Rapper DMX, who died earlier this month, was remembered by his friends and family as a loving father who put his children first. DMX, real name Earl Simmons, had 15 children, and many of them appeared at a public memorial service for him on Saturday.
DMX died on April 9 after suffering a heart attack at his home on April 2. TMZ reported a drug overdose caused the heart attack that left his brain without oxygen for 30 minutes. He was 50 years old.
“Our father is a king, our father is an icon,” his son Xavier Simmons said, according to PopCulture.com. “I am so honored to have a father like we have.” “This man deepened my ability to love. … I cried so much tears of joy, so much. Every time, every lesson he ever taught me: Always say thank you. No matter where you go, a blessing is everywhere. Be kind to everyone.”
“He was the best dad ever,” another young son said, Fox News said.
Taking after their father, some of his children wrote and performed a song for him during the four-hour service. You can watch that here.
“I’m growing, I’m learning to hold my head. My daddy’s still holding my hand, so I gotta get up,” one of his daughters sang in the song.
His fiancee, Desiree Lindstrom, got a tattoo with his trademark X shortly after his death.
“The first night we met and you held me close. I knew I would never let go. I was lost in you and nothing else mattered. My best friend, my baby, my love…truly my everything. Thank you for us, thank you for Exodus. Thank you God for Earl Simmons…forever X,” she posted on Instagram.
Thousands Turn Up For Public Memorial for DMX
Tickets for the event were hard to come by because of COVID-19 restrictions. But many still lined the streets to see the casket pass or hear the proceedings on loudspeakers outside the Barclay Center.
Along with his family, several rappers and hip-hop artists he worked with spoke in his honor.
“Words can’t describe our loss, but our gain is heavy as well because we got a real serious person upstairs that’s looking down on us, and that’s going to guide us through our journey,” said DMX’s longtime producer Swizz Beatz. “I just wish all these people showed up for him when he was here.”
According to Fox News, in DMX’s last interview on the Drink Champs podcast in February, the rapper said he was happy and content.
“If I was to drop dead right now,” he said, “my last thought would be: ‘I’ve lived a good life.'”
The family held a private burial after the public memorial.
