
Jam Release instead DMX had been traded
4:44
to Colombia records and exchange for Nas
4:47
who would then be signed to Death Jam
4:49
this marked a significant change in
4:51
DMX's career it started to seem like his
4:53
personal issues were overshadowing his
4:56
success throughout his life the MX
4:59
fathered 15 children with nine different
5:01
women these women would individually
5:04
take DMX to court for child support in
5:06
2008 DMX was ordered to pay $1.5 million
5:10
in child support to just one of his
5:12
son's mothers by 2010 DMX was also
5:16
paying $10,000 a month in child support
5:18
to his ex-wife Tashira whom he had four
5:21
children with DMX was sued for $1
5:24
million by his daughter's mother in 2012
5:28
but that was settled out of court in
5:30
2013 2013 would Mark the first of three
5:34
times where DMX would file for
5:35
bankruptcy citing child support
5:38
obligations as his primary claim during
5:40
this time DMX was in and out of jail he
5:43
actually was arrested 10 times in
5:45
Arizona where he was living at the time
5:48
these were Petty crimes speeding drug
5:50
possession and animal cruelty DMX even
5:53
attempted to have a reality show based
5:56
on his life in Arizona but the networks
5:58
decided to go in a different direction
6:01
in 2018 DMX was sentenced to one year in
6:04
federal prison for tax fraud he was also
6:07
ordered to pay $2.9 million in
6:10
restitution to the government he was
6:12
released on January 25th
6:14
2019 in 2019 DMX and Swiss Beat started
6:18
working together again DMX would join
6:21
Rick Ross for The Godfather of Harlem
6:23
theme song which was produced by Swiss
6:25
Pats fans were hopeful that DMX would
6:28
stay out of trouble and 2020 Swiss beats
6:31
and DMX would work very closely together
6:33
while most people were home during the
6:35
pandemic Swiss beats even got DMX to
6:38
come out and do a versus battle with
6:39
Snoop Dogg things were looking up on
6:42
Friday night April 2nd 2021 DMX was
6:46
rushed to the hospital after suffering a
6:48
heart attack his former manager made an
6:50
announcement saying he's in a vegetative
6:53
state sadly DMX passed away 7 days later
6:57
when his family decided to take him off
6:59
of life support at the time of his
7:01
passing DMX had no will and no money in
7:05
fact he was $2 million in debt however
7:08
his master's royalties and assets were
7:10
still under his control though there was
7:13
no money now whoever had control of his
7:15
estate could potentially be sitting on
7:17
$17 Million worth of assets on May 28th
7:21
2021 Swiss beats released DMX's final
7:25
album this was a postumus release with
7:27
all royalties going to DMX estate today
7:31
DMX's fiance desert lindstorm and one of
7:34
his daughters Sasha Simmons are in
7:36
control of his estate they have cleared
7:38
his debt and enlisted artist Legacy
7:40
group as his Global Representatives DMX
7:43
was a polarizing figure in Hip Hop some
7:46
would say he's a reflection of us all
7:48
he's the side of us that we may not want
7:50
to face DMX struggled with his pain and
7:53
Duality until the very end hopefully All
7:56
Dogs Go to Heaven we're doing more
7:59
videos like like this in 2025 let us
8:01
know in the comments what other artists
8:03
you would like to see us cover next and
8:04
don't forget to like comment share and
8:06
subscribe peace
8:15
[Music]
#Music & Audio
#Urban & Hip-Hop