E.A.R.L. the dmx biography

[Myrealname]

"DMX, the dark prince of hip-hop, has never shied away from detailing the dark realities of the streets, not in his songs, and certainly not in his latest work, the memoir "E.A.R.L. - The Autobiography of DMX." Co-written with Smokey D. Fontaine, the book follows X (born Earl Simmons) during the days before and leading up to the big time, with no-holds-barred descriptions of his life in the projects, on the streets, in juvenile centers, in jail and on the run. MTV News has an exclusive first look at the book here.

Starting as a reaction to an absentee father and an at-her-wits-end mother, X's childhood and teen years are full of rage. His solution? To become as ruthless in his rhymes as his robberies, which he conducts, he believes, in order to survive. Being caught by the police is no deterrent. Being caught by the ‘hood, however, is another matter ... "


*From the chapter "Payback on Ravine":

I was sitting in front of one of the buildings a few feet away from a bunch of young n---as who started panicking when they saw a police car come down the block flashing its lights. ... These kids ran into the building like they had a murder warrant out for them ...

"Why y'all running like that?" I yelled after them. ... Then I walked into the building, too. That's when I saw the chain. It was a nice gold herringbone. Yes! Just what I need. I was broke and a nice little chain could get me a few dollars so I scooped it off the floor and put it in my sock.

A few minutes later, the young bucks, who now that the police were gone had their brave 'hood faces on again, walked over to me.

"Yo, I lost my chain."

Now lost property is always fair game, so I didn't have anything to say. Neither did my man Percel, who had since walked over to chill with me.

"Are you sure one of y'all n---as ain't got it?"

The young boy was getting heated at me. He probably knew my rep for being the robbery n---a, but I simply ignored him and told Percel to give me a ride home. But instead of going to Mulford, I asked him to drop me off at Slow Bomb, where I got out and sold the chain for forty dollars. As I left the building, folks on the block had a warning for me: "Yo, X. N---as is looking for you. They say you robbed some kid for his chain and his leather coat."

"What? I didn't rob nobody for no coat ..."

"They said you stuck up a sixteen-year-old for his herringbone and his Avirex."

An Avirex? That was one of the nicest leather jackets a person could have in the 'hood. It would have been nice to take that off somebody, but I hadn't seen an Avi on a potential victim in a while — and I did not rob kids.

"They said they're coming back around to look for you, dog."

"I don't care. I didn't do nothing, man. Watch. I'm just going to sit and wait for them right here."

The boy whose chain it was must have had a lot of family because a little while later his father and three of his older cousins came back to Slow Bomb looking for me. I told them that I hadn't done any robberies.

"I found that chain, man. I didn't rob nobody. I can even take you to where I got it from."

Pops didn't seem to care.

"My son said you robbed him."

"Well, it wasn't me."

The only reason I followed him back to where his son was waiting was because I knew I wasn't guilty of anything. ...

"Yeah Dad, that's him." ...

[Myrealname]

 had found the coat that I was wearing earlier that day in someone's front yard. Either this was a f---ed-up coincidence or the kid was totally lying, but there was no time to explain. Before I knew it, two guys grabbed me from behind and the father punched me dead in my chest. I tried to release my arms but I had no chance. He kept punching and punching me and soon all I could feel were his fists smashing against my nose and my eyes and my open jaw.

Boom, boom, boom ...

I felt the blows against my face and when I fell to the ground, that's when everyone started kicking me. Over and over, heavy Timberland boots crashed against my body. I curled up to protect my ribs, but it was no use.

I didn't do it.

The kicks kept coming, harder and harder, slamming against my spine and the back of my legs.

I didn't do it ... I didn't do it ...

One guy wouldn't stop kicking me in the head.

Then I heard someone say they should take me into the park and three guys started dragging me up the street by my shoulders. My body was too beaten to resist and as they pulled me up the street, the mob grew. N---as who didn't even know what had happened with the chain came over to help administer the beatdown and then I realized what was going on. For all the times I had robbed someone and ran up on them with the dog; for all the times I had left someone in an alley, broke and embarrassed with their pants down and their girl watching, this was their payback. This was their chance for vengeance.

They brought me to the park, and there, out of the corner of my eye, I saw one of my attackers pick up a brick.

No, Lord. No. I'm not going to let them kill me ...

The neighborhood beatdown lands X in the hospital, with a busted nose, broken upper and lower jaw, and a throat so swollen he requires surgery to prevent him from choking. During his rehabilitation, an opportunity arises to audition for Def Jam’s Lyor Cohen and Kevin Liles. Despite his jaw being wired shut, X is determined not to let this chance slip by ...

From the chapter "One More Road to Cross":

I walked into the studio room alone.

As soon as he saw me, the kid who was rhyming at the time turned his head and looked my way. The beat was blasting but then it stopped and brothers got quiet. I moved into the center of the room and the crowd of MCs that had filled almost every inch of that studio moved to the side. They parted like the Red Sea. They knew what was about to go down."

[Myrealname]

"Yo, throw that beat back on!"

First I had to shut everyone else down.

What? Do y'all n---as want war?" ...

Then I let them know who I was and gave them all that I
had. ...

Not focusing on anyone or anything, I just said what I had to say. ... I called it "The Convo." It was a new rhyme, a dialogue I had composed between myself and the Lord. I played both parts and meant every word.

... [Lord:] No! Put down the guns and write a new rhyme
You'll get it all in due time
You'll do fine, just have faith 'cause you mine
And when you shine, it's going to be a sight to behold ...

I started sweating. I could feel the wires in my mouth pulling, straining to keep my jaws together. But no matter what I had been through, no matter what I had done, I had to prove that I could still rhyme better than anyone in the world ...

Lyor kept nodding, tapping his hand against his knee. Kevin Liles kept looking at Waah and Darrin and Gotti in disbelief. ... Then I kept going:

... You say you hunger for knowledge? Here it is, eat it!
Another song completed is another thought captured
Let me do my thing, I got it locked with this rap sh--

"That's it! He's the man!" Lyor jumped up. "DMX IS THE MAN!"

"What? Who want it? What?" I looked around growling. I felt like I could rhyme forever. But they had heard all they needed to hear.

The night was over. My new life had just begun. "

(musictelevision)

THE BOOK LOOKS TIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT

[West Coast Veteran]

I'm going to read it.