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    The Grammys Pay Tribute to Taylor Hawkins and Stephen Sondheim

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    The Grammy Awards took an extended moment to honor Taylor Hawkins, the Foo Fighters drummer who died just over a week ago while on tour with the band in Colombia.The show featured a compilation of photos and video footage from Hawkins’s career as a charismatic drummer known for his wide smile. Hawkins, who joined Foo Fighters in the ’90s, died at age 50. The band was scheduled to perform at the awards ceremony but pulled out after Hawkins’s death.Earlier in the night, Billie Eilish paid tribute to Hawkins when she performed in a T-shirt with the drummer’s image on it while singing her song “Happier Than Ever.”After the tribute to Hawkins, a quartet of musical-theater performers honored other musical luminaries who have died over the past year, including Stephen Sondheim, the iconic Broadway composer and lyricist who died in November. Singing a compilation of Sondheim songs, including “Send In the Clowns” and “Somewhere” were Ben Platt, Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr. and Rachel Zegler, who played Maria in the recent Steven Spielberg-directed film adaptation of “West Side Story.”Those honored included Charlie Watts, the Rolling Stones drummer; Wanda Young, one of the lead singers of the Motown group the Marvelettes; DMX, the top-selling rapper; Meat Loaf, the “Bat Out of Hell” singer; and Biz Markie, the rapper and producer. More

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      The Artists We Lost in 2021, in Their Words

