As the hip-hop world continues to mourn the passing of the legendary Earl “DMX” Simmons, people are stepping up in different ways to memorialize the Dark Man.
After the Yonkers rapper and actor passed away on Friday, April 9, artist and DMX fan Efren Andaluz (aka AndaluzTheArtist) decided to pay his respects by painting a mural. He’s previously done tributes for Mac Miller, Big Pun, Pop Smoke, Kobe Bryant and various other celebrities.
“This one really hurts. I truly believed he would make it through this. X was the voice of my childhood and was my favorite rapper in his prime. Demons are real. They see the light God shines on you and try to keep you in the dark. May Jesus shine on you for eternity big homie. I’m looking for a wall near the Bronx or Yonkers to pay my respect to this legend. Please share this post to anyone that owns a store or building near these locations. THE MURAL IS ON ME. PRAISE GOD. #RIPDMX.”
Andaluz is planning to paint the mural this coming Tuesday, April 13, outside of La Estrella Tropical restaurant in The Bronx. He’s planning on “bumping X all day long” and has encouraged people to come out to support. He’ll be painting between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. ET.
REVOLT recently connected with Andaluz to discuss the mural, and how the plan is coming together.
“I want to do a portrait of him, from his shoulders up and I want to make it really big,” Andaluz told REVOLT. “The most impactful murals are the ones where you can capture the person’s face and look into their eyes and feel what the person was feeling.”
The 34-year-old artist explained that he wanted to pain the tribute on School St. where X had grown up, but the neighborhood didn’t have any suitable locations to work with. Either way, the location he’s settled on is sure to get the mural the visibility that Andaluz was hoping for.
“I know Tuesday is going to be crazy and its going to be a tribute to the life of DMX. I hope this wall heals some broken hearts because I know a lot of people are feeling this loss.”
