DMX is one of Hip-Hop’s greatest heroes. But unlike in comic books, real-life heroes are complicated. There’s no shortage of stories about Earl Simmons’ legal issues, drama, and struggles. However, this is not the true nature of his legacy. Instead, to truly consider his legacy, we have to look at all the ways DMX was ahead of his time, such as when he was one of the first rappers to loan his voice to a video game. We have to consider how his style of “street preaching” in rap can still be heard today in the likes of Pastor Troy and Jeezy. We even have to consider how DMX integrated biker culture — long associated almost exclusively with Rock’n’Roll — into Hip-Hop and made it a seminal part of the culture that still exists today. And we also have to consider how it only took being himself for him to go viral on social media — and DMX, who was only 50-years-old when he passed, was part of a generation that is more resistant to “going viral” on social media than their younger, more...