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Description
I do not consider myself an artist, but after I heard about the passing of DMX I knew I had to create an artpiece in his honor. It may not be of the highest quality but it is the best I can do. I grew up as a black kid in the streets of Compton when I was a child, almost everyone I knew was into drugs in some form or another, whether selling or buying. It was hard to not feel overwhelmed by the crushing oppression that I felt as a black youth growing up in America.

I had dreams and aspirations of leaving the hood one day but never felt like it was really possible, it just felt like fantasy. That was until I heard DMX on the radio, he was just like me, a black man who grew up on the streets yet he wasn't a drug hussler or extremely poor. He was extremely successful despite growing up in a similar hometown to mine. DMX was more than a rapper to me, he was an idol, a role model. He was someone that I always looked up to when I felt like I couldn't make it in life.

It might seem random or weird that I included sonic and tails in my artpiece but you have to understand something, DMX and Sonic were the two things that shaped the tragectory of my life in a major way. DMX was the one that showed me there was more to life then being a hussler struggling to make ends meet and Sonic was the game series that made me decide that I wanted to be a game developer. When I was young I went over to my cousins house and he showed me Sonic Adventure 2 on his Gamecube.

Sonic Adventure 2 made a huge impact on me. I was amazed by the graphics, music and presentation of the game. I was a big fan of DBZ and it was incredible playing SA2 because it's story felt like something ripped straight out of an anime. The only game I had seen prior were 2d arcade ones so the leap to SA2 was huge. I had no idea a game could be like this. It was like playing a cartoon.

Sonic Adventure 2's storyline also appealed to me as a black kid who grew up on the streets. The way that Sonic is held responsible by the world for the actions of Shadow resonated with me deeply. I could relate to Sonic as he was demonized for the actions of a completely different hedgehog, much how I would be stereotyped and racially profiled as a criminal just because of the color of my skin.

Anyway I'm sorry this post is so long, It's just seeing DMX died of drugs was crushing since he was the main reason I didn't get into drugs and got my life together in the first place. It hurt so much to see him die in the same way so many of my family and friends did. I know he's technically "braindead" and not fully dead but it hits in the same way death would. His body might be breathing but his soul has passed on.

Description
I do not consider myself an artist, but after I heard about the passing of DMX I knew I had to create an artpiece in his honor. It may not be of the highest quality but it is the best I can do. I grew up as a black kid in the streets of Compton when I was a child, almost everyone I knew was into drugs in some form or another, whether selling or buying. It was hard to not feel overwhelmed by the crushing oppression that I felt as a black youth growing up in America.

I had dreams and aspirations of leaving the hood one day but never felt like it was really possible, it just felt like fantasy. That was until I heard DMX on the radio, he was just like me, a black man who grew up on the streets yet he wasn't a drug hussler or extremely poor. He was extremely successful despite growing up in a similar hometown to mine. DMX was more than a rapper to me, he was an idol, a role model. He was someone that I always looked up to when I felt like I couldn't make it in life.

It might seem random or weird that I included sonic and tails in my artpiece but you have to understand something, DMX and Sonic were the two things that shaped the tragectory of my life in a major way. DMX was the one that showed me there was more to life then being a hussler struggling to make ends meet and Sonic was the game series that made me decide that I wanted to be a game developer. When I was young I went over to my cousins house and he showed me Sonic Adventure 2 on his Gamecube.

Sonic Adventure 2 made a huge impact on me. I was amazed by the graphics, music and presentation of the game. I was a big fan of DBZ and it was incredible playing SA2 because it's story felt like something ripped straight out of an anime. The only game I had seen prior were 2d arcade ones so the leap to SA2 was huge. I had no idea a game could be like this. It was like playing a cartoon.

Sonic Adventure 2's storyline also appealed to me as a black kid who grew up on the streets. The way that Sonic is held responsible by the world for the actions of Shadow resonated with me deeply. I could relate to Sonic as he was demonized for the actions of a completely different hedgehog, much how I would be stereotyped and racially profiled as a criminal just because of the color of my skin.

Anyway I'm sorry this post is so long, It's just seeing DMX died of drugs was crushing since he was the main reason I didn't get into drugs and got my life together in the first place. It hurt so much to see him die in the same way so many of my family and friends did. I know he's technically "braindead" and not fully dead but it hits in the same way death would. His body might be breathing but his soul has passed on.