{"id":4006,"date":"2021-04-16T21:38:53","date_gmt":"2021-04-16T21:38:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/box5655.temp.domains\/~joelmooy\/primalmediagroup\/?p=4006"},"modified":"2021-04-16T21:38:53","modified_gmt":"2021-04-16T21:38:53","slug":"he-lived-his-life-out-loud-dmx-honored-at-a-hometown-vigil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/primalmediagroup.net\/he-lived-his-life-out-loud-dmx-honored-at-a-hometown-vigil\/","title":{"rendered":"‘He lived his life out loud’: DMX honored at a hometown vigil"},"content":{"rendered":"

David Propper<\/b><\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Rockland\/Westchester Journal News<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Accompanied by\u00a0the roar of bikes of around 80 riders of the Ruff Ryders Motorcycle Club, fans of the late rapper DMX gathered\u00a0Wednesday evening in a park in the city where he was born to pay tribute to his life by remembering his good works, singing songs and dancing together.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

More than a thousand people\u00a0converged on Fourth Street Park in Mount Vernon to remember the man who never forgot where home was \u2014 and was never too famous to give a helping hand to the community that will\u00a0always remember him.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

DMX, whose real name was Earl Simmons,\u00a0died\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>at White Plains Hospital Friday<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0after he was rushed there April 2 following a heart attack. He was 50 and leaves behind 15 children.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The atmosphere Wednesday evening\u00a0was celebratory, despite DMX’s sudden death. Speakers said he taught others that despite his struggles, success was possible. Many people on hand were raised on the rapper’s music, but also remembered him for his love of others.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“I\u00a0want to talk about the depth of his darkness, but his life shined brightly,” said\u00a0Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard. “He lived his life out loud. He gave lessons.”<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

‘A real person’:<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span>DMX became an international superstar, but remained a Westchester guy<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Yonkers vigil:<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span>DMX honored with candlelight vigil in hometown of Yonkers, days after his death<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Video:<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span>Mourners gather at the memorial for rapper DMX in White Plains<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Priscilla Echi, who knew DMX for 33 years, said she felt like he was still with her.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“This is kind of probably what he wants, for his celebration to go on and for us to keep his memory alive,” she said. “He was a person that wasn’t for himself, he was for everybody else, he was for the people and this is a representation of that.”<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Katrina Simmons, a cousin of DMX, said no matter how many albums and movies he made, he was still able to individually impact people’s lives. He was a philanthropist for those less fortunate than him, she said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

DMX rose to prominence in the late 1990s with the Ruff Ryders rap group \u2014 from which the motorcycle club takes its name \u2014 breaking through in 1998 with\u00a0his first studio album\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s Dark and Hell is Hot.” The album included well-known hits like\u00a0\u201cRuff Ryders\u2019 Anthem,\u201d \u201cGet At Me Dog\u201d and \u201cStop Being Greedy,” that\u00a0catapulted it to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

He released seven albums and earned three Grammy nominations. He also worked as an actor and appeared in\u00a0films such as \u201cBelly,”\u00a0\u201cRomeo Must Die,\u201d \u201cExit Wounds\u201d\u00a0and \u201cCradle 2 the Grave.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The vigil in Mount Vernon carried\u00a0on as dusk fell on a cool spring day. Rap and hip-hop blared on speakers as an emcee\u00a0had people form an X with their arms to honor the rapper. At one point, several dozen\u00a0motorcycles and four-wheelers revved their engines around the perimeter of the rectangular park, an ode to\u00a0his\u00a0Ruff Ryders’ roots.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The crowd placed a series of prayer\u00a0candles to spell\u00a0out the letter X at one side of the park, and hung balloons and other tributes on fences around its perimeter.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

There was another local remembrance<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0Tuesday in Yonkers,<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0where DMX grew up. Despite his international fame, DMX was seen<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0around Westchester a man who was always gracious and never forgot his roots.\u00a0<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Mount Vernon resident Ali\u00a0Evans, who knew DMX for 30 years, said he loved how the rapper “lived his pain out loud.”<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

DMX fought through drug addiction in the past and was last in rehab in 2019 after spending a year in prison\u00a0for tax evasion.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

“Through\u00a0the good, the bad and the ugly everybody knew it and everybody loved him for it,” Evans said.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Mayor Patterson-Howard said she worked with DMX to help keep kids safe after school, get guns off the streets and feed\u00a0hundreds of families. Reinvesting in his community was important to DMX, she added.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“The only thing that eclipsed his stardom was his service and his love for his community and for his family,” Patterson-Howard said.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“He always\u00a0came back home,” she said. “Some people become famous, they make their money and they move across the country. He stayed home.”<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

David Propper covers lower Westchester County. Reach him at dpropper@lohud.com and follow him on Twitter:\u00a0<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span>dg_props<\/u><\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>.\u00a0Our\u00a0local coverage is only possible with support from our readers.<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/u><\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Staff Directory<\/a>Corrections<\/a>Careers<\/a>Accessibility Support<\/a>Site Map<\/a>Legals<\/a>Our Ethical Principles<\/a>Terms of Service<\/a>Privacy Policy<\/a>Your California Privacy Rights \/ Privacy Policy<\/a><\/span><\/u><\/span><\/span>Do Not Sell My Info \/ Cookie Policy<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Contact Us<\/a>Support Local Businesses<\/a>Advertise Your Business<\/a>Advertising Terms and Conditions<\/a>Buy and Sell<\/a>Licensing & Reprints<\/a>Help Center<\/a>Subscriber Guide<\/a>My Account<\/a>Give Feedback<\/a><\/span><\/u><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Subscribe Today<\/a>Newsletters<\/a>Mobile Apps<\/a>Facebook<\/a>Twitter<\/a>E-Edition<\/a>Storytellers<\/a>Archives<\/a>RSS Feeds<\/a><\/span><\/u><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Jobs<\/a>Cars<\/a>Homes<\/a>Classifieds<\/a>Education<\/a>Reviewed<\/a>10Best<\/a>Reach Local<\/a><\/span><\/u><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a9 2021 www.lohud.com. All rights reserved.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.lohud.com\/story\/news\/2021\/04\/14\/dmx-vigil-mount-vernon-remembers-hip-hop-star\/7221506002\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

David Propper Rockland\/Westchester Journal News Accompanied by\u00a0the roar of bikes of around 80 riders of the Ruff Ryders Motorcycle Club, fans of the late rapper DMX gathered\u00a0Wednesday evening in a park in the city where he was born to pay tribute to his life by remembering his good works, singing songs and dancing together. More […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":4009,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4006","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dj","category-music","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/primalmediagroup.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/three-3.jpg?fit=660%2C372&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pd6eBW-12C","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/primalmediagroup.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4006"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/primalmediagroup.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/primalmediagroup.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primalmediagroup.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primalmediagroup.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4006"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/primalmediagroup.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4006\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primalmediagroup.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/primalmediagroup.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primalmediagroup.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primalmediagroup.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}