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      This year, as pandemic deaths ebbed and flowed, a distinctive, eternal beat — that of artist’s deaths — played on as usual, bringing its own waves of collective grief. Some, such as Cicely Tyson and Stephen Sondheim, held the spotlight for generations. Others, like Michael K. Williams and Nai-Ni Chen, left us lamenting careers cut short. Here is a tribute to just a small number of them, in their own words.Cicely TysonAssociated Press“I’m not scared of death. I don’t know what it is. How could I be afraid of something I don’t know anything about?”— Cicely Tyson, actress, born 1924 (Read the obituary.)Melvin Van PeeblesMichael Ochs Archives/Getty Images“I want people to be empowered and also have a damn good time.”— Melvin Van Peebles, filmmaker, born 1932 (Read the obituary.)“I want my steps to speak.”— Liam Scarlett, choreographer, born 1986 (Read the obituary.)“I remember my childhood often, I remember a lot of the past. But when it comes to music, I always look forward.”— Nelson Freire, pianist, born 1944 (Read the obituary.)Bob AvianKarsten Moran for The New York Times“When my parents went out, I would push back the furniture, clear an open space, turn on the record player and leap around the apartment.”— Bob Avian, choreographer, born 1937 (Read the obituary.)“School was a crashing bore and a terrible chore, until one day when I was cast as the girl with the mandolin in ‘Sleeping Beauty.’”— Carla Fracci, dancer, born 1936 (Read the obituary.)“As I grew up in Kyoto, the wood of the Buddhist statues, trees, the grain of the wooden pillars, the patterns on the floor, the stones in the gardens, the bamboo, trees and plants in Kyoto are all a part of me — and as I read a script, I borrow from all these things.”— Emi Wada, costume designer, born 1937“I still feel sky-deprived when in the forested places. Many, many people born to the skies of the plains feel that way.”— Larry McMurtry, novelist, born 1936 (Read the obituary.)Ed AsnerWally Fong/Associated Press“My father told me, ‘You didn’t make a success as a student, you’re not going to make a success as an actor.’ I said, ‘I’ll be the judge of that.’”— Ed Asner, actor, born 1929 (Read the obituary.)Olympia DukakisAbramorama“I came to New York with $57 in my pocket.”— Olympia Dukakis, actress, born 1931 (Read the obituary.)Charlie WattsEvening Standard/Hulton Archive, via Getty Images“When I first went to New York with the Stones, the first thing I did was to go to Birdland. And that was it. I’d seen America. I mean, I didn’t want to see anywhere else.”— Charlie Watts, drummer, born 1941 (Read the obituary.)Jacques D’AmboiseJohn Dominis/The LIFE Picture Collection, via Getty Images“Spread me in Times Square or the Belasco Theater.”— Jacques D’Amboise, dancer, born 1934 (Read the obituary.)“If you have a leading character, they should be in a hurry. You can slow it down when you’re shooting, but it helps in the writing: Even if they’re not moving, they’re thinking about moving on, or getting away from the scene they’re in.”— Robert Downey Sr., filmmaker, born 1936 (Read the obituary.)Joe AllenJim Cooper/Associated Press“I always said I lacked ambition — but that does not mean I was lazy.”— Joe Allen, theater district restaurateur, born 1933 (Read the obituary.)“I don’t assume an audience’s interest. I assume the opposite.”— Charles Grodin, actor, born 1935 (Read the obituary.)Jerry PinkneyJoyce Dopkeen/The New York Times“I solve problems — visual problems.”— Jerry Pinkney, children’s book illustrator, born 1939 (Read the obituary.)Larry KingAlberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images‘‘If you’re combative, you never learn.”— Larry King, TV host, born 1933 (Read the obituary.)Anna HalprinSam Falk/The New York Times“I started to teach people how the body actually works. I looked at the skeleton. I did human dissection. I did all these things to understand the nature of movement, not just my movement.”— Anna Halprin, choreographer, born 1920 (Read the obituary.)“I’m not interested in the intentions of artists; I’m interested in consequences.”— Dave Hickey, art critic, born 1938 (Read the obituary.)Nai-Ni ChenStephanie Berger for The New York Times“My thirst for expressing myself, both East and West, could only happen through creating my own company.”— Nai-Ni Chen, choreographer and dancer, born 1959 (Read the obituary.)Virgil AblohDavid Kasnic for The New York Times“When I studied engineering at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, it was the humanities classes that I had put to the side that ultimately started me on this path of thinking about creativity in a much more cultural context — not designing for design’s sake, but connecting design to the rhythm of what’s happening in the world.”— Virgil Abloh, designer, born 1980 (Read the obituary.)Yolanda LópezAlexa Treviño“Those of us who make images must always be very conscious about the power of images — about how they function — especially in a society where we are not taught our own history.”