DMX’s funeral procession brings Brooklyn to a standstill as hundreds of bikers escort monster truck carrying his red casket to memorial service at Barclays Center, two weeks after the 50-year-old died of a heart attack
- A huge black monster truck emblazoned with ‘Long Live DMX’ brought the body of the late rapper from his home town of Yonkers to the arena in Brooklyn, New York City, Saturday afternoon
- The vehicle was flanked by hundreds of motorbikes, as DMX’s shiny bright red coffin sat on the truck’s trailer
- The American rapper and actor – real name Earl Simmons – died on April 9 at the age of 50
- He suffered a heart attack a week earlier at his home in White Plains, New York
- The memorial at the Barclays Center is closed to the public due to COVID-19 but will be streamed live on DMX’s YouTube account at 4 pm ET
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DMX’s funeral procession brought Brooklyn to a standstill Saturday as bikers escorted the monster truck carrying his casket to a memorial service at the Barclays Center, two weeks after he died of a heart attack.
A huge black monster truck emblazoned with ‘Long Live DMX’ brought the body of the late rapper and New York native from his home town of Yonkers to the arena in Brooklyn, New York City, Saturday afternoon.
The vehicle was flanked by hundreds of motorbikes, as DMX’s shiny bright red coffin was visible in the open air of the truck’s trailer.
The American rapper and actor Earl Simmons, known by his stage name DMX or Dark Man X, died on April 9 at the age of 50.
He suffered a heart attack a week earlier at his home in White Plains, New York, after an apparent drug overdose.
DMX’s funeral procession brought Brooklyn to a standstill Saturday as bikers escorted the monster truck carrying his casket to a memorial service at the Barclays Center two weeks after he died of a heart attack
The monster truck made its way through New York Saturday carrying the late rapper’s casket
An ‘X’ tribute and quote by the rapper are displayed outside the Barclays Center as a tribute
The procession began at around midday in the Yonkers area of New York where DMX grew up from the age of five in the School Street Projects, before he rose to global stardom.
The NYPD and Yonkers Police told motorists to expect traffic delays and temporary closures along the route as the mourners made their way
‘Temporary closures south on the Major Deegan to the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge to the westbound Grand Central Parkway,’ the NYPD tweeted.
Footage on social media showed the roaring truck pulling up to the arena just after 2pm where the life of the hip-hop legend will be honored in a memorial service this afternoon.
While the Barclays Center seats up to 19,000 seats for concerts and as the home of the Brooklyn Nets basketball team, it is currently only allowed to function at 10 percent capacity due to the pandemic.
As a result, the memorial service will be closed to the public, with only the rapper’s family and friends able to attend but it will be streamed live on DMX’s YouTube account at 4pm ET.
A second event will be broadcast live on BET Sunday at 2:30 pm ET from an undisclosed church in the New York City area.
The rap icon passed away on April 9 at the age of 50 after suffering an apparent drug overdose and heart attack at his home in White Plains, New York
His chart-topping songs included ‘Party Up (Up in Here)’ and ‘X Gon’ Give It To Ya.’ The Yonkers, New York native’s career had been marked by legal troubles and prison time, and a well-publicized struggle with drug addiction.
The musician’s family, in a statement to People magazine, said he died at New York’s White Plains Hospital with family by his side.
Fans had gathered for days before his death, holding prayer vigils outside the suburban New York hospital, where he had been reported on life support and in a coma.
His rap career had an impressive start, with his debut album in 1998 ‘It’s Dark and Hell is Hot,’ listed as number one on the Billboard 200 chart in the United States. It sold more than 5 million copies.
Along with being mourned by fans around the world, his death spurred an outpouring of condolences from stars such as Chance the Rapper who said on social media, ‘Rest in Heaven DMX.’