DMX (rapper)

Earl Simmons (born December 18, 1970), better known by his stage names DMX and Dark Man X, is an American rapper and actor. 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.

Early life

DMX was born Earl Simmons in Mount Vernon, New York, the son of Arnett Simmons and Joe Barker, and was raised in Yonkers, New York. Simmons went through an abusive childhood that included stays at group homes and frequent arrests.

Music career

Career Beginnings 1991–1995

DMX began 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. In 1991 he recorded his first demos, Unstoppable Force and Three Little Pigs. 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".

Already (album)

Already is the fourth album by the British rock band Jesus Jones in 1997. The album followed a working hiatus by the band following the relative failure of 1993's Perverse compared to their international breakthrough album Doubt (1991). Although the band had come up with ideas that they requested to Food Records, the label rejected them before finally accepting the released Already. It was their last album for EMI, and two singles were released from the album, "The Next Big Thing" and "Chemical #1". Already only reached No. 161 in the UK Albums Chart, although lead single "The Next Big Thing" had some radio play reaching No. 49 in the UK Singles Chart. EMI re-issued on the album on 1 March 2003.

Background

With their second album Doubt (1991), Jesus Jones found international fame after already charting in UK charts with Liquidizer and its singles. The album was an ever greater success than Liquidizer in the UK, charting at number one in the UK Albums Chart whilst Liquidizer only entered the charts at number 31. In the United States, Jesus Jones became known for the hit singles "Right Here, Right Now" and "Real Real Real". Doubt entered the Billboard Top 200 at number 25. The Doubt era was also very successful critically. Following up Doubt was 1993's Perverse, which was a departue for the band lyrically and was one of the first ever albums to be fully recorded digitally. Although a critical success and reaching number 6 in the UK Albums Chart and number 59 on the Billboard 200, its full scale sales were significantly below that of Doubt.