— Yolanda López, artist, born 1942 (Read the obituary.)“You’re more anarchic onstage than you are anywhere else.”— Helen McCrory, actress, born 1968 (Read the obituary.)Michael K. WilliamsDemetrius Freeman for The New York Times“The characters that mean the most to me are the ones that damn near kill me. It’s a sacrifice I’ve chosen to make.”— Michael K. Williams, actor, born 1966 (Read the obituary.)bell hooksKarjean Levine/Getty Images“We cannot have a meaningful revolution without humor.”— bell hooks, writer and scholar, born 1952 (Read the obituary.)Norm MacdonaldMargaret Norton/NBC, via Getty Images“Making people laugh is a gift. Preaching to them is not a gift. There are people who can do that better. Preachers.”— Norm Macdonald, comedian, born 1959 (Read the obituary.)“The thing that everybody thinks is going to work will not. The thing that nobody thinks will work will.”— Elizabeth McCann, theater producer, born 1931 (Read the obituary.)“The success of my books is not in the characters or the words or the colors, but in the simple, simple feelings.”— Eric Carle, author and artist, born 1929 (Read the obituary.)“I think children want to read about normal, everyday kids.”— Beverly Cleary, author, born 1916 (Read the obituary.)Young DolphPaul R. Giunta/Invision, via Associated Press“My whole thing is about giving these folks the real.”— Young Dolph, rapper, born 1985 (Read the obituary.)“I try to use words that fit a pattern, that are musical and expressive, but do not sound mechanical. Above all it should have a speech rhythm that is like the rhythms that the audience would speak.”— Carlisle Floyd, composer, born 1926 (Read the obituary.)“Birds were the first composers. They like to sing in spring. Purely serving of the beauty — that’s what we try to do.”— Louis Andriessen, composer, born 1939 (Read the obituary.)Cloris LeachmanAssociated Press“I don’t have a lot of trappings, I think, in my personality. I’m just a simple person, with a silly bone.”— Cloris Leachman, actress, born 1926 (Read the obituary.)“I’m a witness of my time, you know, of a history.”— Hung Liu, artist, born 1948 (Read the obituary.)“Technology is changing the way people work. With electronic mail, the internet, teleconferencing, people are starting to ask, ‘What is a headquarters or office environment?’”— Art Gensler, architect, born 1935 (Read the obituary.)Christopher PlummerTom Jamieson for The New York Times“I’ve made over 100 motion pictures, and some of them were even good. It’s nice to be reborn every few decades.”— Christopher Plummer, actor, born 1929 (Read the obituary.)“After you see your work, you always want to go right back and do it all over again.”— Lisa Banes, actress, born 1955 (Read the obituary.)“I think of the art as dead when it leaves my studio. I don’t even own it anymore. Installing in a museum or a show that’s coming up, I’m not allowed to touch my own work ever. It just seems strange to me. If somebody puts me in front of my drawings, I’d put more text in it. It’s never finished, but none of my work is ever finished.”— Kaari Upson, artist, born 1970 (Read the obituary.)SophieFrazer Harrison/Getty Images For Coachella“I don’t have the need to bring any more clutter into the physical world. And I like the fact that musical data is weightless and spaceless in that way.”— Sophie, pop producer and performer, born 1986 (Read the obituary.)Etel AdnanFabrice Gibert, via Galerie Lelong & Co.“My paintings are not usually titled. Art should make people dream, and when you have a title, you condition the vision.”— Etel Adnan, author and artist, born 1925 (Read the obituary.)Michael NesmithMichael Ochs Archives/Getty Images“We’re a couple of old men, but we sound the same when we play this music — and it nourishes us the way it nourishes you.”— Michael Nesmith, musician, born 1942 (Read the obituary.)“We always put music first and marriage second. One night after dinner, for instance, I was going to do the dishes and Jerry said, ‘Forget the dishes. Let’s practice. I’ll do the dishes later.’”— Dottie Dodgion, drummer, born 1929 (Read the obituary.)Jessica WalterDove and Express, via Hulton Archive/Getty Images“Even my ‘leading ladies’— you know, in air quotes — were characters. They were not Miss Vanilla Ice Cream. They weren’t holding the horse while John Wayne galloped into the sunset.”— Jessica Walter, actress, born 1941 (Read the obituary.)“The last note, the high last note — it must say something.”— Edita Gruberova, soprano, born 1946 (Read the obituary.)DMXChad Batka for The New York Times“I’m going to look back on my life, just before I go, and thank god for every moment.”— DMX, rapper, born 1970 (Read the obituary.)Stephen SondheimFred R. Conrad/The New York Times“Life is unpredictable. It is. There is no form. And making forms gives you solidity. I think that’s why people paint paintings and take photographs and write music and tell stories that have beginning, middles and ends — even when the middle is at the beginning and the beginning is at the end.”— Stephen Sondheim, composer and lyricist, born 1930 (Read the obituary.) More

