Editing DMX (section)

==Early life==
Earl Simmons was born on December 18, 1970, in [[Mount Vernon, New York]].<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/rapper-dmx-dead/2021/04/09/89509a0e-9618-11eb-962b-78c1d8228819_story.html | title=DMX, chart-topping rapper with gruff voice and hardscrabble life, dies at 50 | first=Harrison | last=Smith | newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] | date=April 9, 2021 | access-date=April 11, 2021 | archive-date=April 9, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210409180344/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/rapper-dmx-dead/2021/04/09/89509a0e-9618-11eb-962b-78c1d8228819_story.html | url-status=live }}</ref> He was the son of 19-year-old Arnett Simmons and 18-year-old Joe Barker.<ref>{{cite news | last=Jiménez | first=Jesus | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/04/arts/dmx-hospitalized.html | title=DMX on Life Support in 'Vegetative State,' Ex-Manager Says | work=[[The New York Times]] | date=April 4, 2021 | access-date=April 4, 2021 | archive-date=April 4, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210404211503/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/04/arts/dmx-hospitalized.html | url-status=live }}</ref> Simmons was the middle child of the family; his mother had given birth to a daughter, Bonita, two years prior, and later gave birth to a second daughter, Shayla, and two stillborn sons.<ref name=earl/> His father, Barker, painted [[watercolor painting]]s of street scenes to sell at local fairs, having moved to Philadelphia to fulfill his career.<ref name=agony>{{Cite news | url=https://www.gq.com/story/dmx-obituary | title=DMX Turned Agony and Atomic Energy Into One of Rap's Most Titanic Legacies | first=JEFF | last=WEISS | work=[[GQ]] | date=April 10, 2021 | access-date=January 7, 2024 | archive-date=April 14, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414192918/https://www.gq.com/story/dmx-obituary | url-status=live }}</ref>

In his childhood years, Simmons first suffered from physical violence at the hands of his mother and was diagnosed with bronchial asthma.<ref name=earl/><ref name=agony/> He was raised as a [[Jehovah's Witnesses|Jehovah's Witness]]. He disassociated himself from the spirituality after he was injured in an accident by a driver.<ref name=earl/> At the age of five, his mother sent him to live with relatives in [[Yonkers, New York|Yonkers]]' School Street housing apartments.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.revolt.tv/2021/4/10/22377095/city-of-yonkers-honor-dmx|title=City of Yonkers to honor DMX|first=Christopher|last=Harris|date=April 10, 2021|website=REVOLT|access-date=April 12, 2021|archive-date=April 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210412215535/https://www.revolt.tv/2021/4/10/22377095/city-of-yonkers-honor-dmx|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="earl" /><ref name="agony" /> After suffering from his mother's abuse, he was expelled from a middle school at the age of ten, having been sent to a group home. He then returned to Yonkers at age fifteen, sleeping in empty storage bins and befriending stray dogs.<ref name="earl" /><ref name="song">{{Cite news |last=Chuck |first=Elizabeth |date=March 29, 2018 |title=DMX song played in court before rapper gets a year in prison for tax evasion |work=[[NBC News]] |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/slippin-played-court-rapper-dmx-gets-year-prison-tax-evasion-n861121 |access-date=June 7, 2018 |archive-date=April 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411100717/https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/slippin-played-court-rapper-dmx-gets-year-prison-tax-evasion-n861121 |url-status=live }}</ref> Due to poor grades at [[Yonkers Middle High School]], Simmons was unable to finish his [[track and field]] team schedule.<ref name="agony" /> Broke, he robbed several students to find food and clothing for himself, as well as a leather collar and harness for his pet dog.<ref name="earl" /> He began [[carjacking]].<ref name="agony" />