Today is the first ever DMX Day.

In early 2021, the New York State Senate declared that 12/18 is DMX Day – making today the first ever Earl “DMX” Simmons Day. For 50 years DMX served as a beacon of light and positive energy within the world of hip-hop and everywhere he went. 

In a March 2021 interview between Swizz Beatz and Zane Lowe, Swizz Beatz discussed the philanthropic side of DMX noting that he “watched this man give clothes off his back to homeless people and switch clothes with them or go home in his boxers. He didn’t care, man. X, was when I say he was different, he was different, different, different.” 

To put that into context, DMX was the first artist to debut an album at No. 1 five times in a row on the Billboard 200 charts, but was also the type of man to give his clothes to the homeless. 

Earl Simmons had a spirit inside him that was unique and persistent. The level of adversity that was necessary for him to become a superstar is far greater than most people ever experience. DMX suffered from asthma, which is partially to credit for his signature voice and sound. When X was young he endured moving from city to city, until settling in Yonkers where he experienced harsh poverty and child abuse. Yet through a crack in the Yonkers sidewalk bloomed a man who would change the world with his voice. 

After spending much of the 1980’s incarcerated one way or another, X was able to bounce back and achieve superstardom by the end of the 90s. Hits like Ruff Ryders Anthem and Party Up are still relevant club bangers more than 20 years after being released.

While climbing to the top DMX faced persistent legal troubles and battled addiction. His untimely death can be attributed to his struggles with drug addiction, similar to more than 100,000 other Americans who have died of a drug overdose in 2021. 

DMX was an avatar for everyday Americans whose lives are not perfect. Earl Simmons was perhaps the most honest, humble, and truly human superstar that the world will ever know. No matter his age, no matter his social stature, no matter the situation, DMX was DMX.

Today we honor DMX Day and what would have been Earl Simmons’s 51st birthday.