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      BET Awards: Highlights and Reactions

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      Red-carpet stunners, a surprise make-out session, the reveal of Cardi B’s second pregnancy and so much more.Given everything that happened at Sunday’s BET Awards, one would be forgiven for needing some time to process.First up was the red carpet: a mind-boggling mix of stunners and head scratchers. Zendaya showed up sheathed in a sheer Versace dress worn by Beyoncé for a BET performance in — get ready to feel old — 2003. (We thank Zendaya and her stylist, Law Roach, for pulling the look, but we didn’t need to feel so aged.)Lil’ Kim, left, and Zendaya (whose dress might look familiar to anyone who saw the BET Awards in 2003).Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for BetLil Nas X impressed viewers with a quick on-the-carpet outfit change, from a floral-print suit into a ball gown by the designer Andrea Grossi that included a bolero jacket, suspenders and a full skirt. He tore up the red carpet up and trolled his critics online.Issa Rae, another standout, wore a white blazer dress with exaggerated shoulders; the look screamed Hollywood boss, and appropriately so.Many other attendees left those of us watching from home wondering if the celebrities were, as one writer put it, “social distancing from their stylists.”After the step-and-repeat, things really got started. The show, which had billed itself as a celebration of Black women and the biggest night in culture, was full of surprises — some planned and others clearly unintentional. (As usual, there were plenty of missed cues and technical difficulties.)During a performance by the Migos, Cardi B walked onto the stage in a bedazzled black Dolce & Gabbana jumpsuit that revealed her belly and announced, visually, that she was pregnant with her second child.H.E.R. performs at the BET Awards.Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for BetThe night’s host, Taraji P. Henson, gave us look after look, wig after wig. DaBaby’s locker room-themed performance had chaotic-good energy and a dancer moving around the stage in a giant baby costume, thrusting his hips to the beat.But the funniest part of the night was when the camera panned down to Representative Maxine Waters and her back was facing the stage. (She was probably watching a screen, but it’s funnier to imagine she was just ignoring the action.)There were other memorable moments, including when Megan Thee Stallion — the night’s biggest winner — took the stage in a waist-length blond wig, a patent leather bodysuit and killer shades. She delivered bars, looks, choreo and met all her cues. We stan a rehearsed queen!Megan Thee Stallion took home four trophies at Sunday’s BET Awards — the most of any artist this year.Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for BetTyler, the Creator performed “Lumberjack,” from his latest album, “Call Me if You Get Lost,” giving us Hollywood production to the point where some wondered whether Steven Spielberg was behind the setup; the rapper showed up onstage, seemingly in the middle of a twister, in a vintage blue-green car.R&B showed signs of life when Jazmine Sullivan and Ari Lennox performed “Sit on It,” from Ms. Sullivan’s album “Heaux Tales,” which felt like a strong warm hug, and after the last year and a half we all had, we could use a lot more of those.Jazmine Sullivan and Ari Lennox perform.Mario Anzuoni/ReutersLil Nas X hit the stage in a Michael-Jackson-in-“Remember the Time”-inspired ensemble. In a gold ancient-Egyptian-style costume, complete with a cobra headband, he writhed to his latest single, “Montero (Call Me By Your Name).”Toward the end of his performance, he climbed a set of stairs that resembled ruins while casually twerking. (Yes, he’s a hero.) As the song ended, he turned to the dancer on his right and, in true Madonna-and-Britney fashion, gave him a passionate kiss.On Twitter, viewers applauded Lil Nas X for his fearlessness. (Others were not as excited about the performance, but that was part of the point: to troll them.)At this point in the night, people were losing it on social media, but there were still several surprises to come: Ms. Henson giving an odd lesson on twerking; the cast of Tyler Perry’s “Sistas” presenting the best international award while dragging Monique’s latest take on Black women wearing bonnets in public; and a star-studded memorial for DMX, who died in April, which included Busta Rhymes doing his own rendition of “Up in Here” and a prerecorded prayer by the late rapper.By the time BET honored Queen Latifah with a Lifetime Achievement award, we were worn out.After being celebrated with covers of her music by Lil’ Kim, MC Lyte and Rhapsody, Queen Latifah shed a few tears during her acceptance speech. It ended with her saying “Happy pride!” with a peace sign and a wink. We hear you, girl. More

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      DMX’s Posthumous All-Star Track, and 9 More New Songs

