Late rap legend DMX left behind an estate worth less than $1 million, according to court documents.
The estimates were made in legal documents filed this month by five of his 15 children- daughters Sasha Simmons and Jada Oden, who claimed on May 10 that DMX's estate amounted to less than $50,000, and sons Xavier, Tacoma, and Sean Simmons, who on May 21 put the value at under $1 million, New York Daily News reported.
The revelation comes as a surprise considering DMX's wildly successful career, which ended when he died April 9 at age 50 following a massive heart attack.
He released seven albums and was nominated for three Grammy Awards. He was also named favorite rap/hip-hop artist at the 2000 American Music Awards. However, his career was marred by a prison stint for violating the terms of a probation. He also struggled with addiction and entered treatment for substance abuse on several occasions.
In 2016, DMX was found unconscious in a hotel parking lot in Yonkers, New York, after a drug overdose. The following year he canceled his upcoming concerts to return to rehab.
In a 2020 interview with Talib Kweli on his "People's Party" show, DMX explained that his addictions could be traced back to age 14 when his mentor gave him a joint that happened to be laced with crack. He was unaware of it at the time but it opened up the door to a life of struggles.
"He passed the blunt around and ... I hit the blunt," DMX explained. "I never felt like this before it f***ed me up. I later found out that he laced the blunt with crack ... Why would you do that to a child? He was like 30 and he knew I looked up to him. Why would you do that to someone who looks up to you?"
Looking back, DMX said he realized that his addiction stemmed from deeper issues that had haunted him.
"I learned that I had to deal with the things that hurt me ... I didn’t really have anybody to talk to ... in the hood, nobody wants to hear that," he said. "Talking about your problems is viewed as a sign of weakness when actually it’s one of the bravest things you can do. One of the bravest things you can do is put it on the table, chop it up, and just let it out."
Getting clean was an emotional journey for him that entailed facing this past.
"You never know when the things you stored away are going to come out and just fall all over the place ..." he said. "Let me open this door and start dealing with this shit right now before it comes out at the wrong time and I just have a meltdown ... that’s what’s helped with addiction and sobriety.”
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Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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