There’s been a sudden boom in traffic on the corner of Burke Avenue and Holland Avenue in the Williamsbridge section of The Bronx. Fans of hip-hop artist, DMX, and members of the Ruff Ryders motorcycle club have flocked to the intersection to memorialize the hip-hop icon who died on Friday, April 9.

 

“Where my dogs at?” is a phrase and a song popularized by DMX. According to the late, multi-platinum selling rapper, whose real name was Earl Simmons, his “dogs” were his brothers and sisters from the “hood,” and for the past month, they’ve been out in packs, making stops in Yonkers, Mount Vernon, The Bronx and Brooklyn to celebrate his life and the impact he made on hip-hop music over the last 20 years.

 

ABC7, FOX5 and CBS2 reported that DMX’s heart attack was provoked by a drug overdose. On April 2, the rapper was rushed from his home to White Plains Hospital in Westchester County. 1010 WINS was one of the first outlets to report that the rapper had experienced cerebral hypoxia, immediately prompting doctors to place him on life support that same day.

 

TMZ would later announce the rapper had fallen into a vegetative state, and by Thursday, April 8, it was reported that DMX’s vital organs had begun to shut down. It was later reported that the 50-year-old rapper and actor died after suffering from catastrophic cardiac arrest. However, the medical examiner’s report hasn’t yet been released.

 

As the world continues to mourn his death, fans, at least in “The Big Apple,” now have a place where they can come and pay their respects to him, in the North Bronx. Queens-based artist, Efren Andaluz, pronounced “on da loose,” has painted a mural depicting DMX on a wall next to La Estrella Tropical Restaurant, located at the junction of Burke Avenue and Holland Avenue.

 

“It was an honor to paint this tribute to the late, great Earl ‘DMX’ Simmons,” Andaluz said in an Instagram post on April 14. “He was the voice of my childhood. We will continue to mourn his loss but let us also celebrate his life.” Meanwhile, Eddy “Blaze” De Jesus, owner of the adjacent Latin American restaurant, is also a member of the Ruff Ryders club. Speaking to the Norwood News about the importance of the mural to him, Blaze said he had difficulty suppressing his excitement about it. “I was blessed and honored to get this piece done here by an amazing artist,” he said.

 

With DMX gone, Blaze is hopeful that people will remember the good deeds that he carried out during his life, rather than focus on what some might call his checkered past, which included a long battle with substance abuse, as well as multiple stints in prison, reported on the website, WBEZ Chicago, and on Medium. “Everybody has downfalls, and he’s a good person and showed love to everybody,” Blaze said.

 

The stage name of “DMX” came to the singer after he began playing an instrument of the same name during his time at a boys’ group home for troubled teens. DMX tried out an Oberheim DMX drum machine that was readily accessible. He would later also sometimes use the moniker, “Dark Man X,” or just “X.”

 

The artist appeared in 15 movies, most notably, “Belly, Romeo Must Die and Exit Wounds.”  Throughout his music career, he was signed to Columbia Records, Def Jam, and Ruff Ryders Entertainment, a subsidiary of Universal Music Group.

 

In 2000, DMX won an American Music Award for “Favorite Artist” in the hip-hop/rap category. The same year, he earned three Grammy award nominations for “Best Rap Solo Performance” for “Party Up [Up in Here]” and “Best Rap Album” for “…And Then There Was X.” The following year, he was nominated for another Grammy for “Best Rap Solo Performance” for the song “Who We Be.”

 

On Saturday, April 24, the “Ruff Ryders Anthem” MC was memorialized at a memorial service at Barclays Center in Brooklyn where DMX had performed various times. He was part of the line-up of what transpired to be the last Hip Hop show, “Masters of Ceremony,” to take place before the COVID-19 pandemic hit New York City. The service was open to friends, family and his music contemporaries.

 

The funeral procession, which originated in DMX’s hometown of Yonkers, and concluded in Downtown Brooklyn was attended by 1,000 people, mostly members of the Ruff Ryders motorcycle club. The trek was dubbed the “Final Ride,” as seen on Facebook and Instagram posts, in honor of the rapper.

 

The Ruff Ryders, along with other bikers, flooded the streets of Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues. Motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, and dirt bikes made up most of the traffic. A customized Ford F250 “monster” truck with the words, “Long Live DMX,” painted on the side brought the casket into the Barclays Center.

 

An earlier vigil had been held on Wednesday, April 14, in Mount Vernon in Westchester, 15 minutes north of Norwood in The Bronx. At that event, DMX’s manager, Craig Broadhead, reminisced about the good times they had spent together. Broadhead disclosed that the rapper’s charitable work had gone unnoticed because he chose to keep it that way.

 

According to Broadhead, DMX once put several homeless people up in an Atlanta hotel for the night while on tour a few years ago. “X is the people’s champ,” he said. “I keep telling everybody the same thing. It’s just a blessing for us. It does our heart good as we grieve his loss, to see the love from all over the country, the world. When he was here, he gave so much of himself to everyone.”

 

Meanwhile, Ruff Ryder founder, Darrin “Dee” Dean, uncle of music producer, Swizz Beatz, also expressed gratitude and humility for the outpouring of love and support from the public. Dean also acknowledged his impact outside of the recording studio. “He served his purpose on earth because he’s not here no more, but he’s still here ‘cause you’re still talking about him,” he said. “So, that means he did something to make you remember him.” Rapper and LOX member, Jadakiss, described DMX as being the “biggest piece on the board.”

 

An earlier vigil had been held on Sunday, April 18, in Yonkers at the Nepperhan Community Center, a short ride from the North Bronx. DMX was a member of the center as a child. His extended family confirmed that his passion for “rocking the mic” started in the basement of the center. “We grew up right here on the corner of Warburton and Point, 321 Warburton,” said Raquel Holloway, the rapper’s aunt. “We have a connection to the center, ‘cause my mother was a part of the center, and as you may know, he loves Mary Ella Holloway, which is his grandmother.”

 

DMX’s cousin, Robin Holloway, said that while the world knew the rapper as “DMX,” she prefers to remember him as Earl. “He was more than that,” she said. “He was more than an artist to us. He was family. He would give you the shirt off his back in a snowstorm and then walk back by himself without shoes. He would pray for everybody.”

 

DMX is survived by his mother, Arnett Simmons, his two sisters and one brother, 15 children along with their nine respective mothers.

 

If you, or someone you know is struggling with addiction, please contact the SAMHSA substance abuse helpline at 1-800-662-HELP [4357].