E.A.R.L. Format: Paperback

Raised in the ghetto, abandoned as a child, addicted to drugs and women all his life but still able to produce four consecutive #1 hip-hop albums in a row...this is the life and times of the darkest and most dangerously introspective hip-hop artist ever—at the height of his career and completely uncensored

His real name is Earl Simmons. As a child he placed higher on tests than his fellow students, and liked to spend mornings with his mother and sisters playing games and making pancakes. But for young Earl—a boy growing up on the streets of Yonkers, New York—that kind of childhood didn’t last long. Beatings, abuse, and neglect very soon had him moving on to other things, like robbing, stealing, drugs, and, eventually, jail. Along the way, however, he found a talent and a passion for rhyme.

After 27 years of chaos, struggle, and survival, DMX became one of the biggest stories in contemporary music. But his character goes beyond that. He’s also a father, a husband, and more important, someone who never gave up, and never stopped chasing his dreams. He has dedicated his life and his music to expressing the thoughts and feelings of those who have never been heard before—just as he was never heard as a child.

Smokey D. Fontaine is the former music editor of The Source and coauthor of What's Your HI-FI Q? He has written extensively about the entire spectrum of hip-hop and rhythm and blues for more than a decade. He lives in New York.