Was DMX an ordained minister? He released Christian rap song in Feb and served as deacon after prison release
Earl Simmons, the iconic rapper known to the world as DMX, died on Friday in White Plains, New York, at the age of 50. “Earl was a warrior who fought till the very end,” his family said. “He loved his family with all of his heart, and we cherish the times we spent with him.”
He had been on life support at White Plains Hospital after suffering what his family called “a catastrophic cardiac arrest” a week earlier on April 2. The heart attack that took place at his home in White Plains left him on life support “in a vegetative state.”
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An obituary for the rapper noted that his music was often “menacing and dark, with the occasional nod to Christian spirituality.” In fact, earlier this year, he also released a new Christian rap song called ‘Prayer’ featuring Mike Servin and Kurtis Hoppie.
Was DMX an ordained minister?
The ‘X Gon’ Give It to Ya’ rapper, after he was released from prison in 2019, reportedly declared his love and appreciation for God and how much his faith has changed his life. He told a fan soon after his release: “God had his hand on me since before the womb. I didn’t know what that meant until I read the Bible… Like, this [expletive] is going to do this. He’s going to make this happen; he’s going to touch this person. I am God’s child.”
But DMX had taken the spiritual path long before that. In 2009, while he was incarcerated, he said in an interview: “I came here to meet somebody -- don’t know who it was, but I’ll know when I see him. And I came here to give him a message. And that message is Jesus loves them.” During an interview he did in prison in 2012, he spoke of the “call” he felt to be a pastor and use his body as a spiritual vessel.
“I will not be a priest. I will be a pastor,” he said. “I’m already a deacon. I will be a pastor.” He also said in his prison interview that he wanted to give his first sermon in the church after he was released. “That’s gonna be incredible for me and I hope it’ll be incredible for the congregation of that church,” he said. “I hope I’m able to reach somebody you know and touch somebody and bring them closer to the Lord.”
As per a report, in 2012, DMX said, "Yeah, I read the whole Bible. I just been made a deacon at the church I used to go to – Morning Star. I would like my first sermon to be there or in Yonkers.” He added, “The biggest step is not in the studying, reading, but the warning to change the way you live. Wanting different things for yourself, and making that change because if you still want to drink and smoke, you could read as much as you want, that doesn't mean you're ready."