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Earlier this year, the Municipal Housing Authority for the City of Yonkers commissioned Yonkers Arts to restore a mural at the Calcagno Homes at 55 School St. in the city.
Following the death of Earl Simmons, the rapper’s birth name, in April at the age of 50, the residents of Calcango Homes, where he once lived, asked that the mural restoration include a memorial to the star.
The mural stands at 35 by 22 feet high and includes DMX’s likeness as well as a verse from the "It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot” track “Look Thru My Eyes” in which he mentions School Street.
“The bark is for real, when you see that spark it’ll kill,” he raps. “Be popping, robbing and chill, take it over there bark wit’ it/From YO to Cali to Baltimore back to New York wit’ it/Come through flying, up 129/Up the School Street ’cause I come through mine.”
The mural was crafted by artist Floyd Simmons, known as 90º, with input from residents in the housing complex and other city officials included.
Originally scheduled to only take a week to complete, the artist was forced to delay his work due to the recent heatwaves and storms that swept through the area, forcing him to take more than two weeks to finish. He also reportedly broke a finger in the process when it got caught between a cherry picker and the wall.
The original mural that was restored pays tribute to Boyce “Scoop” Coleman, a good Samaritan who died in 2014 while saving a 6-year-old boy in the Hudson River.
A Mount Vernon native who grew up in Yonkers, DMX - whose original name was Earl Simmons - died surrounded by friends and family after being placed on life support for several days.
DMX (which stands for Dark Man X), a father of 15, spent much of his youth in Westchester before hitting it big with his debut album “It’s Dark and Hell is Hot,” which went platinum nearly five times.
Simmons previously lived near the Bedford border on McLain Street in Mount Kisco with his now-estranged wife Tashera Simmons before putting the home into foreclosure in 2016 after filing for bankruptcy.
“Earl was a warrior who fought till the very end,” his family said in a statement announcing his death in April. “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."
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