Black Rob?
Table of Contents
Rob was born and raised in New York’s East Harlem and began rapping at an early age, inspired by the artists like Spoonie Gee and Slick Rick.
At 22, he adopted the alias Bacardi Rob, and joined the Schizophrenics rap group, though they did not release any albums.
His career began to pick up in the 90s, and in 1996 Rob began associating with the Bad Boy label and made appearances on albums by Puff Daddy and The Notorious B.I.G., which earned him media buzz.
His debut album ‘Life Story’ was released in 1999 and included the hit single ‘Whoa!’, Rob’s only solo single to have reached the Billboard Hot 100.
But Rob’s life wasn’t all plain sailing, and in 2006, he was sentenced to over seven years in prison 2006 after failing to appear in court for his sentencing on a charge of grand larceny from 2004, in which he pleaded guilty to criminal possession of more than $6,000 (£4,337) worth of jewellery stolen in a hotel.
He was released from prison in May 2010.
Throughout his music career, Rob released four albums, including 2005’s ‘The Black Rob Report’, 2011’s ‘Game Tested, Streets Approved’, and 2015’s ‘Genuine Article’.
Early Life:
Earl Simmons (a.k.a. DMX) was born on 18th December 1970 in Mount Vernon (New York). He was born to Joe Barker (18-year old) and Arnett Simmons (19-year old) who were very young when they conceived him. However, they took his responsibility and raised him in Yonkers. Earl was Arnett and Joe’s second child as they had given birth to a daughter named Bonita two years ago. Nevertheless, Earl had one more sister who was born after him. Barker didn’t want Earl’s custody to go to Simmons. Consequently, he cut off all his ties with the family immediately after the birth of Earl. During his childhood, Simmons was beaten up by his mother and her boyfriends. This resulted in him losing teeth and getting seriously injured several times.
At the age of five, his family settled in Yonkers (New York). However, at the end of his fifth grade, his school kicked him out. So, he was sent to the Julia Dyckman Andrus Children’s Home for 18 months. Anyhow, by the time he was 14, Simmons wandered the streets of Yonkers to escape his mother’s abuse. Consequently, he found comfort in befriending stray dogs that used to walk down the streets at night. After he started doing this, his mother sent him to the boys’ home where he shared his love for hip hop music with the other students. His friends there encouraged him to write music on a professional level. Shortly after that, he met Ready Ron (a local rapper) while returning home. Ready was impressed by Simmons’ skills and hence, he asked him to become his partner.
Personal Life:
In 1999, DMX married Tashera Simmons, his childhood friend. They remained married for 11 years before Tashera announced their separation. However, they had four children together whose names are Xavier (1993), Tacoma (2000), Sean (2003), and Praise Mary Ella (2005). Anyways, they remained friends. Apart from this, DMX had several extra-marital affairs from which he even had some children. In total, DMX had 15 children for 9 different women. His fifteenth child i.e. Exodus Simmons was born to his fiancee Desiree Lindstrom in 2016.
During his career, DMX faced several legal issues. He was subjected to legal action many times. He was sent to the juvenile unit of Woodfield Prison for the first time in 1986 after stealing a dog. However, he escaped prison just a few weeks later with his cellmate. Apart from this, he was charged with stealing a car, possession of marijuana, animal cruelty, and several other crimes. Moreover, he filed for bankruptcy three times but the US Bankruptcy Court dismissed all his claims.
Career:
Simmons chose the name DMX after an instrument that he used at the boys’ home: the Oberheim DMX drum machine. People even interpreted his name as ‘Dark Man X’ later on. He began his career in the music industry by beatboxing for Ready Ron in 1984. However, he had to serve time in prison for stealing a dog. At this time, he started writing his lyrics and performing as well. He started taking rapping seriously and used to write lyrics dedicating all his free time. He even started performing with K-solo. DMX started recording tracks and also released his debut album. In February 1998, he released his major-label single “Get at Me Dog”. RIAA certified his single as gold. Later on, he released his second album that debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200. It was certified as multi-platinum.