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      Hear tracks by Griff, Kidd G, Masayoshi Fujita and others.Every Friday, pop critics for The New York Times weigh in on the week’s most notable new songs and videos. Just want the music? Listen to the Playlist on Spotify here (or find our profile: nytimes). Like what you hear? Let us know at theplaylist@nytimes.com and sign up for our Louder newsletter, a once-a-week blast of our pop music coverage.DMX featuring Jay-Z and Nas, ‘Bath Salts’This song from “Exodus,” the first posthumous DMX album, features a 1990s rap supergroup that could have been. DMX sounds limber and loose, and Jay-Z and Nas are having far more fun here than they did on the grown-and-grumpy “Sorry Not Sorry,” from the latest DJ Khaled album. The union of the three titans is consequential, but they treat it like a friendly cipher, the mark of stars confident in their legacy. JON CARAMANICASofi Tukker and Amadou & Mariam, ‘Mon Cheri’The nonprofit Red Hot Organization supports its efforts to fight AIDS with albums full of unexpected collaborators. The preview of its dance-oriented “Red Hot + Free” collection, due July 2, is “Mon Cheri,” which brings together the Florida dance-pop duo Sofi Tukker with the Malian singers Amadou & Mariam. Sophie Hawley-Weld of Sofi Tukker coos the verses in Portuguese, philosophizing about time and rhythm over a twangy guitar line that hints at Malian modes; when Amadou & Mariam arrive for the choruses, calling for togetherness in love, a 4/4 thump kicks in, steering the song directly to the dance floor. Before it’s over, a synthesizer starts cheerfully sputtering like a high-tech kazoo. JON PARELESMelvin Gibbs featuring Kokayi, ‘Message From the Streets’Tuesday marked the one-year anniversary of George Floyd’s murder by a Minneapolis police officer, and the culmination of a heady year of Black Lives Matter organizing. It was also the bassist Melvin Gibbs’s birthday. Over the past 12 months, Gibbs paid a number of visits to the site of Floyd’s death, and he was moved by the complicated but nearly serene energy about the place, which has become a kind of pilgrimage site and memorial. On Tuesday, Gibbs released an EP, “4 + 1 Equals 5 for May 25,” that balances coiled frustration with catalytic release. The idea, he wrote in the notes accompanying the EP, was “to manifest peace while facing up to cataclysm.” Working with the Washington, D.C.-based rapper Kokayi, Gibbs assembled a collection of pieces (condensed here into a final composite track, “Message From the Streets”) that writhe and heave but fix a steady gaze on the world. The act of bearing witness becomes a means of unmaking, and maybe building anew. GIOVANNI RUSSONELLOUpper Wilds, ‘Love Song #5’Dan Friel has been making noisy rock — frenetic guitar abetted by over-the-top electronics — since he founded the band Parts & Labor in the early 2000s. He’s still at it in his current band, Upper Wilds, and “Love Song #5,” from an album due in July titled “Venus,” comes on as a whirlwind. As he sings about how love changes nothing and everything at once, a stereo blitz of distorted strumming, whizzing arpeggios and screaming sustained tones insists how much it matters. PARELESGriff, ‘One Foot in Front of the Other’Griff, an English pop singer, songwriter and producer who won this year’s Brit award as rising new star, sounds optimistic despite herself with “One Foot in Front of the Other,” which will be the title song of her mixtape due June 18. Sure, her first steps are tentative as she recovers from a breakup — “Things just take longer to heal these days” — but her perky keyboard tones and a chord progression that descends but soon bounces back all insist that she’ll thrive, and soon. PARELESKidd G, ‘Break Up Song’Recently, the emo-rap-influenced country singer Kidd G announced a partnership with the Valory Music Co., a division of the country powerhouse Big Machine Label Group. It was a seeming acknowledgment that his most viable path forward would run through Nashville — or at least near it. And indeed, he is slowly homing in on a version of his hip-hop that’s structured more like contemporary country music. On “Break Up Song,” the guitars are fuller, and his rapping has less residue of Juice WRLD than his earlier songs. The laments are pure country, too: “I wiped your footprints off the window of my truck.” CARAMANICAFoy Vance, ‘Sapling’A songwriter from Northern Ireland who’s fond of vintage American soul music, Foy Vance has collaborated with Ed Sheeran, Alicia Keys and Kacey Musgraves. On his own, he harks back to Van Morrison’s better days, grainy and impassioned. Many of his previous songs have been folky and rootsy, but “Sapling” deploys electronic illusions as well. He strives to draw benevolence out of his own imperfections and regrets — “Am I strong enough?” he wonders — as patient piano chords open into vast reverberations. PARELESOhGeesy featuring DaBaby, ‘Get Fly’A union of one of hip-hop’s most stoic rappers and one of its most excitable. In this partnership, OhGeesy (formerly of Shoreline Mafia) pulls DaBaby into his patient tempo, a surprise victory. CARAMANICAMasayoshi Fujita, ‘Morocco’“Morocco” is from the new album, “Bird Ambience,” by Masayoshi Fujita, a Japanese vibraphonist and composer who constructs meditative pieces with a Minimalistic pulse — layers of vibraphone lines with fleeting apparitions of percussion and sustained brass tones. Every layer is melodic; follow any one closely, and it turns out to be far less repetitive than it seems at first. PARELESDave Holland, ‘Gentle Warrior’On his new album, “Another Land,” the eminent bassist Dave Holland teams up with the guitarist (and former “Tonight Show” musical director) Kevin Eubanks, a longtime Holland confidante, and the drummer Obed Calvaire, a newer collaborator. Holland is a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master and former Miles Davis accompanist whose career has skipped around from jazz-rock fusion to the avant-garde, often lingering in the spaces in between. On “Gentle Warrior,” the one track on “Another Land” penned by Calvaire, the drummer works across the full range of his kit, getting his cymbals to speak to one another; Holland takes a bass solo that’s endowed with lyrical flair, and pries at the piece’s complex five-beat rhythm. RUSSONELLO More

