Swizz Beats, Tashera Simmons Speak at DMX’s Memorial Service

I am sending all of my condolences to DMX’s family, friends, and fans. I am with you all through this difficult time. Over the weekend, two excellent services were streamed live on DMX’s official YouTube channel; on Sunday, the BET Official Channel held the funeral service. 

DMX, whose real name was Earl Simmons, was a rapper, actor, and spiritual activist. He had 15 kids and was loved by many. Growing up, I always listened to his music on the radio, especially during high school. It motivated me to a better person. Overall, I can still feel those chills thanks to the authenticity in his music; there was always love in the records, which made them more fun to listen to. He was born on December 18, 1970, in Yonkers, New York. He had died in April at the White Plains Hospital.

During the two services, they were several speeches that deeply impacted me, one of which was the speech where Swizz Beatz had said, “Show up for someone, while they are here with love and celebrate each other with while they are here with love.” This had impacted me because it made me think about who has always shown up for in my journey and accepted me with love. This mindset will help me get through my future because I have lost friends but gained a soul family that I will always appreciate because life is so short. I am glad that I had watched the celebration of the Life for DMX, which happened to be directed by Kanye West. 

Second, Tashera Simmons, the first wife of the late rapper, had shared a beautiful story of how she had met DMX, saying, “I learned about faith with Earl, I learned about forgiveness, I learned about what unconditional love looked like.” This quote was impactful because she was able to see him as a human and an artist. She was able to be there for him through everything. It inspires me to be a knowledgeable person, who can learn gain and information from their significant others or friends, help them through their traumas, support them emotionally, spiritually because you can open your mind, learn something new, become a friend, and build a lifelong friendship where the door is always open to having deep talks about anything spiritually. This is something that I will get back into; I miss having this with close friends of mine because I learned about different things from them, exchange books, or listen with love. 

These speeches impacted me because they reminded me to love the people who take you as you are, not who you are on social media. Spirituality is super important because it is essential to build that relationship with what you believe in. You will be able to open conversations with other people before it is too late. This is something I respected about the late DMX; he was able to make you imagine the words that he would say on the pen, bring spirituality into it, and make you feel better about going into a test or quiz, or event. 

I am incredibly grateful that I am living in the time of such a Legendary rapper. May he rest well. This made me give them time to reflect and honor myself, stay present in the world. Try to honor them in love. The weekend had educated me on the late DMX. 

Swizz Beatz and Tashera Simmons’ speeches can be found here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uP9BfSsLThc&t=13275s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkjtZvkEeuE