Hip Hop legend DMX will be posthumously ordained as a minister this Saturday, January 10, in Westchester County, a tribute that honors not only his music but his lifelong, very public relationship with faith.
The late Mount Vernon native was initially scheduled to be ordained at Foster Memorial AME Zion Church, but the ceremony has since been relocated to Christ Church San Marcos in Tarrytown. The service will take place from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and is expected to draw family, community members, and supporters who recognized DMX’s spiritual journey as central to his identity.
The ordination will be presided over by Bishop Osiris Imhotep of the Gospel Cultural Center, a Westchester based ministry known for connecting Hip Hop culture with Christian teaching, particularly through youth outreach across the Lower Hudson Valley.
Though widely remembered for his raw delivery, street anthems, and uncompromising intensity, DMX consistently made space for prayer and spiritual reflection throughout his career. As Complex writer Mark Elibert noted, DMX often opened live performances with spoken prayers and closed albums with invocations that revealed his internal battles, struggles with temptation, and desire for redemption. Faith was never a side note in his music. It was part of the foundation.
Born Earl Simmons in 1970, DMX grew up between Mount Vernon and Yonkers before rising to become one of the most dominant and influential voices in Hip Hop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Beyond his commercial success, he remained deeply connected to Westchester communities, frequently giving back and maintaining close ties to the places that shaped him.
DMX passed away in 2021 at the age of 50 following a heart attack. His posthumous ordination serves as a symbolic acknowledgment of the spiritual path he walked openly and imperfectly, one marked by confession, struggle, resilience, and belief.
For those who understood DMX beyond the records, this moment reflects a truth he never hid. He was a man constantly wrestling with his demons while reaching for God, and that honesty remains one of his most enduring legacies.