In 2001, DMX was nominated for the Best Rap Album at the 2001 Grammy Awards. Gradually, he kept rising and establishing his name as one of the most popular rappers in the music industry. In 2006, DMS signed with Columbia Records. After that, he kept releasing albums one after the other and gave hits back to back. In 2019, he signed his latest new record deal with Def Jam. He has also been a part of several movies and shows throughout his career. Some of his best works include “Beyond the Law”, “DMX: Soul of a Man”, and “Big Pun: The Legacy”. Apart from all this, he has won many awards and nominations. Some of them are the American Music Award for Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Artist (Winner-2000), Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance (Nominated-2001 & 2002), and MTV Video Music Award for Best Rap Video (Nominated-1999, 2000, 2002, & 2006).
Who are Black Rob’s children?
The 52-year-old rapper who hails from Buffalo, New York, is known to be extremely private about his personal life. However, while speaking at Connecticut’s #1 rap show Bars On I-95 in October 2020, Black Rob opened up about his financial struggles. He also added that child support is ‘slaying’ him and adding on to his financial distress.
The ‘Whoa’ hitmaker stated, “I’m still under pressure. It might not seem like it [but] an (N-word) is under pressure. I need help man. I get money but the child support is slaying me. I can’t even live my life! I’m supposed to be popping.”
Besides issues with child support, the veteran rapper has also faced setbacks in his career from legal issues and health problems. Before being hospitalized in April 2021, he suffered a mild stroke sometime around late 2014. He gave up drinking and started following a healthy diet regimen, which helped him recover at the time.
According to Explore Celeb, Black Rob prefers to keep his relationships under wraps. He is unmarried to date. However, it is known that he is the father of four children – son Million and daughters Kayli, Rianna and Diamond. Not much is known about his children as well except that he provides them with child support.
Black Rob’s criminal career and health issues
Black Rob was imprisoned for seven years in 2006. He was punished as he failed to appear in court in a case of grand larceny from 2004. He was accused of criminal possession of more than $6000 of jewellery which was stolen from a hotel. In 2010 he was released from prison. Just two hours after his bail, he gave an interview to BET. This was not the first time Rob went to jail. He was previously jailed for keeping weapons and probation violations. All this happened in 200, and thus he was find accused of third-degree criminal possession.
As for his health, he had already suffered a stroke in 2015. However, the stroke was mild and was likely due to high blood pressure. He recovered from the stroke and took a very important decision to leave alcohol. After a grand recovery, he said that to keep his health safe and monitored, he would look after what he eat and drink. He said that now he is exercising and keeping himself healthy.
Recently a video of the Rapper from the hospital has shocked everyone.
Thanks to DJ self, who posted Black’s video on his Instagram. DJ Self captioned the video that requested to keep Black Rob’s in prayers. The caption also urged Black to get well soon because people do care about him. In the video, Black is seen saying that the pain is very unbearable. However, he is trying to get okay. He also said that the pain is making him realize that he has to let go of many things. Black also knows about DMX, who died on April 9. He said that he feels said and also praised DMX for being positive.
DMX was rushed to hospital on 2nd April as he suffered a critical heart attack. It is possibly the drug overdose that DMX succumbed to and passed away. He was also on a ventilator for few days.
Well, fans are worried about Rob’s health as he has a very critical medical history. In 2015, he had suffered a stroke which made the rapper decide to choose his life between alcohol and life.
Rob’s net worth and his major earnings
AS already said, not much is known about his incomes. However, his net worth is $2.3 million. Expect this; nothing much is known about his investments. His career as a rapper has a large contribution to his net worth. Bad Boy has played a very important role in his career, from “What Bout Us” to ” Love Like This” he has also appeared in various albums. He has also appeared in the album “Da Dirty 30”. He also appeared in albums by Channel Live, The Madd Rapper, Tony Touch, OI Dirty Bastard, and Benzino.
Then came his single “Whoa!” which became one of his signature hits. The song was produced by Diggin’ in the Crates Crew; this was the only song by Rob which entered in Billboard Hot 100. He also released in 2015 an album “Genuine Article.”
