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DMX: Don't Try to Understand is a documentary based on a year in the life of Earl "DMX" Simmons. Directed by Christopher Frierson, the film was released as part of HBO's Music Box docuseries on HBO Max on 25 November 2021.
The film that followed the rapper from January 2019 to March 2020, offered fans a glimpse into DMX's life.
DMX's life was not without its demons and tribulations and DMX: Don't Try to Understand uncovers his struggles with unflinching honesty. The documentary leaves fans with a poignant sense of nostalgia and grief as they commemorate the late rapper.
'DMX: Don't Try to Understand' takeaway
DMX's tempestuous upbringing and his musical career
DMX: Don't Try to Understand is a montage featuring the rapper's life in the year prior to his demise. But it also includes various flashbacks and clips from his earlier life. In one of the clips, he can be seen talking about his parents.
DMX's father was absent from his life while his mother was abusive and used to beat him to a pulp.
As a teenager, he frequented between group homes and institutions before living on the streets to escape his mother. It was in one of the group homes, he was introduced to hip hop and thereafter began his journey to becoming a hip hop legend.
As he is also seen sharing with his fans and young hip hop artists, his music has been inspired by the hardships of his life. He encourages aspiring artists to do the same in order to connect with the masses.
Struggle with drug addiction and the road to recovery
DMX struggled with drug addiction and had a hard time staying sober. In a 2013 footage of Xavier (DMX's eldest son) and DMX on Iyalna, Fix My Life, the latter can be seen expressing his desire for a healthy relationship with his father and demanding his sobriety.
However, DMX rebuked him for placing a condition on their bond. He couldn't give up the drugs for his son, such was his addiction, though they did reconcile later. Eventually, DMX succumbed to a cocaine-induced heart-attack on April 9, 2021.
Family conflicts and piling child support
DMX: Don't Try to Understand shows DMX as a doting father to his three-year-old son Exodus. However, his relationship with his eldest son Xavier and other children was not so harmonious. DMX had 15 children with 9 different women, with the documentary focusing mostly on Xavier and Exodus.
He often got into legal trouble for failing to pay child support and had a rocky relationship with his ex-wife Tashera Simmons. Despite the mistakes of his past and rifts with his family, DMX is seen making amends and reuniting with his entire family at the end of the documentary.
To say DMX's life was difficult would be an understatement. DMX: Don't Try to Understand takes us through a tumultuous year of his life and that doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of all that he had endured in the past.
The only thing more remarkable than his illustrious career was his proclivity for self-destruction. Finally, when he does take steps towards reparation, his untimely demise leaves them wondering what could have been. DMX: Don't Try to Understand is a heartwrenching ode to one of the most mercurial artists of his generation.