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      Lil Wayne Remembers Touring With DMX During Trillerfest Performance

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      A week after X’s family and friends staged a memorial service in New York, the ‘Lollipop’ hitmaker takes a moment during the Miami, Florida concert to honor the fallen rapper.

      May 3, 2021

      AceShowbiz –
      Lil Wayne heaped praise and respect on late rapper DMX during a gig in Miami, Florida on Saturday night, May 1. The “Lollipop” hitmaker was performing as part of Trillerfest when he took a moment to honor the fallen star, who died last month (April 21), aged 50.

      Sharing a story about touring with DMX, Wayne said, “When I was a younger kid, we used to be on tour a lot, right. Like six months a year. We used to have so many artists we didn’t need to have no opening acts ’cause we just needed another record label, and it was just us and them. So back then we went on this tour called The Cash Money/Ruff Ryders Tour.”

      “Being from New Orleans, it’s so far away from New York and Cali [California] and s**t like that. We didn’t know if it was real when we seen it on TV [sic], the New York guys, the L.A. people. So when we saw DMX, we all fell in love.”

        See also…

      He added, “When I got on tour with him, and now you’re in the hotel lobby, you’re backstage, you run into a n**ga and he actually says something to you, and when you see this n**ga talk like how he rap, and you see this n**ga is what he is, and you see this n**ga has a zillion dogs with him…, it’s impossible not to be obsessed, infatuated, impressed, whatever [sic].”

      Wayne’s tribute came a week after DMX’s family and friends staged a memorial service at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center in New York.

      “DMX: A Celebration of Life” was attended by Nas and Swizz Beatz, who both gave speeches, Eve, and Jadakiss, among others, while Kanye West’s Sunday Service Choir also paid tribute with performances at the memorial.

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      Faith Evans' Appalling Performance at DMX's Funeral Service Sparks Twitter Backlash

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      BET

      Social media users are left impressed by the ‘All Night Long’ singer’s off-key performance and appearance during the virtual event, while others are concerned for her.

