Swizz Beatz has paid tribute to the late DMX on what would’ve been the late rapper’s 52nd birthday.
Swizz shared an Instagram slideshow on Sunday (December 18) featuring photos of him posing with the Ruff Ryders legend, as well as iconic images of X by himself. In the caption, the producer asked his followers to wish the Yonkers, New York native a happy birthday.
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“Everybody please wish my brother the Icon @DMX a HBD We miss you Dog we know you’re looking down on us smiling Love you King,” he wrote in the touching post. “Long live DMX the Great.”
In another post, Swizz shared a clip of himself reflecting on DMX while listening to his 1998 hit “Slippin,'” which he called “probably one of the best songs in the world.”
“Happy DMX day!” he said while smoking a cigar in a swimming pool. “Just sitting here, kicking it, reminiscing on my bro. Yo X, was different. Happy birthday, king. I know you smiling on us, giving that good energy on us. We love you, king.”
DMX passed away in April 2021 after suffering a cocaine-induced heart attack. The 50-year-old was rushed to hospital in White Plains, New York after suffering a reported drug overdose. He was placed on life support and medical professionals attempted to save his life, but sadly to no avail.
X and Swizz Beatz helped build Ruff Ryders into one of the most dominant Hip Hop labels in the late ’90s and early ’00s. After the breakthrough of “Ruff Ryders’ Anthem” from X’s 1998 debut album It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot, the duo delivered more hits like “Party Up (Up in Here)” and “Get It on the Floor.”
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As DMX fought his demons throughout his career, Swizz stood by his side. Days after X’s death, the One Man Band producer shared a heartfelt message on Instagram mourning the tragic passing of a man he considered his “brother.”
“My brother was a different type of brother — a different type of artist, a different type of creative, different type of spirit, different type of zone, different type of soul,” he said. “Since the day that I met him, he lived his life for everyone else.
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“You ain’t never seen DMX with a Lamborghini, you ain’t never seen my brother with a Rolls-Royce, you ain’t never seen him iced out with no jewelry. He did not care about any of that.”
He added: “He was the biggest because he prayed for everybody else more than himself. He’d get on the stage and pray for 15,000 people, knowing that he needed more prayers than anybody that he was praying for.”
During the rapper’s memorial service at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, Swizz delivered a blunt message about wishing people showed DMX more love when he was still alive.
“Words can’t describe our loss, but our gain is heavy as well because we got a real serious person upstairs that’s looking down on us, and that’s going to guide us through our journey,” he said. “I just wish all these people showed up for him when he was here. You got thousands of people claiming who they are and tickets and things like that.”
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He continued: “This man needed everybody. He didn’t need everybody when he’s not here, he needed everybody when he was here. We have to learn to celebrate each other while we’re here … I don’t want y’all to show up to my shit when I’m gone, unless you was showing up while I was here.”
