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Earl Simmons, who was born in Mount Vernon, turns 45 on Friday.
Simmons, a rapper and actor, was born Dec. 18, 1970. In 1999, DMX released his best-selling album ...And Then There Was X, which featured the hit single "Party Up (Up in Here)". He has acted in films such as Belly, Romeo Must Die, Exit Wounds, Cradle 2 The Grave, and Last Hour. In 2006, he starred in the reality television series DMX: Soul of a Man, which was primarily aired on the BET cable television network. In 2003, DMX published a book of his memoirs entitled, E.A.R.L.: The Autobiography of DMX. DMX has sold more than 30 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling hip-hop artists of all time.
DMX began his music career in 1988 as a beatboxer. In 1991, Gabriel Grevenstuk from The Source magazine praised DMX in his "Unsigned Hype" column that highlighted unsigned hip-hop artists. His stage name was a tribute to an instrument he used in the 1980s, the Oberheim DMX drum machine, and later was interpreted as "Dark Man X".
A year later, Columbia Records signed DMX to its subsidiary label, Ruffhouse, which released his debut single "Born Loser". He released his second single, "Make a Move" in 1994. He also appeared on LL Cool J's single "4, 3, 2, 1" in 1997. DMX also made a cameo appearance in the Sum 41 music video for "Makes No Difference"
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