      Apr 26, 2021

      AceShowbiz –
      Faith Evans’ attempt to honor DMX at his “Homegoing Celebration” has earned negative responses from viewers and fans alike. The R&B veteran, who opened her set with a story of how “I Miss You”, her collaboration with the late rapper from 2001’s “The Great Depression”, came together, left social media users appalled with her off-key performance and dull appearance during the virtual event on Sunday, April 25.

      Those critics took to Twitter to sound off their disappointment, with one writing, “Faith Evans and em could’ve just sent some flowers to the fune instead of singing dry faced, shoeless and off key tearing up everybody’s songs in this damn video…”

      “I’m just going to assume that Faith Evans didn’t know she was performing virtually at DMX’s funeral today. The hair,the vocals, white socks, water bottles all over the floor,etc,” another tweeted. A third one remarked, “Faith Evans she’s flying HIGH right now!!”

      For some others, Evans’ lackluster performance seemed to raise a flag. “Watching Faith Evans looking and sounding as bad as she did…praying for her because…..,” one person reacted after watching the memorial service. Another similarly expressed concern as imploring, “So, for those of y’all that know Faith Evans personally and have her contact information, please reach out and just check in! That’s all I’m gonna say….”

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      Her lackluster performance aside, Evans vividly described her memory of DMX. “I remember the first time I met Earl, he came to my hotel room at 3 A.M.,” she shared. “The front desk called me, and he took the phone from them like, ‘Just tell her it’s DMX!’ And how could I say no to him coming upstairs? It’s DMX wanting to talk to me, so it had to be important. And he came upstairs and told me that he wanted to do this song with me dedicated to his grandmother…”

      The “I’ll Be Missing You” hitmaker went on speaking of DMX’s faith in God. She recalled, “…after he told me, we prayed together, when I went to the studio to record, we prayed together, at the video shoot, we prayed together, and every time I saw him thereafter, we prayed together. There’s a video going around of him praying on the Bad Boy tour. That day, it was my turn to pray, I walked out of my dressing room and saw X, and he said, ‘Faith, you’re an angel in my life! … Cause we always pray together!’ ”

      DMX’s life was previously celebrated at a special memorial at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Nas, Eve and Swizz Beatz were among celebrities who paid their final respect to the late hip-hop icon at the Celebration of Life event, which took place on Saturday.

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      DMX Credited for Saving Def Jam Records by Lyor Cohen

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      In the wake of the ‘X Gon’ Give It to Ya’ rapper’s passing, the music executive recalls the time he was seriously considering retirement due to competition with Diddy and Bad Boy Records.

      Apr 24, 2021

      AceShowbiz –
      Music mogul Lyor Cohen has paid DMX the ultimate tribute, crediting the late rapper for saving his Def Jam Records label.

      The music executive admits he was seriously considering retirement – because he felt he couldn’t compete with flamboyant rival P. Diddy over at Bad Boy Records – when Irv Gotti introduced him to Earl Simmons.

      “I didn’t know if I could contribute anymore, especially since Puffy [Diddy] and Bad Boy were dominating the airwaves,” Lyor tells Billboard. “Bad Boy, at that time, was all about aspirational, high technicolor, Versace and Rolls Royces. Def Jam’s architecture is black-and-white, with shades of grey. For me, I was contemplating retirement at the time. There’s nobody who could compete with Puffy when it comes to technicolor and aspiration.”

      “When Irv invited me to go to Yonkers and I met X, I remembered one of the things we really enjoyed doing was getting really quick photo shoots of artists we’re interested in… just to see if the magic of what we thought the artist was could be captured by a camera… and it was at that moment I realized there was more [for us to contribute], because it was a black-and-white photo…”

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      “At that moment, I knew that the common person who wasn’t thinking about Versace suits… and the reality of their struggle came into play. That was a real moment that I remember. I think everyone was tired of the technicolor and wanted something more real and down-to-earth. It resembled a life they know.”

