On Friday April 9, 2021, the hip hop community lost one of it’s iconic rappers, Earl Simmons, better known as DMX at the age of 50.
DMX suffered a heart attack after an accidental overdose reports TMZ. After a week on life support, brain activity was limited and never improved.
DMX was credited as the creator of the “ruff ryders” due his hit song of the same name. The Ruff Ryders is a hip hop collective founded by Joaquin “Waah” Dean, Darin “Dee” Dean and Chivon Dean. It operated as a subsidiary of Universal.
The Ruff Ryders began as the managers of DMX and The LOX. Following DMX’s chart success, the management company started its own label. The label signed several more acts who consequently became successful, including Eve, Drag-On, and Jin. The Deans’ nephew, Swizz Beatz (husband of Alicia Keys), was the main producer for most of the acts.