Born Earl Simmons, 18 December 1970, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Simmons was raised from an early age by his aunt in Yonkers, New York. He took his name from the DMX digital sound machine, and developed a reputation as a DJ on the local projects. He won Source magazine's Unsigned Hype Award in January 1991, and released the promo single "Born Loser" for Columbia Records the following year. He managed to escape from Columbia's punitive contract, but little was heard from him afterwards apart from a 1994 single, "Make A Move".