      Cohen’s former partner, Kevin Liles, agrees, adding, “I truly believe he [DMX] wasn’t just a rapper. He was a minister, and someone put here at that particular time to be a voice of the unheard.”

      Lyor admits it was so obvious X had the “it” factor even his mum would be able to tell he was a star, “I’d like to say that if my mother was in the room, she’d pull me aside and tell me, ‘That’s the one!’ It was so obvious that you didn’t need to be an expert.”

      “The molecules in the room changed. All the other rappers ran like cockroaches to light. It was night-and-day. We were waiting there for over an hour. We didn’t know what we were there for, but when he walked in, we realized precisely what we were there for.”

      DMX died earlier this month (April 2021), a week after suffering a heart attack. He will be honored by his family, friends and fans at a memorial at the Barclays Center in New York on Saturday, April 24.

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      DMX's Fans to Celebrate Late Rapper in Texas Tribute Show

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      Instagram

      A scheduled gig in a Texas bar which was supposed to be headlined by the ‘Party Up (Up in Here)’ hitmaker will be turned into an event to pay tribute to the late star.

      Apr 20, 2021

      AceShowbiz –
      Fans of late rapper DMX are planning to turn a Texas bar gig into a tribute show.

      The rap star, real name Earl Simmons, was booked to perform at the Wildcatter Saloon in Katy on 29 May (21), but following his death on 9 April, devotees with tickets are still planning to gather at the venue to salute their hero.

      The owner of the saloon will stage the show with the opening acts booked to open for DMX – Tone Royal and Coozablack & Sin City – and he’s on the hunt for a headliner with close ties to DMX.

        See also…

      Meanwhile, the late New York MC’s fiancee, Desiree Lindstrom, has shared a touching tribute to DMX on Instagram, writing, “The first night we met and you held me close. I knew I would never let go. I was lost in you and nothing else mattered. My best friend, my baby, my love… truly my everything. Thank you for us.”

      Lindstrom also posted a photo of herself and DMX, and thanked him for their four-year-old son, Exodus, adding, “Thank you God for Earl Simmons… forever X.”

      Immediately following his death, Lindstrom paid homage to her man with a tattoo of his 2006 song “Dog Love” above a large X.

      A public memorial service for DMX will be held on 24 April (21) at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. It will be followed by an intimate church service for the late rapper’s family the following day.

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      in Music

      DMX's Song With Swizz Beatz and French Montana Released

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      Instagram/WENN

      The track titled ‘Been to War’ from Forest Whitaker-starring series ‘Godfather of Harlem’ has been made available for purchase, a week following the rapper’s tragic passing.

      Apr 17, 2021

      AceShowbiz –
      A posthumous DMX song has been released featuring Swizz Beatz and French Montana.

      The hip-hop legend tragically passed last Friday (09Apr21), following a stint in an intensive care unit after suffering a heart attack at his home on 2 April.

      Marking one week since his passing, a new track, “Been to War”, from the Forest Whitaker-starring series “Godfather of Harlem”, has dropped.

      Swizz had said in a touching tribute to his late friend upon hearing the news of his death, “My brother would take care of everybody before he would take care of himself.”

        See also…

      “I’ve never seen a human like him – the closest thing to a prophet… there’s only one DMX.”

      In a statement, the family of the “Party Up” hitmaker, real name Earl Simmons, said, “We are deeply saddened to announce today that our loved one, DMX, birth name of Earl Simmons, passed away at 50 years old at White Plains Hospital with his family by his side after being placed on life support for the past few days.”

      “Earl was a warrior who fought till the very end. He loved his family with all of his heart and we cherish the times we spent with him.”

      “Earl’s music inspired countless fans across the world and his iconic legacy will live on forever,” they added. “We appreciate all of the love and support during this incredibly difficult time.”

      Before DMX died, his collaboration with Ian Paice and Steve Howe was also released. Titled “X Moves”, the rock/hip-hop hybrid also featured Parliament-Funkadelic star Bootsy Collins.

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