What Was The Last Song DMX Released Before He Died?
After the untimely death last year of gritty, brooding rapper Earl Simmons, better known as DMX, his biography reached the top 50 on Amazon's best-selling memoir list (via Rolling Stone). It details DMX's rise to fame from selling mixtapes on street corners in Yonkers, New York to having all five of his first albums consecutively debut on the Billboard charts at No. 1, a first for any musician, according to The New York Times. In a 2000 review of one of DMX's shows, one New York Times reporter said he had a "remarkable and combative stage presence" that demanded the crowd's attention.
DMX died on April 9, 2021, after experiencing cardiac arrest due to a suspected overdose (via Mirror). Just a few hours prior, a new single, "X Moves," was released featuring Parliament-Funkadelic bassist Bootsy Collins, Asia/Yes guitarist Steve Howe, and Deep Purple's Ian Paice. In iconic DMX style, he sings on the track, "If it ain't rough, it ain't me," reminding his audience of the type of hip-hop they will be missing for years to come.
The posthumous releases keep rolling in
While his death inspired many listeners to return to his eight studio albums, DMX continued to release music posthumously as well. The next month, Swizz Beatz released a song featuring DMX called, "Been to War," which Swizz Beatz said in an interview with UpRoxx was the last song he recorded with his friend before his death. The song would go on to be featured in the film, "Godfather Of Harlem," which Swizz Beatz said DMX was stoked about.
In May, DMX released a full posthumous album, "Exodus," which was named after his son Exodus Simmons, per TMZ. Produced in part by Swizz Beatz, the eighth album from the leader of the Ruff Ryders crew departed from his prior releases by featuring other artists, including Jay-Z, Nas, and Alicia Keys. Although it's sometimes unclear what or who is driving the production of posthumous albums, Swizz Beatz told Vulture that DMX "wanted this album to come out," and was "excited about it."